Neighbours gas boiler going pop?

For a while (maybe a week or two - can't really remember when it started) now we've been trying to work out what has been causing this odd pop/bang noise from outside our house. After a bit of elimination, and finally this morning, sitting looking out the window for ages, we've determined that it's our neighbours boiler.

What appears to be happening is that when the neighbour's boiler (fanned flue) starts up, immediately before the normal plume appears there's a pop/bang and then the plume starts.

The neighbours have been away for a few days, but I think it may have been happening a bit longer than that - but until today were unable to say with any certainty where it was coming from as it appeared to be so irregular. The only thing I could say during this weekend was that, during daylight, the boiler was always pluming when we checked after hearing the noise - but obviously, until we were watching when it occurred we didn't know whether it came from somewhere else entirely. We didn't want to start apportioning blame without evidence (had that with a different neighbour claiming we interfered with her TV reception).

We'll be (if my wife hasn't already) notifying our neighbours about it - but I wondered what the cause of the problem might be, so our neighbours can at least know whether anyone who looks at it is giving them honest advice.

Thanks

David

Reply to
David Hearn
Loading thread data ...

Mine did it when it was starting to soot up after a few years of not being cleaned. Eventually it backfired like a jet engine and dumped a load of oily soot up my (white) rendering. I would suggest they get the boiler cleaned and serviced.

Reply to
Bob Mannix

Mine was doing something similar last year. I traced it to a faulty spark gap. What seemed to be happening is that it had a weak spark so a lot of gas would get pumped into the combustion chamber before it ignited. When it did ignite there was enough gas there to cause a bit of a bang. Sometimes so much so that a brief flame was apparent from the flue. Once lit all was fine even when cycling. It seemed to be dependent on the weather, particularly bad when damp to the extent that sometimes it would not light first time. Replacing the spark gap cured it and all is fine now.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew May

It sounds like the ignition is not working right. Probably some dirt or other crud on the burner.

Reply to
Ed Sirett

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.