It was patently obvious you had no idea what you were doing. the fact that you got one of BG's decent engineers was more by luck than judgement, as is survival of your eyebrows.
Boiler only fires up when plenum chamber cover is removed
- Thread starter Sarie
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It was patently obvious you had no idea what you were doing. the fact that you got one of BG's decent engineers was more by luck than judgement, as is survival of your eyebrows.
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So we DIYers who don't know what we doing apparently do know what we're doing and had we actually spotted the kink we'd probably have had a working boiler again...
Probably not, the fault is far more likely to be the clogged fan/venturi which I doubt you could have made the leap to.
I'm sure many of us were thinking that but certainly were not going to tell you about it incase you cocked it up.
OH had already taken the view that the fan/venturi was the next bit to look at if the APS didn't fix it but we had decided enough was enough and we wanted it fixing safely by an engineer (he'd made the leap to that because if you tapped the fan the boiler would often kick in and it's also related to air flow).
But our assumption that it was air related was correct whereas we'd been getting messages from engineers suggesting that some part of the gas train was likely to be at fault and implying we were ignorant for suspecting air flow. Heh.
Love how we got so much abuse on some other forums when enquiring about this when it turns out we were pretty much right
I'm just glad we finally have hot water again and now have boiler cover so we don't have to worry about anymore issues in future and can just call out an engineer free of charge.
If you knew what you were doing you would have known the APS is the last thing to change.
G
GasBod
Sticking your head in it?
You might not need to if the flames jump out at you, but then the OP knew that... because they read the manual....
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It doesn't cost anything to be polite you know.
This would be why we went with BG in the end, because there are too many arrogant independents out there who treat you like filth because you dare to suggest you've looked into a fault yourself.
We told the BG engineer we thought we had an air issue and he agreed.. there were none of the snide replies about us blowing ourselves up. He just said it sounded likely and he'd take a look for us.
As for flames jumping out, I think you guys have misunderstood which cover we removed. The flames and the gas were safely behind glass at all times and the cover we removed didn't have any seals on it. Pressure in the boiler was fine.
I think you'll also find if you know anything about the Ravenheat model we have that the APS failing is a common fault and is actually the first thing to look at, not the last. BG engineer looked at that first too.
Very glad we went with a BG engineer now. Will stick with them and give the arrogant and rude internet responses a miss in future.
Oddly enough I had a similar experience recently whereby an "expert" at a garage told me to "leave it to the experts love, you don't know what you're talking about" when I told him my release bearing was seized on my clutch. Suffice to say my clutch went pop about 20 miles later after the expert told me it was fine.
I usually trust the experts in their trades, but not when they're totally arrogant.
I see those of you with thousands of posts don't care much for setting a good example around new posters. On other forums I used usually the experienced members are expected to at least attempt to be friendly and civilised.
This would be why we went with BG in the end, because there are too many arrogant independents out there who treat you like filth because you dare to suggest you've looked into a fault yourself.
We told the BG engineer we thought we had an air issue and he agreed.. there were none of the snide replies about us blowing ourselves up. He just said it sounded likely and he'd take a look for us.
As for flames jumping out, I think you guys have misunderstood which cover we removed. The flames and the gas were safely behind glass at all times and the cover we removed didn't have any seals on it. Pressure in the boiler was fine.
I think you'll also find if you know anything about the Ravenheat model we have that the APS failing is a common fault and is actually the first thing to look at, not the last. BG engineer looked at that first too.
Very glad we went with a BG engineer now. Will stick with them and give the arrogant and rude internet responses a miss in future.
Oddly enough I had a similar experience recently whereby an "expert" at a garage told me to "leave it to the experts love, you don't know what you're talking about" when I told him my release bearing was seized on my clutch. Suffice to say my clutch went pop about 20 miles later after the expert told me it was fine.
I usually trust the experts in their trades, but not when they're totally arrogant.
I see those of you with thousands of posts don't care much for setting a good example around new posters. On other forums I used usually the experienced members are expected to at least attempt to be friendly and civilised.
M
mysteryman
Good for you, Sarie, I'm glad to see that your problem is now fixed.
There are some characters on here who don't actually want to be helpful, although they may well have a genuine concern for your safety.
The other thing is this: If a safety device operates, it does not necessarily mean that the device is faulty - it may be doing its job and indicating correctly a fault condition, in your case poor airflow. This is confirmed by the boiler running without the plenum cover on; the issue may have been a dirty fan or flue or air intake.
Not all B Gas guys are as good as yours; you have been lucky.
It is not illegal for a householder to work on his own boiler if he or she is competent. It is illegal for him or her to work on anybody else's boiler, even if it is free of charge. Think of the recent explosion which killed one person and destroyed several houses in Bolton, or wherever it was, it seems that an amateur MAY have caused that.
There are some characters on here who don't actually want to be helpful, although they may well have a genuine concern for your safety.
The other thing is this: If a safety device operates, it does not necessarily mean that the device is faulty - it may be doing its job and indicating correctly a fault condition, in your case poor airflow. This is confirmed by the boiler running without the plenum cover on; the issue may have been a dirty fan or flue or air intake.
Not all B Gas guys are as good as yours; you have been lucky.
It is not illegal for a householder to work on his own boiler if he or she is competent. It is illegal for him or her to work on anybody else's boiler, even if it is free of charge. Think of the recent explosion which killed one person and destroyed several houses in Bolton, or wherever it was, it seems that an amateur MAY have caused that.
