Boiler plastic casing vibrating. Can I remove it?

spudseyite

The plastic casing/cover on my boiler is vibrating very loudly when in operation. If I put a small amount of pressure on the casing then it stops, and when I remove the casing then it doesn't happen at all so I'm pretty sure that it the source of the problem.

1. Can I safely keep the case removed completely? Image of boiler below.
2. If not, what can I do to prevent the vibrating?

Thanks

neilmcl

No you definitely cannot leave it like that and by rights you shouldn't have removed it at all. The cover forms part of the combustion chamber for the boiler and only someone who is gas safe registered can touch it.

Ectophile

neilmcl said:

No you definitely cannot leave it like that and by rights you shouldn't have removed it at all. The cover forms part of the combustion chamber for the boiler and only someone who is gas safe registered can touch it.

If it's your own boiler, you are legally allowed to fiddle with it, provided you are competent to do so.  I would say that all the actual combustion is going on in the big rounded metal can at the top.

Much better than leaving the cover off would be to work out where it's rattling and use some stick on rubber or felt pads between the bits that are ratthing together.

Bendy_House

What make is that boiler, Spud?

It's a bit different from mine (a GlowWorm) in that mine has a front cover like yours, but when you remove it there is a secondary cover over the 'combustion' area. In your boiler, the front cover also appears to act as this secondary 'sealing' cover. So, really, it should go back on.

However, not to panic... You should not be at risk of leaking exhaust gases, but by opening up to your room what I presume contains the 'air intake' part of the combustion arrangement, rather than the boiler drawing it from outside via the flue, you may possibly be slightly upsetting the air supply pressure.

Could you post a photo of the cover you removed, especially the inside surface? Does it have a foam gasket all around its perimeter? If so, what condition is it in?

See the copper pipes wot exit the boiler from below? Are they sealed around them where they pass up into the boiler, or are there large gaps under there that lead up to the inside of the boiler that you can see in your pic?

Bendy_House

If you replace that cover, and then use a couple of small pieces of duct tape half-way down each side, you can use this to pull the cover tight against the sides which I hope would stop the rattle until a proper solution is found - like a new gasket.