installing new boiler

[joesoap13]

Hi, I Know that the law states only a competent person can work on gas, however I installed my own boiler 15 years ago and got a bg engineer to commision it. Is this still legal? Are you allowed to work on your own boiler as long as it is not on the gas side? i.e.cleaning chamber, waterside etc? Any advice appreciated

 

[nogoodatfaultfinding]

The short answer is no.

You must be fully qualified just to hang the boiler.
I beleive it is also now illegal for a non qualified engineer to remove the casing on a boiler with an open burner.

 

[bengasman]

The short answer is no.

You must be fully qualified just to hang the boiler.
I beleive it is also now illegal for a non qualified engineer to remove the casing on a boiler with an open burner.

You must be competent to do any work on any gasappliance.

 

[nogoodatfaultfinding]

The short answer is no.

You must be fully qualified just to hang the boiler.
I beleive it is also now illegal for a non qualified engineer to remove the casing on a boiler with an open burner.

You must be competent to do any work on any gasappliance.

Not strictly true though is it.
As far as i am aware you may disconnect and reconnect the same bayonet fitting if you wish.

The reason i specifically mentioned the above items is that people get confused with the fact that if they want to hang the boiler themselves then they think they are allowed as they are not actually touching the gas.

I have also seen plenty of advice on here for non registered people about how to change divertor valves and diaphrams etc although they should never do this themselves as they will be illegally removing the case.

 

[bengasman]

The short answer is no.

You must be fully qualified just to hang the boiler.
I beleive it is also now illegal for a non qualified engineer to remove the casing on a boiler with an open burner.

You must be competent to do any work on any gasappliance.

Not strictly true though is it.
As far as i am aware you may disconnect and reconnect the same bayonet fitting if you wish.

Connecting and disconnecting a cooker bayonet is not considered working on a gasappliance.
They are specifically designed to make it possible to move a freestanding cooker so you can clean behind and underneath.

That leaves in place that you need to be competent to work legally on any gasappliance. An electrician who connects the power cable or controls to a boiler is deemed to be competent to do that job. He would probably be deemed competent to change the pcb. Changing the gasvalve becomes questionable.

When the op installed the boiler 15 years ago, and it has worked this long without hurting anybody, it can be argued he was competent on the job he did then.
Corgi technical bulletin 214 made it clear they did not agree with RGI's signing off other people's work.
We will have to see what crapita's position is on this now corgi have become a plumber's merchant.
I wouldn't put it past them to make a special exception license available at £xxx

 

[joesoap13]

The short answer is no.

You must be fully qualified just to hang the boiler.
I beleive it is also now illegal for a non qualified engineer to remove the casing on a boiler with an open burner.

You must be competent to do any work on any gasappliance.

Not strictly true though is it.
As far as i am aware you may disconnect and reconnect the same bayonet fitting if you wish.

Connecting and disconnecting a cooker bayonet is not considered working on a gasappliance.
They are specifically designed to make it possible to move a freestanding cooker so you can clean behind and underneath.

That leaves in place that you need to be competent to work legally on any gasappliance. An electrician who connects the power cable or controls to a boiler is deemed to be competent to do that job. He would probably be deemed competent to change the pcb. Changing the gasvalve becomes questionable.

When the op installed the boiler 15 years ago, and it has worked this long without hurting anybody, it can be argued he was competent on the job he did then.
Corgi technical bulletin 214 made it clear they did not agree with RGI's signing off other people's work.
We will have to see what crapita's position is on this now corgi have become a plumber's merchant.
I wouldn't put it past them to make a special exception license available at £xxx

hi, thanks for info, seems like it is a grey area. I have read many qualified replies on this site which would defy only qualified engineers can remove case. only just read one on re-soldering pcb board himself. hard to do without removing casing.also changing diaphragm. I was qualified mechaniclal engineer when it took minimum 5 years apprentceship before you started to learn, not 8 weeks to gain city /guilds as now, for £3250. hse have a lot to answer for

 

[joesoap13]

The short answer is no.

You must be fully qualified just to hang the boiler.
I beleive it is also now illegal for a non qualified engineer to remove the casing on a boiler with an open burner.

You must be competent to do any work on any gasappliance.

Not strictly true though is it.
As far as i am aware you may disconnect and reconnect the same bayonet fitting if you wish.

