Faulty boiler and oven in rented house

AdrianC

A modern combi won't have a pilot light - you should only see the flame if it's actually heating. But that doesn't mean it'll be constantly providing a LOT of heat.

A combi shouldn't ever be turned off - it should always be ready to meet demand for hot water. But it does sound as if your heating is on all the time. There's no timer, no room thermostat?

GwylimT

Lucy11580 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies. It's a Worcester boiler, Greenstar 241 Junior Combi Mk111. That's the information I could see on there. There is a central window on the front of the boiler where the flame is blue and is constantly on. This doesn't seem like a pilot light to me? I really don't know, but you can hear the boiler on all the time.

Thats the light to signify that it is turned on, the temperature controls etc are behind that panel.

GwylimT

The link below is the instruction manual for your boiler.

https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/support/document/download/release/6720806709/12644

PhilE

Lucy11580 wrote: »

Hello everyone!

I don't know if anyone can help advise me on this please...but here goes!

I am a single mum who has been renting a private house for the last 4 years. Every year the heating technician comes to do a gas check. Every time he has completed it, he has told me that there is a "faulty switch" on the boiler. I have never thought to query this until this time, where he told me that it meant that the boiler never switches off, as in it's constantly ON.

Over the last 4 years I have tried not put the radiators on because of the unexplained high bills. Apart from being really cold, mould has grown throughout the house, making my young daughter have Asthma nearly all the time and resulting in many days off school.

I emailed the letting agent who sent me a reply saying that it doesn't cost anything to have a boiler lit constantly. Can anyone tell me if this is correct please?

If it does cost to just run the boiler on it's own, without having the radiators on, then how much would it cost? Surely it must cost something?

Also, that's not all! A few months ago I lit the oven, put some food in to cook, went out the kitchen and on my return, could hear the oven trying to light itself. I heard a clicking noise and the smell of gas (and the sound). It couldn't light but what worried me was that if I had been gone for a longer time, what could have happened?

While the heating technician was here doing the gas check, I told him about the oven and he simply turned the oven on for about 20 minutes and said it seemed fine. This didn't fill me with confidence and I haven't used the oven since, apart from the other day where I tried to cook with it again, only to have the same thing happen again. (The oven going out and trying to relight itself.)

There are other problems that need fixing, but I'm not so concerned about them.

I can't believe how these people sleep at night, knowing that the oven (and the boiler which apart from having a faulty switch which makes it never turn off, doesn't have a thermostat either) could possibly be dangerous? The heating technician told the letting agent that the oven was fine! But how can it be if it keeps going out and trying to light itself without success?

I have spoken to the CAB, but sadly they couldn't help. What I would like to know in a nutshell is, does it cost anything to have a boiler constantly on? If it does, then have I been paying for it to be on for the last 4 years?

I would really appreciate some advice on this, as I don't know what to do.

Many thanks indeed

Lucy x

If you have mold in the house, this is unsafe. Especially as it has been affecting your daughters health. You need adequate ventilation in the property, open a window in the bedroom in the morning and always keep the bathroom windows open for a while after showering with the bathroom door closed.

Rooms should be heated and well ventilated to avoid mold. If your not heating a room, that could create a spot where mold can grow. Be better to heat the rooms and pay the money, then your child get ill. You just have to heat the rooms occasionally, not all the time.

Pilot lights of a boiler are on all the time, but shouldn't cost that much. I cant comment on the oven, maybe someone else can if they haven't already,

Cakeguts

Is the "heating technician" a registered gas engineer?

AdrianC

Penitent wrote: »

Are you sure about that? We have a combi boiler with a little window in the middle. You only see a flame when either the heating is on or the hot tap is running. The boiler is turned on all the time, but it only fires up when it needs to heat something. It doesn't make any noise when it's not doing anything either. If the OP can hear it, it's not a pilot light.

I have a WB Greenstar here, too.

The bottom third of the front panel is a drop-down flap. With that closed, there's a big soft, gentle blue light. It's the power-on light. I could see it being mistaken for a flame, at a pinch.

With the flap open, there's a flame LED, which is only lit when the burner is actually going. You can't see the flame itself.

The link to the user handbook in an earlier post suggests it's exactly the same on this one.

agrinnall

That boiler is either the same or very similar to one I had in a rented flat. While it wasn't on all the time, which sounds like a fault, it would come on at unexpected times. I only found out why when I downloaded the manual and discovered that by default it keeps a small reservoir of water constantly hot to provide instant hot water. Pressing the ECO button turns this function off, and while it means a wait for hot water to come through it also means it doesn't fire up when not needed. I'd suggest pressing the button to see what happens (it looks like you have to hold it for 4 seconds).

parkrunner

Lucy11580 wrote: »

Over the last 4 years I have tried not put the radiators on because of the unexplained high bills. Apart from being really cold, mould has grown throughout the house, making my young daughter have Asthma nearly all the time and resulting in many days off school.

That's the most important part of your post. I'd be looking to rent elsewhere if it was me.

EachPenny

AdrianC wrote: »

The bottom third of the front panel is a drop-down flap. With that closed, there's a big soft, gentle blue light. It's the power-on light. I could see it being mistaken for a flame, at a pinch.

It does seem an unfortunate choice of colour for a 'power on' LED.

There's still the issue of the noise (perhaps a fan not switching off?) and the engineer saying that a part is faulty... it really shouldn't be up to the OP to troubleshoot this, the engineer or LL should have resolved it.

Lucy, if the boiler is the same as in the posted instructions, does the LED next to the flame symbol go out, or is that one always on too?

IAmWales

Penitent wrote: »

Regarding the mould, if it started when you stopped heating the house, then that doesn't sound like the landlord's fault, so it would be up to you to resolve it. I wouldn't have thought the cold would help your daughter's asthma either (cold air used to set mine off sometimes).

I think you should write to your landlord requesting the boiler and oven be repaired (there should be an address you can write to in your tenancy agreement), rather than emailing the LA. Keep a copy of the letter.

It would be worth OP asking a friend to check she's using both items properly first (nothing technical, just some agreement that it is not working as it should). I'm getting a feeling of user error, which could work out costly if the landlord starts billing for wasted visits. There's certainly a lack of common sense in allowing the situation to continue to the point her child is unwell.