ideal mexico 2 boiler

[milliemand]

We had a new boiler installed in 2002 it is an ideal mexico 2 it was last serviced in 2004. It is located downstairs. We also have a cylinder shaped tank upstairs with 2 black plastic tanks which holds the water.

Recently we have began to smell something when we return home from work which is difficult to describe really, but its not gas, and it seems to be coming from the airing cupboard upstairs where the tanks are, we have also noticed a black soot like substance seeping through the edges of the door to the airing cupboard and the inside of the door is also covered in this soot like substance. Also sometimes there has been like a condensation dripping from the copper pipes in the same cupboard which has started to drip onto the towels giving them the appearance as if they have been splattered with dirty water like what you would perhaps get from a muddy puddle. Also we can hear a slight whistling from the boiler.

The only thing that has changed recently is that we had a new bathroom fitted and also had a shower installed, this was about six months ago and the only thing I noticed was that the bath took longer to run, perhaps this may be because we now have a bigger bath!

More recently we have had double glazing fitted and feel like this is in the period of time when we have noticed the smell etc. I wondered if it could be due to some lack of sufficient ventilation???? There is definately something not quite right!! Please can someone give me some advice it would be much appreciated. Sorry to make it so long winded but I am not very technically minded when it comes to plumbing and heating thanks millie

 

[hi-spec plumbing heating]

sounds like one off the tanks has been pumping over. check the vent pipes when system running, or any of the plastic tanks hot.

 

[ChrisR]

This could be the most dangerous boiler I've heard about for a while.
TURN it OFF NOW. It's very likely to be pouring carbon monoxide into the house.

Ventilation may be the root cause of the problem but the boiler's likely to full of soot now, which must be cleared out before you can procede.

You need a Corgi regd engineer with experience.

Hope you have some woollies and an immersion heater in the mean time.

 

[bengasman]

Your boiler is dangerous!! Turn it off and do not use until checked by corgi registered installer.

 

[milliemand]

Thanks to all who posted replies to us, we took your advice and turned off our boiler, as we had already planned to go away for the weekend we returned returned on sunday evening to a some what cooler house. My son has a friend who he used to go to school with who works for the gas board and he kindly came out to have a look at things for us. After looking at things he climbed into the loft and it would seem that the flue is broken, this is the original flue that wasn't replaced along with the new boiler and is therefore 30 years old. He also took some readings with his meter thingy and that wasn't good news either as it was leaking carbon monoxide and it was 50 times more than it safely should have been. He told us that we would need a whole new flue which he said the british gas would charge about £1900. Plus they would have to either put vents in our new upvc doors or through the wall to the outside. We are also considering as an alternative having a combi boiler fitted and therefore gaining two cupboards for added storage.

We would be happy to have your expert opinions about this and to take onboard any advice you can give to us as we would like to weigh up all the pros and cons before spending such a large amount of money thank you again

 

[nickso]

you would get the flue replaced far cheaper than that but i wouldnt bother throwing good money after bad. spend your money on a new boiler and update the rest of the system to match it. you will save a bucket of money in the long run.

dont be too quick to get a combi though. it may not be suited to your needs.

 

[namsag]

And there proves the difference between a plumber and a gas engineer, Basic from description. good job chris was about

 

[nickso]

dont hold back any there namsag

 

[milliemand]

We've been quoted £1700 for the fitting of a new combi boiler a worcester bosh don't know what model but does that sound like a good deal or not?? This is from someone who is a friend of my sons. Also waiting to hear from an engineer from a couple of companies which we got in touch with to come out and give us quotes!