Thanks mysteryman.
Yeah I think we probably were lucky to get a decent BG engineer as I know people who have had issues with them in the past to be fair. We ended up going with them because of the fixed price and piece of mind as we knew then that the cost wouldn't escalate and we'd definitely get a gas safe engineer. The fact he ended up being a really good engineer was a pleasant surprise
The BG engineer thought it was likely to be a combination of a dirty fan and the kink in one of the air hoses he found, so thankfully an easy enough fix. I'm relieved to know the boiler has been looked over by an engineer and properly serviced now though so we know it's all safe. The paperwork should also help us when we come to sell the house and having boiler cover is piece of mind as now I know the OH isn't going to try to fix it again in future
I understand genuine safety concerns totally and am thankful for any concern; I was becoming concerned myself to be honest as the OH was far more keen to continue poking about than I was (although we'd have never touched any of the gas connections, ever!).
It was the tone of the comments that offended me .. had the responses been along the lines of "It's really not safe to do the work you're doing, I think it'd be best to get an engineer out to assess your boiler safely" then I'd have been far less cheesed off. Rather than people rudely implying that I was an idiot; I may be many things but I'm not an idiot
I didn't realise it wasn't illegal for a householder to work on his own boiler. I thought it was legal to work on none-gas components but I assumed anything directly gas related was illegal to touch without qualifications, even on your own boiler.
As for the gas explosion in Bolton, that's another reason we wanted to call out BG in the end as the previous "engineer" we'd had to look at our boiler claimed to be gas safe but he never provided any proof so who knows.. he didn't really seem to have much of a clue.
Anyway, we got there in the end so thanks for the couple of genuinely helpful/friendly replies .. as for the other responses, a few of you could do to take a trip to charm school as if you speak to your customers the way you've spoken to me you're likely to end up out of work.
Yeah I think we probably were lucky to get a decent BG engineer as I know people who have had issues with them in the past to be fair. We ended up going with them because of the fixed price and piece of mind as we knew then that the cost wouldn't escalate and we'd definitely get a gas safe engineer. The fact he ended up being a really good engineer was a pleasant surprise
The BG engineer thought it was likely to be a combination of a dirty fan and the kink in one of the air hoses he found, so thankfully an easy enough fix. I'm relieved to know the boiler has been looked over by an engineer and properly serviced now though so we know it's all safe. The paperwork should also help us when we come to sell the house and having boiler cover is piece of mind as now I know the OH isn't going to try to fix it again in future
I understand genuine safety concerns totally and am thankful for any concern; I was becoming concerned myself to be honest as the OH was far more keen to continue poking about than I was (although we'd have never touched any of the gas connections, ever!).
It was the tone of the comments that offended me .. had the responses been along the lines of "It's really not safe to do the work you're doing, I think it'd be best to get an engineer out to assess your boiler safely" then I'd have been far less cheesed off. Rather than people rudely implying that I was an idiot; I may be many things but I'm not an idiot
I didn't realise it wasn't illegal for a householder to work on his own boiler. I thought it was legal to work on none-gas components but I assumed anything directly gas related was illegal to touch without qualifications, even on your own boiler.
As for the gas explosion in Bolton, that's another reason we wanted to call out BG in the end as the previous "engineer" we'd had to look at our boiler claimed to be gas safe but he never provided any proof so who knows.. he didn't really seem to have much of a clue.
Anyway, we got there in the end so thanks for the couple of genuinely helpful/friendly replies .. as for the other responses, a few of you could do to take a trip to charm school as if you speak to your customers the way you've spoken to me you're likely to end up out of work.
G
gaswizzard
You've admitted removing combustion box front cover which you should not have done so , the combustion box front cover DOES use a seal , there is not a GLASS DOOR on these boilers , the only glass would be the small viewing window which is attached to the combustion box front cover.
Plenum chamber IS the combustion box front cover to which you later say you/others did NOT remove , so which is it?
G
gaswizzard
The air pressure switch is located at the rear of the combustion box so no need to remove combustion cover to which you DID.
No misunderstanding at all , you removed combustion cover which utilizes a seal , as for the 'glass' what the hell are you talking about?
Are we confusing the outer case and the combustion cover?
G
GasBod
is this a positive pressure boiler?
Irrelevant though it is the answer is on page one
If you know the boiler, and what you are doing; then you should know the answer is covered on page 1. Do you need a forum tutorial Tony?
Clearly you are as daft as you had been made out to be.
If you were that clever why did you post on an internet forum and then why did you have to call a gas engineer.
Dafty.
If you were that clever why did you post on an internet forum and then why did you have to call a gas engineer.
Dafty.
Just to conclude this thread...
We called British Gas out in the end as they offered to do a fixed price repair and service for £99 if we signed up for their boiler cover for 12 months which we wanted to do anyway.
They came out and as it turns out it was indeed the Air Pressure Switch; there was a slight kink in one of the pipes we'd overlooked. The fan was also a little clogged with muck. Once cleaned out the whole thing worked just fine.
The first thing the engineer did when he arrived was to remove the plenum cover and fire up the boiler and then say "Ah must be a fault with your air pressure switch".
So we DIYers who don't know what we doing apparently do know what we're doing and had we actually spotted the kink we'd probably have had a working boiler again...
Anyway, he did a full service and we're now covered for anymore mishaps so thanks for the advice folks. Clearly we're not as daft as some of you made out
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