Missing boiler gasket leak smells of gas (edited)

[Ja101]

Would a tank conventional boiler with a missing gasket by the burner always leak gas?

"Hello, I have 22 year old water tank conventional boiler in a rented house. While the burner was lit yesterday I smelt a very faint smell of gas. It was confirmed it was leaking only when heating up, and yesterday the gas engineer found there was no gasket under the burner.

It could have been like this years, so I wanted to know if a boiler missing a gasket like this would always leak gas? And although in seemed to only be a small amount that couldn't be smelt from outside the boiler cupboard, could a leak like this on a long term basis cause health issues?

Thanks"

 

[CBW]

Any boiler missing a gasket to the burner/combustion chamber will leak gas and products of combustion. Stop using immediately and call a gas safe registered engineer, or if it’s a constant smell of gas then contact the emergency service provider, if natural gas in most cases 0800111999 but check on your gas meter.

In the meantime could you provide more information and a photo?

 

[CBW]

Just found your other post, normally when a post is duplicated (frowned upon forum rules generally) the information is the same: below copied and pasted.

Hello, I have 22 year old water tank conventional boiler in a rented house. While the burner was lit yesterday I smelt a very faint smell of gas. It was confirmed it was leaking only when heating up, and yesterday the gas engineer found there was no gasket under the burner.

It could have been like this years, so I wanted to know if a boiler missing a gasket like this would always leak gas? And although in seemed to only be a small amount that couldn't be smelt from outside the boiler cupboard, could a leak like this on a long term basis cause health issues?

 

[Ja101]

Thank you, sorry I posted it twice, I'm new to the forum and think the first post was in the wrong place.

It's a powermax boiler and the engineer found it yesterday and it was only discovered there was no gasket at that point, so gas has all been shut off etc.

Is it likely to leak carbon monoxide too? They didn't detect any but given the gasket may have been missing for years this is a concern

 

[CBW]

Thanks mods.

It’s possible carbon monoxide and or products of combustion could have entered the property, depends on other seals.

 

[conny]

If you have been breathing carbon monoxide it will have been very, very small amounts and once you are in fresh air it will flush out of your system quite quickly.
It has a half life of around 4 hours, so within about 8-10 hours it should be completely out of your system.
If you feel ill, or have any strange symptoms, it is best to be checked out by a hospital visit.
Under no circumstances should the appliance be used until it has been repaired, tested and certified fit for purpose by a registered GasSafe engineer.

 

[Ja101]

If you have been breathing carbon monoxide it will have been very, very small amounts and once you are in fresh air it will flush out of your system quite quickly.
It has a half life of around 4 hours, so within about 8-10 hours it should be completely out of your system.
If you feel ill, or have any strange symptoms, it is best to be checked out by a hospital visit.
Under no circumstances should the appliance be used until it has been repaired, tested and certified fit for purpose by a registered GasSafe engineer.

It is currently not in use and will be repaired once the new electrode gasket arrives. The strange thing is it was serviced and gas safety checked a few months ago and no leaks or issues were detected, even though it didn't have a gasket back then. Is it possible for it not to leak gas if this gasket is missing?

 

[CBW]

It is currently not in use and will be repaired once the new electrode gasket arrives. The strange thing is it was serviced and gas safety checked a few months ago and no leaks or issues were detected, even though it didn't have a gasket back then. Is it possible for it not to leak gas if this gasket is missing?

I think if it was properly serviced, this would have been picked up on. How do you know it was missing back then? Safety check wouldn’t necessarily pick it up either.

 

[conny]

It is currently not in use and will be repaired once the new electrode gasket arrives. The strange thing is it was serviced and gas safety checked a few months ago and no leaks or issues were detected, even though it didn't have a gasket back then. Is it possible for it not to leak gas if this gasket is missing?

It's possible, but only if the two mating surfaces are perfectly flat and a perfect match.
Once things like this start getting hot and cold it introduces thermal movement which results in the surfaces distorting over time.
Basically, one side of the joint may heat up faster/cool down slower than the other. The perfect mating then becomes distorted and they fail to match any more. This is where the gasket comes into play. Because gaskets are malleable, they will expand/shrink to take up any gaps between the mating surfaces, therefore ensuring a good seal is maintained. Eventually even gaskets fail and have to be replaced.

 

[Ja101]

I think if it was properly serviced, this would have been picked up on. How do you know it was missing back then? Safety check wouldn’t necessarily pick it up either.

Because they said the gasket isn't there now so I wouldn't have been there during the service a few months ago as no other work has been done in between. They said they don't remove the burner during the service so wouldn't have seen the gasket was missing. In addition I thought I smelt gas about 6 months ago a cadent didn't detect anything back then when it would have been without a gasket.

 

[Ja101]

It's possible, but only if the two mating surfaces are perfectly flat and a perfect match.
Once things like this start getting hot and cold it introduces thermal movement which results in the surfaces distorting over time.
Basically, one side of the joint may heat up faster/cool down slower than the other. The perfect mating then becomes distorted and they fail to match any more. This is where the gasket comes into play. Because gaskets are malleable, they will expand/shrink to take up any gaps between the mating surfaces, therefore ensuring a good seal is maintained. Eventually even gaskets fail and have to be replaced.

Thank you for the details. It's all so strange. I can't understand how it would have passed it service and gas safety check a few months ago without a gasket.

 

[ianmcd]

yesterday the gas engineer found there was no gasket under the burner.

It is currently not in use and will be repaired once the new electrode gasket arrives.

Well which Gasket is it ? burner gasket or electrode gasket ?

I smelt gas about 6 months ago a cadent didn't detect anything back then when it would have been without a gasket.

Cadent are not qualified to identify a boiler fault and would simply have turned it off and tell you to get a Gas safe Registered engineer to check the appliance

 

[Ja101]

Well which Gasket is it ? burner gasket or electrode gasket ?


Cadent are not qualified to identify a boiler fault and would simply have turned it off and tell you to get a Gas safe Registered engineer to check the appliance

Thank you. I meant Cadent didn't detect a leak.

Sorry, he said he could see it was missing when he took out the burner and called it an electrode gasket. Are they two different things? He said the source of the leak was the missing electrode gasket.

 

[ianmcd]

Are they two different things?

yes very different things, but to be honest cant see how either would cause a smell of gas

 

[Ja101]

yes very different things, but to be honest cant see how either would cause a smell of gas

I'm not sure, was just told that was the source of the leak, that missing electrode gasket. Do you not think that being missing would cause a leak?