Plumber Fined 9 Grand....

[toptec]

That this might interest you Chaps. Twas on our local news tonight. The explosion took place 8 years after the work on the back boiler was or was not done.

A housing society has been fined £50,000 for health and safety breaches which led to a boiler explosion that killed a woman and her dog.

Christine Goodall, 65, of Twyning, Gloucestershire, died in November 2007 when the old iron boiler blew apart.

Plumber Matthew Lee, 41, who was employed by Severn Vale Housing Society to decommission the equipment was fined £7,500, with £1,500 costs.

Gloucester Crown Court heard the boiler had not been properly decommissioned.

Mrs Goodall died along with her dog Kelly after water in the boiler heated up when she lit a log fire, causing the equipment to explode.

Severn Vale Housing Society and Lee both pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Judge William Hart also ordered the not-for-profit organisation to pay £7,500 costs.

Heres the link;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/8399565.stm

 

[Boilerman2]

Clearly the fact that the boiler was to have been permanently de-commissioned, is what landed the engineer in trouble as there was absolutely no doubt that the work had not been done correctly, this would not have been so easy to prove in any other circumstance, a very sad story though and a sobering one for us all

 

[transam]

I beleive I read about this some time ago ? the flow & return to the redundant back boiler had been capped off . causing a massive build up off steam / pressure in the boiler that eventually caused the explosion !any diyers . dont mess with your unvented cylinders a 300 litre cylinder has potentially an explosive force equall to 3 pounds of T.N.T , 1 litre of water can create 1800 litres of steam , I recently came across an installation that was a potential time bomb waiting to go off !

 

[powell30]

I thought it was 1600 times but hey i get your point......i was told if they can't be removed the heat ex must be drilled through to ensure any residual water has steam escape route.......easier to remove i should think.

 

[transam]

I think u may be right it is 1600 ?

 

[Goldspoon]

I think u may be right it is 1600 ?

It is.

 

[rojaca]

way I rmemember water at its densest 4degrees
Will expand by 4% between 4-100 degress
boiling 4X4X100=1600
Calculation is meaningless but helps me to remember

 

[kirkgas]

way I rmemember water at its densest 4degrees
Will expand by 4% between 4-100 degress
boiling 4X4X100=1600
Calculation is meaningless but helps me to remember

the fact that it helps you remember means it is not pointless

 

[Garfeild]

Cue exploding cylinder video.

 

[toptec]

Oh, OK here you are then!
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/261949/unvented_cylinder_explodes/

 

[Baxi-Remeha]

prefer this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q

 

[Nige F]

2 points apart from the obvious tragedy and Loss of Life . 1 Was the "plumber" directly employed

2 Was he a "plumber" /hetas solid fuel etc. or a Gas Fitter. I used to be directly employed as a plumber in a similar role , and any doubt of a technical nature was passed up to my supervisor. This was well before H+S and all the associated crap. Guess who disbanded the DLO`s ( direct labour organisations) and brought in Competitive tendering and external contractors. Blood on someone`s hands there then