Occasional smell of gas from boiler?

blackstar

Hi all
We juat moved into a new property and have a baxi duo tech 28 erp and on the odd occasion when the boiler fires up you get a smell of gas for a few seconds then it goes away. It's in the kitchen and the flu goes straight out the wall next to it into the garden so not sure if the smell is going out the flu into the garden and blowing back in through kitchen window or if its coming from the boiler itself and either way if it changes anything?

The flue is 95 inches from the ground which I have taken a photo of. You can see how the boiler is right next to the window next to the flue.
Only the odd occasion do we smell gas when boiler fires up. Not sure if the smell os coming out of the flue and back in though the window or straight from boiler?

Any advice appreciated

Ectophile

It doesn't help that the flue is very close to the window.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6408a125d3bf7f25fa417ab7/The_Merged_Approved_Documents_Mar23.pdf part J, pages 49 to 50.  A flue above an opening window should be at least 300mm away.  It looks to me that they are too close.

A gas appliance could vent a bit of gas when it starts, before the burner lights properly.  That should go safely out of the flue, and not into the room.

FreeBear

A plume kit will lift the fumes away from the window. But you may well find a Gas Safe engineer slapping an at risk notice on the installation.

blackstar

FreeBear said:

A plume kit will lift the fumes away from the window. But you may well find a Gas Safe engineer slapping an at risk notice on the installation.

Even if a plume kit is added and fumes are lifted well away from the window.?

FreeBear

blackstar said:

FreeBear said:

A plume kit will lift the fumes away from the window. But you may well find a Gas Safe engineer slapping an at risk notice on the installation.

Even if a plume kit is added and fumes are lifted well away from the window.?

Really wouldn't like to say. It often depends on the attitude of the engineer and how pedantic they are about regulations.

The other alternative is to replace the window with a non-opener, but that would be expensive (or move the boiler at even bigger cost).

Lorian

What's the actual distance from the opening part of the window to the flue?

Eldi_Dos

The window nearest the boiler close it take the handle off and fit a blanking plate, so that window cannot be opened, then most importantly get the boiler serviced by a reputable qualified engineer.

daveyjp

Our flue is just about 300mm from an opening window, but a plume kit was fitted anyway, I would advise the same as that looks very close to the limit.

A slight smell of gas isn't unusual when a combi is first fired up as the gas flows for a split second before it ignites.

ic

I wonder if the lintel above the window is compromised there?

Was there always a flue in this location, or was this drilled out new with the installation of this boiler?  Agree with others, you should keep that window closed till resolved - you might be smelling gas, but that certainly suggests other gases will be coming in too that you can't smell.

Eldi_Dos

Op, if you do not already have one purchase a Carbon Monoxide detector, they are quite cheap and available in hardware stores do it today it will be one off the things a gas service engineer checks.

Albermarle

I had a problem with smell of gas /combustion fumes( not very strong obviously) occasionally after our boiler shut down. Gas safe engineer could find no problems with the boiler.( it is very intermittent) From looking into it, ( and somebody usefully replying on this forum )  it seems that the boiler purges the combustion chamber before and after the main combustion starts. Normally this should go out of the flue, but occasionally a small amount can escape into the room.
This was a Worcester Bosch boiler, so maybe not relevant in this case.