very slow gas leak

As a cautionary tale,a few weeks ago on Merseyside, a householder was away on holiday . A family member was looking after the house. One day he called round to check the mail and stuff,opens door,smells gas,turns light on,boom,house demolished,hes off to hospital,dies a few days later-the end. Remove antispam and add 670 after bra to email

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Circumcision- A crime and an abuse.

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tarquinlinbin
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No no no,that should read-be careful-your life is worth more than the comparetively small amount it will take to do repairs to your leaky gas pipes then you can sleep soundly safe in the knowledge that you did the right thing and didnt engage in mindless penny pinching. Remove antispam and add 670 after bra to email

Be a good Global citizen-CONSUME>CONFORM>OBEY

Circumcision- A crime and an abuse.

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Reply to
tarquinlinbin

Hmm, so room sealed appliance is a different concept to room sealed flue then?

Reply to
Fergie

No. The flue is part of the means to make a room sealed appliance, well, room sealed. It consists either of some concentric or side by side system of pipes or ducts which are used to feed in the combustion air as well as to feed out the combustion products.

On older RS boilers, this is usually done by natural draught, whereas newer ones normally have a fan and can consequently have a smaller flue.

The other aspect is that the case of the boiler is sealed inside the house so that no air can enter or anything escape. Better designs are arranged, when the fan is running, to have slightly negative pressure relative to atmosphere in the case so that if there is a slightly imperfect case seal, there will be a net inflow of air rather than possible escape of fumes.

Condensing boilers need a means on the case of the boiler to provide an outlet for the condensate. This is achieved by having a small water trap.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Although this is the same Transco which was charged with culpable homicide after failing to maintain their gas main which was "extensively corroded" which then leaked, causing a gas leak into the foundations of a house, blowing it up in 1999, killing a whole family of 4. "quantities of gas escaped from the main, entered the foundations of the house and formed a gas cloud which ignited and exploded."

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Reply to
David Hearn

"tarquinlinbin" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

You are making an assumption here that the guy who comes round has a sufficient degree of nous and interest to actually spend a half hour looking. OK not all Transco guys can be tarred with the same brush (most can't) but I and many other gas installers have been called to simple jobs which even the slightest amount of effort would have solved a problem as suggested. A couple which come immediately to mind are calls after a Transco shut off. 1 required a gas inlet isolating valve on an Ideal E type regreasing then a test - the guy had even told the householder where the problem was! The next was a smell of gas from a cooker where one of the rings had not been turned off fully before the householder went away for a weeks holiday. Next door smelt gas and called Transco and the landlord who gave access. Result a week later I get a call to reinstate the gas service - again the actual problem had been identified and the control properly closed but still put a disc in the meter service valve. Soundness of the system pipework was 100% in both cases. As I got paid call out for both jobs I wasn't bothered but it does beg the question what "service" was actually given in these cases. As to your secondary point about a guy giving his time for free - "he" is paid by Transco as part of the conditions for them to be the licenced transporters of gas. The cost of this service is included in their charges down the line so ultimately the consumer does pay for it even if only a share.

Reply to
John

Could there be something in the house with a pilot light that's burning gas?

If you do smell gas, squirt fairy liquid on the joints in any suspect pipework. It will bubble with even the slightest of leaks.

sponix

Reply to
s--p--o--n--i--x

Indeed they have been charged though NGT deny the charge and will defend it.

Trying to maintain a nuetral stance, it would be an impossibilty to survey and maintain every single inch of the gas distribution system so that it doesnt leak. It is humanly and physically impossible. The distribution network for gas,just like water and electric,leaks in various places. Thats why there is an odourant added to the gas. Hopefully people smell the leaks and then they get attention.Often times people will say hey i smelled gas there a few days ago (but they didnt report it). I think this scenario was played out at Larkhall,the case you highlight.

Moving to another issue,although no one will admit it,safety has a price. In the good old days of British Gas doing everything,money was practically no object and maintenanace was of the highest standard. We now have a privatised industry open to market forces. Ofgem,the industry regulator,continually works to drive down costs,something has to give. NGT would have loved to replce miles of cast iron mains in years gone buy byt Ofgem,would not allow them to spend the money,hence they continued to deteriorate,they leaked,people got injured,their homes wrecked and even died. Since a series of high profile explosions and deaths such as Larkhall and others, Ofgem have crapped themselves,realised that someone would eventually suss out that their cost custting was to blame,and have taken the brakes off spending,allowing Transco to launch a massive national gas mains replacement program. Of course Ofgem is claiming it is their initiative to improve safety,they safety they previously threatened.

So then,things are not always as they seem. There are other powers at work....

Remove antispam and add 670 after bra to email

Be a good Global citizen-CONSUME>CONFORM>OBEY

Circumcision- A crime and an abuse.

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Reply to
tarquinlinbin

I do sympathise,but again i have to remind you of market forces and the new competitive privatised gas industry. Under the new current "meter separation" arrangments,Transco is now solely a PGT (public gas transporter) and ESP (Emergency service provider). Transco responsibility until recently was up to the meter outlet. Under meter separation,responisbility ends at the main tap outlet !. Any work on leaking or defective meters,flexes,regulators etc is covered under a PEMs (Post emergency metering) contract. I.E your gas shipper must have a Pems contract in place with NGT otherwise any defects on the meter and inlet will not be dealt with by NGT.

NGT mans core responsibilty is to make safe only. He may well find the leak during the course of his enquiries but is under no obligation to fix it unless it is on NGT network or it is in the meter/inlet and there is a PEMs contract in place. NGT is a commercial operation. If NGT man messes around fixing things that he is not obliged to fix,his productivity and therefore the profitability of NGT is affected and then Ofgem get upset.

CORGI have recently issued guidance which discourages NGT man from getting involved with appliances as,although they accept competence,they state that NGT mans core duety is as an ESP and he must make safe only. Remove antispam and add 670 after bra to email

Be a good Global citizen-CONSUME>CONFORM>OBEY

Circumcision- A crime and an abuse.

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Reply to
tarquinlinbin

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