Pilot light off in summer?

Anyone turn the pilot light of their boiler or gas fire off in summer?

It struck me it would cost a lot of gas over the year (and from what I'v= e read it's anything from =A325 to =A390 a year).

Then I found this! "With the pilot off, there are still trace amounts o= f gas molecules in the burner and pilot tubes of your fireplace. The gas= companies add a chemical called Mercaptan to the gas which gives it tha= t lovely odor we all know. Spiders are attracted to the smell of the Mer= captan and will sometimes build webs in the pilot and burner tubes when = the flow of gas is off. So when you go to turn on your fireplace in the = early fall or late summer, it will not work, and you will have to call y= ou local installer to come service the unit. This will cost money."

-- =

Watching his date from the corner of his eye while he poured her a drink= , the young bachelor said, "Say when." She replied, "Right after that drink."

Reply to
Uncle Peter
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Never had a pilot light!

I'd be interested to know what proportion of new boilers have them...

Reply to
Bob Eager

I've never had a new boiler. I take it they start with an electric spark like modern cookers? I've never known a cooker sparker to wear out, so I guess the boilers don't either?

Reply to
Uncle Peter

Don't think a boiler can get a SEDBUK A rating with a permanent pilot light. They consume around 250W which is counted for in the calculation of boiler efficiency (as a heat loss when boiler not firing).

All modern boilers are electronic ignition.

250W continuously costs you around 30p per day, or £50 for 6 months.
Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Of course, it goes off every time it has ignited the gas burner - doesn't yours do that then?

It would only cost that if the pilot light was left on all the time, now because mine only lights up when the electronic igniter turns the gas on and that little blue spark thing does it job and sets the gas alight it save me a lot of cash. Dont yours do that then?

A load of Yankee bollocks (not a Yank are you Uncle Peter?) If you are, then that would explain many things about you. As for spiders building their webs there, when the sparky thing or a match lights the pilot light that will set fire to the webs and the spiders making the gas easier to light after afer its couple of weeks rest in this country and that will stop the installer having to come and service it. I've just thought of something, doesnt an installer fit the gas thingy - it must be bloody expensive where you live then to have to have a new gas boiler fitted every year just because your too dumb to call out gas service engineer rather than an installer?

Uncle Peter, I've refrained from getting involved with your idiotic attempts at posting as if you are an illiterate, but you have given me such a smile at this latest load of bollocks of yours I couldn't resist responding. Thank you

Reply to
Unbeliever

It struck me it would cost a lot of gas over the year (and from what I've read it's anything from £25 to £90 a year).

Then I found this! "With the pilot off, there are still trace amounts of gas molecules in the burner and pilot tubes of your fireplace. The gas companies add a chemical called Mercaptan to the gas which gives it that lovely odor we all know. Spiders are attracted to the smell of the Mercaptan and will sometimes build webs in the pilot and burner tubes when the flow of gas is off. So when you go to turn on your fireplace in the early fall or late summer, it will not work, and you will have to call you local installer to come service the unit. This will cost money."

You mean this

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Reply to
ARW

I have a pilot light on a coal effect gas fire. I turn it off to prevent the wife from lighting the fire - she doesn't know how to light the pilot. Also the pilot does make a bit of noise and creates a hotspot on one of the coals.

Reply to
DerbyBorn

Well you are not that knowledgeable are you really? Petrol cars have "sparkers" AKA spark plugs, and if you drive, then you know that they wear out quite regularly - so why wouldn't those used on boilers and cookers be any different?

You are a little tinker aren't you with your teasing little idiocies?

It's great to see that you really enjoy being laughed at or the butt of many jokes and obscenities.

Reply to
Unbeliever

I'm currently laughing at you, as you don't seem to realise that a car spark plug operates 1000s of times a minute. Your boiler doesn't start that many times in a day.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

Yes.

-- =

If you spin oriental folk till they are dizzy, do they become disoriente= d?

Reply to
Uncle Peter

The only spark thing on mine is manual, and used to light the pilot ligh= t if I've turned it off. The pilot remains on 24/7 ready to ignite the = burner when the boiler decides to run.

Maybe, depends how thick the web in the pipe is. Gas isn't that high a = pressure.

That was a quote from a website, hence the " marks. I never said anythi= ng about an installer or engineer.

Your English above is terrible. "after afer its couple of weeks rest"

-- =

What has got two legs and bleeds? Half a dog!

Reply to
Uncle Peter

Mine ain't modern.

I very much doubt it's as much as 250W. A 250W incandescant lightbulb i= n that position would get a damn sight hotter than my pilot light.

-- =

Take some good advice: Never try to baptize your cat.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

Whatever you do, make sure that you keep the fire going in your steam wagon. It's a pig to get started again if it *does* go out. [I'm assuming that you *do* have a steam wagon - otherwise you'd have to embrace modern technology, which would be anathema to you.]

Reply to
Roger Mills

They do have to spark *slightly* more frequently in a car engine though!

Reply to
cl

You have yet to realise that the principle is the same and erosion occurs at the tips of both.

My boiler fires up quite often during the day and the boiler igniter has been replaced on several occasions due spark erosion at the tip.

Never mind, you'll still be laughed at and be the butt of jokes and abuse simply because of your idiocies while you still continue to post as you do.

Reply to
Unbeliever

Because a spark plug in a petrol engine must spark many 1000's of time every minute, probably billions of times during it's operating life . Cooker and boiler spark electrodes a few times a day.

So yes, whilst they can wear out, it's not that common.

Reply to
Chris French

"Quit often" is probably say thirty times a day. If you drive your car for half an hour each day, that's 45000 sparks from each plug a day. So your boiler spark plug should last 1500 times longer than your car spark plug.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

On Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:19:04 -0000, Roger Mills w= rote:

I'm certainly not stupid enough to spend =A31000+ on getting a new boile= r fitted to save =A350 a year on gas.

-- =

We were supposed to have flying cars in the 21st century. The Internet is cool, but I'd rather have a flying car.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

The you really are an idiot allowing the pilot light to burn in such a manner, only idiots with little knowledge do that these days with the cost of gas the way it is - and you fall into that group!

Who's talking about gas pressure? A match will burn a spider's web alone and when the pilot fires up, then the spider will also fry!

Then it shows your incapability to comprehend the information that you read before re-posting it.

A touch of the Kettle calling the old saucepan black with just a smidgeon of hypocrisy on your part is rather obvious with the lack of your command of the English in your posts - and (from a previous thread) your parrots could teach you a thing or two about language usage.

Still laughing at you old son and enjoying it, so carry on posting the drivel, only keep the foul language down.

Reply to
Unbeliever

I doubt it old son - I drive a diesel and to the best of my knowledge, the don't have spark plugs. They do have four glow plugs though, and while you're spouting inane statistics, I wonder if you could tell me how many times they fire per cycle of a four stroke engine, per cylinder?

LAMAO as usual, your facts lack one important thing - accuracy, which just in case you don't understand the word, there are two dictionary definitions of it below:

1 - The fact of being exact or correct 2 - The ability to do something without making mistakes
Reply to
Unbeliever

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