boiler exhaust fumes through party wall

[bobby spray]

Hello, I have a bit of a problem with my neighbours new boiler. He just had a new 50kw (large houses) wall hung condenser installed onto a party wall. This wall joins my living room. The boiler vents out through the wall about 2m from out patio doors. The problem is that over the past couple of days when entering the room in the morning there is a overpowering smell of exhaust fumes. I have taken it up with my neighbour and he had the installer back today who said that there is nothing wrong with the installation. However I am concerned not just about poisoning but the room is basically unusable. My neighbour is reluctant to do anything. Would Environmental Health be the organisation to contact in this case?

thanks
BB

 

[45yearsagasman]

A picture would help understand the layout. It may be a case of a plume management kit being fitted to divert products away from your doors. No flue can cause a nuisance, and it must be fitted in accordance with current regs. If the install complies then you will struggle to get a resolution. The regulations cover almost every install scenario but not all. I would try to sort it at a local level before escalating to environmental health.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Regs require the plume to not be a nuisance if they refuse to remedy call gas safe.

 

[booty40uk]

If you cant resolve it amicably, call Gas Safe for a free inspection. The boiler may well be installed to spec but nuisance pluming must be taken into consideration.

 

[Gas2Air]

A picture would help understand the layout. It may be a case of a plume management kit being fitted to divert products away from your doors. No flue can cause a nuisance, and it must be fitted in accordance with current regs. If the install complies then you will struggle to get a resolution. The regulations cover almost every install scenario but not all. I would try to sort it at a local level before escalating to environmental health.

But it is causing a nuisance so therefore wrong.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Jesus.

Almost word for word accord.

Has the red sea parted or something?

 

[booty40uk]

Spooky dude!

 

[bobby spray]

Thanks Gents, I am unconvinced that the flume is the problem. It is actually about 1' above the level of the patio doors and has a small flume management kit on it (pointing upwards at 45 degrees). The plume seems to direct well upwards. the guy next door is friendly enough at the moment but can be uncooperatve if hassled to much. Hence my throught about environmental health. I am going to but a carbon monoxide detector tomorrow. The room realy stinks in the morning!

thanks

BB

 

[Dan Robinson]

The PLUME is part of the exhaust gas. There are bits you can't see that may be wafting in.

 

[mfarrow]

Many flues are these days constructed concentrically so the exhaust runs within the inlet pipe. This will minimise the amount of gas entering your neighbour's room, and thence yours.

Lots of things can smell of burning. Old, overheating electrical accessories, such as pendants, switches etc can smell of fish or cigarettes. What kind of smell is it?

 

[bobby spray]

it smells a bit like urnburned gas.

 

[SimonH2]

So this new boiler has a flue pointing onto (and in fact actually coming onto) your property ? AIUI this is non compliant with regs - the boiler shouldn't have been fitted with the flue through that wall. The installer should have known this.

If push comes to shove, point out that your neighbour is trespassing onto your property - he needs your permission to overhang your property. In law, you can demand he remove it, and if he refuses to cut it off flush with your boundary - but you can't keep the bit you cut off.

 

[Bosswhite]

You say the Flue is fitted onto the party wall yourside ( which is trespassing onto your property) ,
therefore the fumes expel into your property, surely common sense says this is potentionally dangerous

 

[Joe4542]

For a modern boiler the flue terminal should be at least 600mm from a boundary line it faces, from your description it sounds as though the wall it protrudes from (party wall), IS the boundary, so therefore isn't compliant.

Even if it was parallel to the boundary, it needs at least 300mm clearance.

As previously noted, nuisance pluming should be considered when planning the installation. Sounds like they've made some effort with a PDK, but ultimately if it's installed in breach of the appliance instructions, then your neighbours have an issue!

 

[mfarrow]

OP

You say first it is exhaust fumes, and now it is unburnt gas. Which is it? Have you a fire place in your living room? If so can you isolate it to rule that out.

Also have you any pendant fittings you just turn on at night? Are the skirts starting to yellow? If so it may be worth changing them to rule them out.

To the others.

I'm not a gas fitter, but I really don't understand the regulations being quoted in this context. So comfirm, a flue cannot be run less than 300mm from a boundary when run parallel? I know people with gas boilers mounted directly on boundary walls in kitchens etc with flues exiting out the top . Given the boundary as at the middle of the dividing wall this flue will not be 300mm from it. Is this therefore dangerous or NTS?

As I understand it, the OP has a pipe running along his neighbour's side of the party wall, then exiting near the boundary (we haven't been told how far) but 2m from his patio doors, and 1 ft above the top of them. Are these distances not far enough for a 50kW boiler (which I know is a fairly hefty size). If not how far should it be?

I'd have thought that the upstairs would get more effect from the plume, given the above information and the management kit applied.