Hi , It,s me again. The reason for my request is I have just had a qualified engineer out from 1 of the big companies to locate inermitant fault causing pilot light to keep going out, it is under contract.after 1.5 hours he left with no idea what the problem was, he called out transco as he maintained gas pressure was low, and left several screws out. his attitude was awful, the pressure was spot on, transco checked it. still have the problem:

Connecting and disconnecting a cooker bayonet is not considered working on a gasappliance.
They are specifically designed to make it possible to move a freestanding cooker so you can clean behind and underneath.

That leaves in place that you need to be competent to work legally on any gasappliance. An electrician who connects the power cable or controls to a boiler is deemed to be competent to do that job. He would probably be deemed competent to change the pcb. Changing the gasvalve becomes questionable.

When the op installed the boiler 15 years ago, and it has worked this long without hurting anybody, it can be argued he was competent on the job he did then.
Corgi technical bulletin 214 made it clear they did not agree with RGI's signing off other people's work.
We will have to see what crapita's position is on this now corgi have become a plumber's merchant.
I wouldn't put it past them to make a special exception license available at £xxx

hi, thanks for info, seems like it is a grey area. I have read many qualified replies on this site which would defy only qualified engineers can remove case. only just read one on re-soldering pcb board himself. hard to do without removing casing.also changing diaphragm. I was qualified mechaniclal engineer when it took minimum 5 years apprentceship before you started to learn, not 8 weeks to gain city /guilds as now, for £3250. hse have a lot to answer for

 

[bengasman]

Maybe it is an idea to give us precise details of boiler, and the exact how and what of the problem.
As a normal reply rather than another quote would be good; it is getting a bit confusing.
The thing with big companies is that they employ a lot of people, some of them will be very good, but from there it goes down. Some faults are just very hard to find, especially intermittent ones.
The good news is: very few problems are left unsolved at this forum.

 

[joesoap13]

Hi, thanks again, my Vokero rs 20-80 flowmatic,which I reckon is 15old, has been having trouble with pilot light going out, with no set pattern.sometimes twice a day, then it can run for several days ok then it goes out again. I can have a showerok, get out, my wife get in 5 mins after and the boiler is down, pilot light out. It always relights first time.was thinking of changing it but have replaced,fan, ventura, flow switch. pcb board twice, pressure switch, bleed valve, so its nearly been replaced.the "fitter" said it should be in a museum, obviously not his favourite boiler, we had words, they still take my money every year.he couldn,t even change thermocouple, I mentioned high limit thermostat, he didnt check it.said he could do nothing until it failed completely? any one can change parts after failure, diagnosis is the sign of a good "engineer" hope this is not too long windd

 

[joesoap13]

The reason for enquiring about regs isI am plagued with wasps every year, had two nests in boiler, resulting in new pcb board once, I frequently remove casing to check no nest , they build them pdq

 

[DP]

Have yet to encounter a Flowmatic that could not be repaired.

Fact that many parts have been replaced on your boiler would suggest a poke-and-hope approach to boiler repair.

Check when boiler is not running, case above the pilot light window is cool (or at flue there is a gentle breeze from fan slow running). If fan not slow running, pilot outage and leaks at heat exchanger is common. Also check burner is switching to lower gas rate when desired temperature reached. Strange that you have had to replace the PCB twice- its is normal to faind at around 10 years of operation relay wears out when boiler starts to behave erratically. Thermocouple rarely fails (I said rarely- it does occasionally need replacing). Great boiler.

 

[BingoBongo]

The reason for enquiring about regs isI am plagued with wasps every year, had two nests in boiler, resulting in new pcb board once, I frequently remove casing to check no nest , they build them pdq

i got stung by a bee once

20 quid for a jar of honey



im here all week,try the fish!!

 

[joesoap13]

Hi, Thanks for info, all things mentioned checked and are ok.Fan slow running until demand then on high, turned water down to slow flow rate at tap, boiler cut out on safety stat, pilot still on. thinking of changing thermocouple when I can locate the right one, changed it about 9 years ago. I haven,t had intermitant bother with them before, I suppose it,s worth a try for the cost, cheap enough.don,t know if universal will fit? Bit of a teaser.

 

[joesoap13]

most reluctant to give up on it, quite attached to it now, keeps the grey matter going now retired,know when to let the pros in, when one can get one, very difficult in this area.it,s not just the wasps that sting you around here

 

[plumbtraders]

I think by law your not allowed to install your boilers. You need to contact registered engineer for that. I think you can get the best advice if you visit the some of the government websites related to registered engineer.

Thanks
Rahul