Gas boiler safety is not always on the top of our list, but if your boiler is left un-serviced it can have disastrous consequences. Ensure your gas boiler remains safe and prevent having to look for a new gas boiler before time. It is usually only when something goes wrong that we think about gas boiler safety.

Gas boiler safety advice

Boiler care plans often have added extras such as Annual Safety and Maintenance inspections. Taking out some sort of boiler cover will help your gas boiler efficiency and prolong the life of your boiler. A safety inspection is great value for money; badly serviced gas appliances are dangerous and can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Guest Article by Louise Goldstein

At this time of year, with the clocks going back, the days shortening and thoughts of next year’s summer way off, most boiler companies are asking their customers to ensure that the clocks on their devices have gone to the correct time.

Most modern day combination condensing boilers come complete with automatic clocks that, like computers, are pre-programmed to adjust to Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time changes.

Boiler manufacturer Worcester is just one that reminds customers to make sure the change has happened correctly, although it points out that most of its models do so of their own accord.

These Worcester boilers have controls for example that automatically adjust to GMT/BST:

• DT20 twin channel digital programmer
• DT20RF digital RF thermostat with twin channel programmer
• TD200 text display
• FW100 weather compensation controller
• FW110 programmable room thermostat.

But even if you think that your boiler is clever enough to stay ahead of the game, now is a good time to check the controls and look again at the timings that will get you through the winter period. And its been well researched that clocks and timing devices that are incorrectly set for the various seasons, can add a considerable amount to a householder’s energy bills.

Make sure that your heating and hot water comes on at the correct times to maximise that expensive energy you are generating.

And while you’re doing that, also give your system the once over as it prepares to cope with the demands of water. Check that the pilot light is burning correctly, that there are no stains around the boiler and that there are no leaks. Do this, but always bear in mind that you can’t do any DIY repairs on your own boiler – it is against the law. Only gas engineers on the Gas Safe Register are allowed to work on boilers so, if you think you have a problem, call one of them. Remember, never play around with you’re a boiler. Adjust the controls certainly, but never think you can service it yourself, or make repairs.

Also, give your system the once over, feeling for cold spots in radiators, muck stuck in water tanks, or any leaks you can see in the piping. Always remember that a central heating system will likely fail on the coldest day, on a Sunday (or it always seems that way), so make sure you check it out.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Proving that it’s not just householders that are coming up short when servicing their gas boilers is news that a hospital in northern Devon has had a boiler fire due to lack of servicing.

The revelations that the gas boiler, which powers the hospital’s heating system, had not been properly maintained came from a former maintenance worker at a tribunal at Exeter. As well as the hospital boiler, he also claimed a number of health and safety issues which he had brought to light were ignored.

He stated that the boiler’s logbook had been falsified, raising doubts as to whether the boiler had indeed been annually serviced as was required.

The tribunal heard that gas boilers should be serviced once a year by approved gas engineers. And that all gas engineers needed to be on the Gas Safe Register. This had taken over from The Corgi registration process which used to oversee gas engineers.

The register should make it easier to find a serviced engineer. More details are available at www.gassaferegister.co.uk, or telephone 0800 408 5500.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Landlords are continuing to find themselves in hot water when it comes to trying to service their own gas boilers.

Another landlord, this one living in Colchester, has fallen foul of The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and has been fined a total of £11,300 by Colchester Magistrates Court for five breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. He was also ordered to pay costs of £8,700.

The charges were brought after the landlord fiddled around with gas boilers in his own rented properties. Two of the charges concerned carrying out work on a gas boiler whilst not competent to do so. In other words, the landlord was not a qualified gas engineer who was not, legally, able to service, or repair a gas device.

This has been the law for years and the Gas Safety Register, run by The Health and Safety Executive HSE, is now the official body which controls a list of qualified engineers and their status, and training. It took over from the CORGI gas registration process on 1st April 2009. The register should make it easier to find a qualified service engineer and more details are available at www.gassaferegister.co.uk, or telephone 0800 408 5500.

The landlord was also found guilty over not making sure a boiler was kept in a safe condition, for not keeping records of any safety checks and not providing for a tenant a safety check record.

An HSE Inspector, Mr Matthew Tackling, said: “The HSE will not hesitate to prosecute landlords who fail to take their responsibilities for safety to their tenants seriously and to follow up on those who fail to co-operate with any investigation or fail to appear in court.”

The HSE has once again issued a reminder to landlords and property developers to bear in mind that although there is currently an economic recession, they should not forget their commitments and responsibilities as regards gas devices.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

All central heating systems that are pressurised systems will need to be repressurised at some point so that they continue to work as efficiently as possible. This generally requires manually topping up the amount of water within the system and although this sounds like a daunting task, anyone can do it as long as they have a good set of instructions and the handbook to their boiler.

Why does this have to be done?
Everyone knows that heating water over and over makes some of it evaporate and this is exactly what happens in your central heating system. Every time you turn your boiler on and heat the water in the system, a small amount of it evaporates and eventually the water pressure begins to fall. If left, the pressure can fall so far that your boiler will stop working and so you need to repressurise the system as soon as you notice a fall. There are other reasons for a fall in pressure, such as leaks in the system, but these will require the help of a professional and shouldn’t be tackled alone.

How do you know your system needs repressurising?
All boilers that are part of a pressurised system will have a very obvious and easy to read pressure gauge which monitors the water pressure within the heating system. This gauge needs to be checked on a monthly basis to see that the pressure is within the recommended levels – these will be noted in the boiler’s handbook. If the pressure has dropped then it’s time to repressurise.

How do you repressurise a boiler system?
Firstly you need to locate your filling loop. This will be located close to the boiler and looks like a stop tap with one end attached to the cold water mains pipe and the other end attached to the central heating system pipe work. Occasionally, the filling loop may not be permanently attached to the heating system and so you will need to attach it first before turning the tap! In some cases the filling loop may be integrated within the boiler itself and you will need the boiler handbook for further instructions.

Once the filling loop is attached to the system you can open the tap but it is best to do this slowly as you don’t want to flood the system. When the tap is opened, cold water is injected into the central heating system and the pressure gauge on the boiler should begin to rise. Make sure you or someone else can see the gauge as you don’t want to over pressurise. If you do slightly over pressurise the system the safety valve will kick in an release the excess pressure but this only works to a certain degree so keep a close eye on the gauge.

When this is done you simply disconnect from the system if need be and check the gauge over the next couple of days to see there are no problems. Most systems only need repressurising every three or four months and then it isn’t by much however it might be worth checking a bit more frequently over the winter months when the boiler is on much more often.

Guest Article by Clare Lynock