Corgi inspection?

[al]

I'm getting my kitchen fitter to get a Corgi plumber to inspect the hob installation after it was installed by his normal plumber (didn't see any tests being done, but I could be wrong - he used a water mister to spray the joints as he soldered .. I presumed this was just for cooling, but I suppose he could have been looking for bubbles and it could have been soapy water).

Anyway ... I want him to do a boiler service/inspection while he's here. How much should one expect to pay for that? The reason I want to know is that I don't want to land up paying the full price for this guy to come round and do everything, thus leaving the kitchen fitter significantly better off. As far as I'm concerned, I want to just be paying the price for getting the boiler inspected while he's here (ie. no call out charge) and the fitter should still be paying what he would have to call the guy out for the hob inspection.

Any ideas? Middlesex within the M25 and an 8 year-old Glow-worm boiler.

a

[Doctor Evil]

A hob should have an in-line gas tap fitted accessible near to the hob. Usually via the top drawer..

[al]

It does ... what's that to do with the question about cost though!?

a

[Andrew Mawson]

significantly

charge) and

I have invoices on my desk at the moment for two CORGI inspections for rented flats (c/h boiler & hob essentially) - £64.63 inc VAT - I'm inside the M25. I put a lot of work through this (small) company and they may be charging an advantageous rate. I recently had a combined CORGI & Electrical safety inspection on another flat by a different company, and that was £141 split 50/50 for the two tests.

AWEM

[al]

Seems reasonable - what kind of tests should I be making sure he does?

a

[bigcat]

45 for full annual safety check, probably a bit less if hes only checking one appliance.

NT

[Ed Sirett]

Inspect and certify £60. Service boiler (extra during same visit £30).

Note the inspection will test the boiler in a number of ways, probably using a gas analyser and other tests, the extra £30 is for dimantling, cleaning and reassembly.

[Ed Sirett]

Pipework: Test for leakages by ' drop testing' see FAQ. Look for irregularities.

Boiler: Flue/duct is clear. Combustion if in doubt measure burner pressure and may be gas rate, maybe use gas analyser if he has one. The service manual will outline any special checks. Also correct installation especially if the installation looks dodgy you can tell very quickly how well the under lying installation is and irregularities in one aspect will probably indicate more problems elsewhere.

Hob: Correct operation, correct combustion, correct installation, clearances.

[al]

My main concern is leaks and CO. The boiler has been bashed around a bit when the roof was being replaced by abusing the flue! Also, concerned that the hob installation was not tested in any manner.

a

[Ed Sirett]

If the flue is conventional/open then very thorough checking is called for, if it's damaged then it may well not pass.

There are grounds to 'label' a boiler due to poor general condition.

Really there are very few checks that can be made on a hob. Obviously it must work correctly. Obviously the supply pipework must be gas tight.

The last time I installed a hob I carefully measured the appliance working pressure and got 20 mbar spot on. I used the injector on the smallest ring as a test point. I got 110% of nominal gas rate (the flames loopked fine) so I phoned the manufacturers and they said they we happy.

If the flames look right and there is a door/window to outside then the hob is not an issue for CO poisoning.

The boiler is an issue if it's damaged and especially so if it's open flued.

Are you smelling unburnt gas or burnt gas fumes?

[al]

Not really ... sometimes a small smell of gas when the boiler first comes on. Just worried that it might have been abused a bit too much!

a