New boiler casing seals needed but unavailable - does the entire boiler REALLY need to be replaced?

GaseousAgley

My 30-plus year old open flue boiler will need new casing seals soon and the manufacturer no longer supplies the seals. Also the manufacturer does not recommend using seals from other manufacturers so I'm told the only option left is to replace the boiler.

It seems ridiculous that for the lack of something that would cost a few pounds the entire boiler needs to be scrapped and thousands of pounds spent on a new one. I'm suspicious that the manufacturer has stopped supplying the seals and tries to dissuade anyone from using seals from alternate manufacturers so that people are forced to replace their boilers to increase demand for new boilers (from which the manufacturer benefits).

Am I right in thinking the seals are just strips of some sort of foam-rubber material? If new seals from another manufacturer were fitted wouldn't it be possible to tell if they were providing a good seal and were therefore safe to use - e.g. just by visual inspection? Alternatively, if I could get the seal specifications, might it be possible to get someone to manufacture new seals with the same specifications?

Alex1983

If the manufacturer has stopped making them then there is nothing you can do, no reputable gas safe person would fit non approved parts to any boiler and if they would I would be questioning how good they were....

Ms_Chocaholic

Have you tried Ebay?

jk0

Is this in a rental where you have to inspect every year?


If not, I might question the need for it to be fiddled with.

southcoastrgi

What boiler is it ?

GaseousAgley

Thanks for replies so far.

The boiler is a Glow-worm Space Saver 50 MkII. I have checked on ebay for seals but haven't seen any yet. Can go on checking but I'm not optimistic about finding them.

The house is my own home so I suppose there's no legal requirement to have the boiler serviced regularly but I'm told the seals are partly perished and will need to be replaced soon otherwise the boiler will become unsafe.

southcoastrgi

Do a google search for glass fibre rope seal & glue & if you don't already have one get a CO alarm

GaseousAgley

southcoastrgi wrote: »

Do a google search for glass fibre rope seal & glue & if you don't already have one get a CO alarm

Is this something a registered gas engineer would fit for me or is it something I would have to fit myself? And if I was to use this solution would engineers still service the boiler and pass it as OK to use or would they refuse to service/ issue some sort of 'dangerous appliance' certificate?

I ask because my current servicing company won't even consider using seals from an alternate supplier just because Glow-worm do not recommend this.

southcoastrgi

You should always use a RGI for any seals replacement, sometimes the engineer has to use a bit of common sense, your boiler by it's very nature has lots of openings to atmosphere, the most important things are the correct ventilation & the condition & correct operation of the flue, if there is an issue then they are obv not as safe as a modern room sealed boiler which is why a CO alarm should be fitted.

GaseousAgley

southcoastrgi wrote: »

You should always use a RGI for any seals replacement, sometimes the engineer has to use a bit of common sense, your boiler by it's very nature has lots of openings to atmosphere, the most important things are the correct ventilation & the condition & correct operation of the flue, if there is an issue then they are obv not as safe as a modern room sealed boiler which is why a CO alarm should be fitted.

Thanks for the reply.
I think the problem I'm going to have is finding a registered engineer/installer who will use replacement seals which have not been approved by Glow-worm. My current servicing company doesn't want anything more to do with my boiler because the proper Glow-worm seals are no longer available and Glow-worm does not approve any other seals. If one local company takes that view I'm worried that others will too.

Is it true that no reputable engineer/installer will use seals which have not been explicitly approved by Glow-worm? After all, I might find another company's seals made from the same material and with similar dimensions which are effectively identical to the original seals.

Is there anything I can do to increase the chances of finding an engineer/installer willing to accept that other manufacturer's seals are safe to use on my boiler or is it a lost cause?

Owain_Moneysaver

It appears the seals were discontinued nearly 10 years ago
https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/glow-worm-space-saver-40-mk11-case-seal.174599/

So probably unlikely anyone has any old stock remaining.