Boiler Servicing – What is it for?

TankMaster

Ken68 wrote: »

I have skipped one years servicing and fitted a Carbon Monoxide meter.
And £60 for half an hours 'service' has always seemed way over the top and of course if unnecessary anyway, a swindle.

You're a braver man than me.

We own an apartment in Edinburgh with electric space heating and gas water heating, which is rarely used.

I wouldn't dream of substituting an annual service with a CO alarm... in fact I go for both.

TM

Ken68

I would like to see proof positive that a service does good, rather than scare mongering tactics used to make money.
If it is just a case of keeping the jet clear, I can do that with common sense and a Hoover.
And why is it mandatory for tenants to have a safety check but not owners ? The whole thing sounds jiggery pokey to me.

Canucklehead

Good morning: The Health and Safety Executive isn't 'scaremongering' to 'make money' .Consult the boiler manufacturer's manual for details on boiler servicing specification and call a CORGI . Please don't promote unsafe practice (again:eek: ).

HTH

Canucklehead

Ken68

You could be right, Canuck, although as an insider, surely you could direct other MSE'ers to a cheaper way of 'servicing' a boiler.
Health and Safety regs can't be right if home owners are excused safety checks...... and boiler manufacturers and plumbers and Corgi have a vested interest.

space_rider

I wouldn`t skip because of the safety aspect of it. But if you are going to then a carbon monoxide detector is better than nothing.

mech_2

I think it's a matter of assessing the risks and taking your chances. A modern gas boiler with a balanced flue is far less likely to fill the house with carbon monoxide than an old cast iron boiler. Old boilers take air from the house to burn the fuel, whereas newer ones are room-sealed.

For example my mother's boiler is only 2 years old and it's installed in a lean-to outside toilet with no openings between it and the house. I can't fathom any way in which it can poison the air in the house if any part of it goes wrong. I don't see any safety problem with ignoring servicing it until it goes wrong.

On the other hand, my father's boiler is something like 40 years old. It's in a converted garage which he uses every day as an office (the garage door has been replaced with patio doors). I don't think it has been serviced this decade. It makes "kettling" noises and smells of flue gases when it's fired up. I think it badly needs a safety check at the very least and I told him so.

barrymung

A service on a modern-ish gas boiler will simply involve an inspection, clean and a 'telegan' reading of the flue exhaust gases.

The 'telegan' meter will simply tell the plumber whether the gas is being burnt correctly. If it falls within the "pass" band then everything is OK. If not, there's a problem.

Oooops! Have I blown a multi million pound industry?

barrymung

Ken68 wrote: »

I would like to see proof positive that a service does good, rather than scare mongering tactics used to make money.
If it is just a case of keeping the jet clear, I can do that with common sense and a Hoover.
And why is it mandatory for tenants to have a safety check but not owners ? The whole thing sounds jiggery pokey to me.

Well, it'd be easy for an "enthusiastic DIYer" to c*ck it up!

All it'd take is for a seal to be omitted for example and the CO could leak out...

I'm sure you could do it and I'm confident of my own abilities but I couldn't vouch for Mr Miggins up the road..

barrymung

Just to put things into perspective..You are more likely to be killed by a Donkey than CO poisoning!

Do people carry "Donkey detectors"? No! Why not? Because they don't see it as a serious risk.

So long as your boiler is modern and checked regularly by someone knowledgeable there won't be a problem.

Cardew

barrymung wrote: »

A service on a modern-ish gas boiler will simply involve an inspection, clean and a 'telegan' reading of the flue exhaust gases.

The 'telegan' meter will simply tell the plumber whether the gas is being burnt correctly. If it falls within the "pass" band then everything is OK. If not, there's a problem.

Oooops! Have I blown a multi million pound industry?

Thanks. A voice of reason?

When somebody plays the 'safety card' it is difficult to respond.

All I have said is that I have carefully read the full servicing schedules on some boilers and watched several corgi fitters work on my boilers and there is nothing in the slightest bit difficult in the servicing. It seems to basically involve cleaning.

Leaving aside the safety isssue, I cannot see any adjustment that 'tunes' the boiler back to optimum efficiency.