BG visited a friend today, they condemned her central heating because the ventilation in the room is inadequate. Question, what size does the vent have to be in a room? The current vent (fitted by BG about 8 years ago) is the size of a standard house brick but they say this isn't big enough, are they right?
depends on many factors, air brick size notwithstanding.
Q for the gas fitters - can BG *condemn* an installation that was installed per the regs at the time (and is not actually that old), or should they simply be saying its an "advisory" ?
Is it a ploy to "sell" another system ?
I would have thought an advisory. I was recently servicing a gas fire which wasn't spilling but stank the room out, ventilation was ok and as the fire was designed thus all we could do was issue an advisory on the lack of adequate cross bonding, put a sticker on it and leave.
probably. definately worth getting another opinion. I haven't got my regs book with me at the moment and family gas engineer 1 is drunk and family gas engineer 2 is incommunicado.
sure someone will be along to answer fully, soon.
BG insisted a neighbour install a vent at the top of the cupboard, above the door, that her floor mounted boiler is in - despite the fact there is no top to the cupboard and it's 12" clear of the ceiling. They also made her change the plug and socket to a double pole switch because that gives 3mm isolation - a plug easily gives 3 feet!!
Peter
Remind me not to employ your family to fit gas.
In message , Clint Sharp writes
There must be something going about.
A gas fitter called to change my sister's gas meter (we do it every 7 to
10 years you know!)Whilst there he took the opportunity to threaten powers of isolation because her gas flame effect fire had not been inspected since installation. Surprisingly he is a contractor and available for inspection of such units. No comments about the Rayburn gas cooker/room heater as he is not qualified to inspect those.
Now I know that gas appliances need annual inspections where property is rented but am unaware of any mandatory inspection requirement for owner occupier premises.
What say you?
regards
What sort of central heating? Is it a back boiler, combi or what?
FYI it's one's birthday and the other is in the process of moving house.
besides, how do you "fit" gas ?
Why? As long as they aren't working at the time, they're entitled to R&R.
Is that similar to G&T?
Having seen the replies in this thread I urge people to read the Gas Fitting FAQ.
As for the OP's friend...
The situation depends on the actual requirements of the appliance and th amount of ventilation available.
There are two levels of 'condemning' one is absolute it and ID (Immediately Dangerous) notice and the other is the advisory AR (At Risk).
If the appliance is labelled as ID then the fitting must have had some reason to believe that the installation was of immediate danger to life or property.
It does not matter how much ventilation there is: if the flue gases are not cleared for whatever reason then the installation is ID. Although (non-BG) independent fitters would probably set about finding and correcting the fault rather than labelling it.
By and large the standards have not risen (although there are exceptions e.g. open flued appliances used to be allowed in bathrooms 20+ years ago). What has happened is the advance of the CCC and more serious inspection and monitoring of installers, leading to a lot more armour plating on the hind quarters.
In message , Frank Erskine writes
Back boiler in the living room.
In message , Ed Sirett writes
Upon further prodding, it's 'At Risk'. The BG person left a letter saying he'd disconnected and labelled the boiler, he'd done neither. He left an inspection sheet saying it was 'to current standards' but claimed it wasn't up to standard because of the ventilation. One BG contract about to be cancelled tomorrow unless she gets some good explanations.
By law the fitter has no right to disconnect the appliance if it's only "At Risk". There is a recommendation that AR installations are 'made safe'. However it would a very exceptionally well informed customer who insisted on the appliance remaining connected in the face of a fitter who wants to cut it off.
The fitter is saying that due to less ventilation than it should have, there is a risk of the appliance becoming 'dangerous'.
The correct amount of ventilation is as specified in BS 5440-2 see links below.
HTH
The message from Clint Sharp contains these words:
Result! Unless you're quite clued up, gas is best left to the experts, and this really doesn't appear to include British Gas.
Couldn't she have shortened the cable?
:)
In message , Ed Sirett writes
Had another engineer out today, he's seen the sheets left by the first one, called him an idiot and printed out a sheet saying everything's fine and nothing needs doing. Looks like BG engineers get a commission for fitting air bricks as well as selling CO detectors and new systems now.
not just BG engineers, a good proportion of the industry is due to job inflation.
what was the printed sheet, what did it contain as i have never used a printer/device to measure and calculate ventilation requirements(other than a tape and calculator). your ventilation requirements are calculated by room size, appliance type and size amongst other factors, none of which are contained on a flue gas anyliser that i am aware of if that is what BG used for this purpose!
i am fairly new to the industry so experience is not my forte but the current regs and methods are fresh in my head, BG tend to rely on peoples ignorance too much.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.