Gas Connection - Vacant Property

reford89 · 25 August 2019 at 8:43AM

Hi there,

We just moved into a property that has been vacant for about a year. The previous owner who took the property over following a repossession had turned off the water at the internal stopcock, drained all the radiators and turned off the gas supply at the meter. I went out to try and turn the gas back on yesterday by turning the handle from 90 degree to be in line with the pipe. However, the hot water still did not run. There was also some yellow tape around a big nut in the gas meter box - would I need to do something with this?

Alternatively, the boiler is a late-90s combi. Would I need to do anything else on there to get the hot water to turn on? I've read about pilot lights etc.

Thanks very much

Sam

MovingForwards · 25 August 2019 at 8:57AM

Have you actually got gas running through the property? Have you a gas cooker so you could check?

The fact that it's an exterior gas mains and has yellow tape on it means it may have been turned off by the gas company, due to it being vacant for a while.

Have you rung the gas supplier to let them know you are the owner / occupier?

What boiler do you have?

reford89 · 25 August 2019 at 9:32AM

Thanks for replying. I am back at the house later so will get back to you on the precise boiler model.

Unfortunately I can't check the gas because our oven is electric but I have rung the gas supplier to get our new account set up, and they didn't mention it. They had even been sending bills to "owner/occupier" for the past 10 months!

I'll give them a ring on Monday.

Do you know if there is any way I can check if the gas has been turned off to the boiler? I have two lights...one says "power" and the other says "demand". Only the power light is on.

Sam

Mr.Generous · 25 August 2019 at 9:36AM

Probably capped at the meter, it will be a blanking washer behind the big nut. They usually do this when there is a dead drop - ie a substantial gas leak. Its to stop someone just turning it on when its dangerous.

southcoastrgi · 25 August 2019 at 4:51PM

Pics of this yellow tape & big nut

JimmyChanga · 25 August 2019 at 5:07PM

There can be yellow tape just to signify gas when meters are installed.

Have you since filled/bled the radiators, got the combi to pressure and then turned it on?

MX5huggy · 25 August 2019 at 9:01PM

Get a gas safe engineer to get it running for you / condemn it/ service it.

Ectophile · 25 August 2019 at 9:36PM

If the boiler has been sitting for a year, then it's due a service anyway. So it would be sensible to get a Gas Safe plumber to have a look at it. They can probably work out why it isn't firing up.

Norman_Castle · 26 August 2019 at 9:16AM

A 20 year old boiler drained and capped suggests you need to get it checked and serviced before using it.

Can a combi boiler be used just for hot water after the heating side has been drained?

southcoastrgi · 26 August 2019 at 6:07PM

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Can a combi boiler be used just for hot water after the heating side has been drained?

Only Intergas but then you do need to alter the settings

reford89 · 9 September 2019 at 8:37PM

Guys thanks so much for your help with this. We took the advice to get it checked professionally and ended up getting it changed. It turned out (after much investigation) that the gas supply had been turned off because it was leaking and hence when I turned it back on briefly, the pressure wasn't high enough.

Gas Connection - Vacant Property

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