My boiler could have killed me

keithnorton1955

For all sorts of reasons such as covid and family problems i put off getting my boiler serviced then one day i noticed the pressure dial was not moving so i decided to get it done.
The first photo shows a red melted gasket , if the parts from the melted section touch the main cylinder their would have been a loud bang.

The second photo shows a pipe that feeds gas from the mains to the boiler , look at the split , as well as gas going into the boiler it was also going into my home. The second photo shows a red melted gasket , if the parts from the melted section touch the main cylinder their would have been a loud bang.

If anyone on this site wants to use the photos to educate people you have my permission to do so , i think i am lucky to be alive.

subjecttocontract

Why don't you have a carbon monoxide alarm. ?....that would sound if you had a gas leak.

TheElectricCow

subjecttocontract said:

Why don't you have a carbon monoxide alarm. ?....that would sound if you had a gas leak.

Carbon monoxide alarms are designed for detecting carbon monoxide, a dangerous product of incomplete combustion, rather than gas leaks. Mains gas is primarily methane and does not contain carbon monoxide so would not be detected by such an alarm.

Gerry1

subjecttocontract said:

Why don't you have a carbon monoxide alarm. ?....that would sound if you had a gas leak.

That's highly dangerous advice.

A CO alarm might have been triggered by town gas (amazingly, it contained about 50% CO) but natural gas contains very little CO and a leak won't be detected by  a CO alarm.

rp1974

Not quite OP,your own negligence of your boiler could've killed you,your immediate neighbours,half the street etc,etc but didn't so all is well,this time,luckily.
Yet another example of why I believe that privately owned,I'm assuming,gas boilers should be examined annually by law in the same manner as council/housing association etc ones are.
Out of interest,just how long did you leave your boiler unserviced for?,the red gasket looks more like it's perished than has melted to me,though that said neither are desirable,as regards the state of the black pipe,words fail me really.

subjecttocontract

When I was a landlord I had to follow requirements.....
* In England & Wales regulations recommend that landlords provide CO alarms in rooms with gas appliances.
* Its law in Scotland & Northern Ireland.
* Government publications also cover CO alarms in rooms with gas appliances.

Netexporter

 should be examined annually by law in the same manner as council/housing association etc ones are.

Private rentals are subject to annual gas safety checks, too.

EssexHebridean

the advice to get a CO alarm is good, just not given for the right reasons! 

MultiFuelBurner

I suspect if your boiler was passed warranty and given you did ignore the general if not written  advice of getting it serviced yearly.

What actually nearly killed you.....was you. Lesson learnt don't mess with gas.

TheElectricCow

subjecttocontract said:

When I was a landlord I had to follow requirements.....
* In England & Wales regulations recommend that landlords provide CO alarms in rooms with gas appliances.
* Its law in Scotland & Northern Ireland.
* Government publications also cover CO alarms in rooms with gas appliances.

CO alarms are indeed essential safety devices that should be installed in areas around gas appliances, however, their purpose has nothing to do with detecting gas supply leaks - they have not been designed to detect this kind of gas and under no circumstances should a CO alarm be relied upon as an alert of a mains gas leak.

Apologies for the slightly dark turn here but as a serious safety matter the proper knowledge is important:

Carbon monoxide is a gas which may be produced when things are burned. This gas can be extremely harmful to humans and exposure to large enough quantities can quickly lead to death. It is also invisible and odourless, so chances are if you walked into a room full of the stuff you wouldn’t have the slightest idea it’s there until it’s too late. This is the purpose of a CO alarm, to alert humans to the presence of a buildup of this specific poisonous gas (indicating a faulty gas appliance is leaking exhaust fumes inside the home and/or is not burning its fuel correctly).

The gas in your pipes is mostly methane, mixed with a few other things. Its probably not a good idea to breathe a bunch of it in, but compared to CO doing so wouldn’t nearly be as harmful. The danger of this gas is that it’s highly flammable, so to ensure it can be detected in case of a leak we add the distinctive gas smell in to the mixture. As there is no CO in this mixture it will not be detected by CO detecting equipment.

Both of these gases are dangerous, but for different reasons, and the methods of detection in the home are different. You shouldn’t use a CO alarm to try and detect a natural gas leak in the same way you shouldn’t try to use your nose to detect a CO leak. Both are likely to have less than desirable results.

subjecttocontract

Thanks for the details.
I was not aware that CO alarms do not detect gas supply leaks and that this type of alarm would have been no help to the OP and their particular problem.
I'd still suggest they get a CO alarm though.