Next doors boiler smells of gas?

SameOldRoundabout

Is it normal for a boiler to smell of gas? Next doors boiler vents into their side return, which adjoins our side return. They are slightly odd, never go out, never open the curtains and ALWAYS have the heating on. The boiler fires constantly, every 20 minutes or so, even throughout the summer last year. They’ve had a few boiler repair vans so I assume either there is a problem with it or it keeps breaking as it is on all the time. 

For the last few months the smell has been awful. We can no longer have our bathroom window, my sons bedroom window, or the dining room doors open at all as the rooms smell of gas. This can’t be normal can it?! I’m slightly loathe to say anything until I know for sure it shouldn’t be like that. 

Peter999_2

If you can smell gas you need to phone the emergency number and report it - 0800 111 999.

daveyjp

Call the gas emergency number now.

A friend is an emergency gas engineer who went to a call just before Christmas.  A neighbour had been smelling gas for a few weeks.

When he arrived he found whoever fitted the boiler had left the condensate pipe short and it was dripping on the gas pipe.

The acidity of the condensate had eroded the gas pipe and it was spewing gas 24/7.

grumbler

Some smell of gas is normal every time the boiler fires up, but not constantly.

Jeepers_Creepers

It is not unusual for a small puff of unburnt gas - but which is smellable - to be emitted from the flue every time a boiler fires up. But it should be brief and really only detectable if you happen to be walking past the outlet at the time. Anything more than that is a cause for concern, I'd say.

SameOldRoundabout

It fires non stop. I’ve just gone and opened the bathroom to see what it’s doing and it’s actually firing every 30-60 seconds or so. The stench of gas when it fires is unbelievable. I hadn’t thought it would be an emergency stupidly, bit ashamed of that now. 

Jeepers_Creepers

It might not be, but could be.

They might just need educating on how to control their boiler - it sounds as tho' they have it cranked up to max and it's 'cycling' waaaay more than it should - basically, it's heating the CH water too rapidly, faster than it's being used by the rads, so it repeatedly trips the overheat stat inside until it cools down a little again. If this is the case, they are using a shed load more gas than they need to, and are stressing their boiler almost certainly leading to earlier and more costly repairs.

Are they approachable?

Jeepers_Creepers

If the smell is a genuine nuisance and comes into your house through various windows, I'd say that's an environmental hazard too, so probably justifies contacting your LA if nothing else sorts it. It's very cheap and easy to fit a plume kit which will divert the gases above eaves height and away.

Does the boiler flue give out a 'plume' too - a visible cloud of water vapour?

clueless_but_curious

The issue here is that their flue should not be pumping gas in to your house through your fenestration.  When choosing your course of action, just remember how important it is to get on with your neighbour....I'd be peeved if somebody with a clipboard was the first to tell me about it

Jeepers_Creepers

If it's a condensing boiler - which it almost certainly is - then a £50 plume kit should sort it. But it'll need the neighb to agree to this.

Start off gently - explain your concerns for them as well as the issue for you, and make some suggestions - eg they get a GasSafe out to check all is safe and well. If they agree and the GS confirms it's not a fault but simply a boiler running at max - and the neighbs are happy about it that way - you may need to then make it about 'your' issue. Hopefully they'll be understanding. If not, then bigger guns...

I don't know if you'd be willing to go halves on a plume kit fit? I don't think you'd 'need' to, but it might smooth the process. It would need a GS to install it, but in most cases it's a straight-forward job. A guess at a ballpark £150 all in (depends on make)? So £75-ish each?

[Deleted User]

SameOldRoundabout said:

They are slightly odd, never go out

Does anyone anymore? We are in lockdown 🤭