Gas Safe engineer would not remove sticker

[jamesdean1986]

I just wanted to check something.
We had an issue with the installation of our boiler by an independent company. A Vaillant engineer came out to check an issue and condemned it (its brand new but was installed with insufficient pressure).
Got pressure sorted, but wanted everything fully checked for obvious reasons so GAS Safe sent an engineer out today. He is happy with the boiler, the pressures and its installation. He turned it back on before leaving but said he cannot take the yellow sticker off and that I have to do that.
I'm not questioning the man from GAS Safe, he was extremely thorough, but I just wanted to check that it is OK for me to now take this sticker off?
Obviously I don't want to take it off and then find out I should not have.

 

[dcawkwell]

Sounds like a jobs worth to me.
I can't see it matters. If you have something to say the boiler is safe and it is running then take the sticker off.

 

[Agile]

Gas Safe are not being paid to do work on your installation.

They are there to check the safety of work done by RGIs.

Sometimes they will refuse to do pretty obvious things on the excuse of what their involvement covers.

In your case then take it off yourself.

But ensure that Vaillant have records showing the installation now complies so that you don't get any trouble if you have a warranty claim.

You have not told us the details of the installer and who corrected the low pressure. And who paid for that!

Tony

 

[jamesdean1986]

Agile, good point regarding updating Vaillants records, I will make sure I do that. The installer was a company called Radway, based in West Bromwich, West Midlands.
As for who corrected it, you may remember we had this discussion in a post towards the end of last year where you accused me of lying, so we wont go back into that.
Only issue now is the original installer never filled out any of the Vaillant documents regarding the installation and service, but the GAS Safe engineer said it needs to be done so I have got to find out if they will order the installer to do that or if I have to chase them to do it.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Agile]

Always better to add to an existing thread so that we can read all the background.

You need the Benchmark completed for the warranty. Any RGI can do that as a recommission. I am doing one this afternoon.

Also to comply with Building Regulations the installation needs to be notified to local Building Control.

Normally only the actual installer can do that. Some owners apparently manage to notify BC themselves but that can incur charges.

The only sure way round that is for an RGI to "reinstall" the boiler which means taking it off the wall!

Tony

 

[jamesdean1986]

He had filled out all the other paper work, and I have the acknowledgement from GAS Safe to say the installation had been registered with them, so I really hope he had notified the local building control but I will check. It was just the installation booklet that records all of the checks and details.... coincidently left blank which make me wonder if it was intentional because he knew of the 21mb to 5mb pressure drop. Either way I will not be having him back in my house again!

 

[Agile]

i am starting to worry the guarantee maybe void as none of the paper work was filled in correctly apart from registering the installation. Will be calling vaillant in the morning to see what options i have.

What exactly did that cover?

 

[jamesdean1986]

Well I know he had done the GAS Safe registration because I had all the paper work come through from that, but obviously its not their responsibility to make sure he has filled out the other paper work, or at least not the Vaillant bits. Which is quite interesting because last year over the phone they said they have the power to enforce him to come back and do the paperwork.
In regards to the guarantee, I didn't ring Vaillant until today but they have basically said they are not that worried about the initial installation page that notes all the pressure checks etc, but for my guarantee they do need the service stamp or equivalent paper work to prove it. If the original engineer will not do it, they have given me a grace period to get it done asap or it will void it. But to make things worse they are now saying I only have a 2 year cover when it should have been a 5, so I have got to find proof of that now.
Solve one issue and then another one arises!

 

[jamesdean1986]

Quick Update:
The report has come through and GAS Safe have written to the installer instructing him to come back and correct a few things, including filling out all the Vaillant paper work.
Other things covered are:
Fused spur is fitted with the wrong AMP fuse.
Minimum working pressure is not met when the hob is on (0.5mb off)
Pipework is in contact with the wall surface
Condensate pipework has not been insulated externally.
AND..... not being provided with a Building Regulation compliance certificate.
Tony, is that certificate what you were referring to?

 

[Agile]

Even Gas Safe seem to be a little confused.

Notifying the installation to G-S does two things!

It creates the blue certificate they post to you which is usually needed when you sell the property.

It also ( unseen to you ) notifies Building Control so that aspect has already been dealt with.

The only outstanding aspect of any importance is the completion of the Benchmark Certificate. Its odd that he did not do it.

G-S sometimes consider the boiler to be uncommissioned without it and therefore At Risk which means that it should not be used!

Manufacturers will not usually operate any warranty without the Benchmark.

The gas pressure is also probably a red herring in your case. Your boiler has a high flow resistance inlet pipe which is said to lose 3.5 mbar.

The requirement is to have the correct supply pressure at the connection to the boiler but there is no test point there ( although one can be added ).

Most boilers are stated to need a minimum of 18 mbar at the inlet point. Yours probably does if there is 15.5 mbar at the gas valve.

But all of these gas pressures are meaningless unless quoted with the measurement at the meter as well.

Tony Glazier

 

[jamesdean1986]

Thanks for that. Learning an awful lot just recently with this boiler. The wording in the report is that we were not provided with a certificate, so it may just be that we never received one although he did register it.
The pressures that I can remember from before xmas were:
At the meter: 21mb and then down to 17.5mb (I think) with both boiler and hob on full.
Test point inside the boiler: 21mb and then down to 15.5 with both boiler and hob on full.
I didn't really want the installer back in my house but at least it gets me the completed paperwork and I can then hopefully put all this to rest.

 

[Agile]

It seems unlikely to me that there was just 17.5 mbar at the meter.

Under the specifications it should be a minimum of 19 mbar on load.

That's created by 21 mbar +/- 2 mbar

You do NOT get anything back from Building Control, its just noted on their records!

Tony

 

[JBPHS]

It seems unlikely to me that there was just 17.5 mbar at the meter.

Under the specifications it should be a minimum of 19 mbar on load.

That's created by 21 mbar +/- 2 mbar

You do NOT get anything back from Building Control, its just noted on their records!

Tony

Looks like a job for the gas transporter to change the meter governor, if the meter working pressure drops to 17.5mbar.

James