Hi all, first time posting, very grateful for any advice / opinion you can offer.
My Stelrad 440 WRS was recently condemned following a gas analyser sweep. The Engineer's view is that POCS are making there way into the kitchen and that this is due to a seal in the flue that is nearly impossible to get at - he said I may as well get a new boiler, given the amount of hours it would take to replace.
The Engineer originally stated carbon monoxide was entering the room - obviously a worrying thought, however on request the Engineer showed me the gas analyser operating with the probe positioned as shown attached (without the boiler case on). During these couple of minutes we watched the readings , and no CO was detected, but CO2 was rising - unfortunately a print out was not provided and I can't recall the figures. No clear reason was given for the CO / CO2 discrepancy and the Engineer proceeded to condemn the boiler on the more general 'POC escaping flue' statement. Knowing little of these matters and not wanting to rock the boat (especially given the possibility of an imminent new install) I felt compelled to go along with signing its end. Having since spent a little time to reflect, I am unsure whether what happened is accurate and am wondering if another Engineer could / would have reached a different conclusion, especially if that Engineer were familiar with such old systems.
My doubts / questions are:
Only CO2 witnessed - I understand this is a normal POC, can be dangerous in excess quantities. Can you fail old boilers on this? If so what sort of ppm are we talking about?
The boiler case (which has seal) was not on when performing the test , wouldn't this have affected the gas analyse?
It seems quite possible that burnt gas from the internal part of the flue could make its way back in to the boiler casing via the air intake (outer part) , could this have affected the gas analyse?
The burner is hung underneath the iron HE (no containment between the two) and I thought it possible that some of the POCS may miss the flue (the Engineer has advised this would be unlikely due to convection). Thoughts?
The seals, at least from what I can tell seem fairly accessible shown on the attached. Do you agree? Are there other seals I am unaware of? Some of them are putty, presumably not something used much these days?
The HE is on two halves and I can see how this would be a pain to improve (drain system etc), however a comment on an old thread suggested that due to it being a balanced flue the draught action would nullify the potential for any gasses to escape such seals.
If indeed this boiler has something wrong and cannot be made to operate as it should I am not adverse to a new boiler. Hopefully age and lack of familiarity with older systems have not influenced the Engineer's decision.
Thanks in advance
My Stelrad 440 WRS was recently condemned following a gas analyser sweep. The Engineer's view is that POCS are making there way into the kitchen and that this is due to a seal in the flue that is nearly impossible to get at - he said I may as well get a new boiler, given the amount of hours it would take to replace.
The Engineer originally stated carbon monoxide was entering the room - obviously a worrying thought, however on request the Engineer showed me the gas analyser operating with the probe positioned as shown attached (without the boiler case on). During these couple of minutes we watched the readings , and no CO was detected, but CO2 was rising - unfortunately a print out was not provided and I can't recall the figures. No clear reason was given for the CO / CO2 discrepancy and the Engineer proceeded to condemn the boiler on the more general 'POC escaping flue' statement. Knowing little of these matters and not wanting to rock the boat (especially given the possibility of an imminent new install) I felt compelled to go along with signing its end. Having since spent a little time to reflect, I am unsure whether what happened is accurate and am wondering if another Engineer could / would have reached a different conclusion, especially if that Engineer were familiar with such old systems.
My doubts / questions are:
Only CO2 witnessed - I understand this is a normal POC, can be dangerous in excess quantities. Can you fail old boilers on this? If so what sort of ppm are we talking about?
The boiler case (which has seal) was not on when performing the test , wouldn't this have affected the gas analyse?
It seems quite possible that burnt gas from the internal part of the flue could make its way back in to the boiler casing via the air intake (outer part) , could this have affected the gas analyse?
The burner is hung underneath the iron HE (no containment between the two) and I thought it possible that some of the POCS may miss the flue (the Engineer has advised this would be unlikely due to convection). Thoughts?
The seals, at least from what I can tell seem fairly accessible shown on the attached. Do you agree? Are there other seals I am unaware of? Some of them are putty, presumably not something used much these days?
The HE is on two halves and I can see how this would be a pain to improve (drain system etc), however a comment on an old thread suggested that due to it being a balanced flue the draught action would nullify the potential for any gasses to escape such seals.
If indeed this boiler has something wrong and cannot be made to operate as it should I am not adverse to a new boiler. Hopefully age and lack of familiarity with older systems have not influenced the Engineer's decision.
Thanks in advance