On the topic of essential gas safety, clearly what this one is asit is concerned with the position of flue terminals,I am of the opinion that you would be far better to seek professional advice by somebody who can"give it a coat of eyes" as opposed to long winded descriptions of what we can only imagine,is THAT clear enough?
Boiler positioning and flue questions
- Thread starter lukens
- Start date
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With the greatest of respect though if you were asking me these sorts of technical questions face to face I would tell you to do one
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean. Are you a registered gas installer? Do you mean I should ask an installer less technical questions, and it's best not finding anything out first?
I hadn't really realised these questions were even that technical, and I certainly wasn't looking for detailed technical answers, just general "well, you can do that, but it's costly" or "no, you can't do that kind of thing, because of such and such regulation" (such as, in another thread, it was suggested that running a flue up a chimney may be an issue as you need to be able to inspect the flue along it's whole length - though Halstead's do a chimney liner flue, but it is rather pricey).
Anyway, thanks for the advice, from what people have said I do think the best plan will be to leave the boiler where it is (which is a shame really, but certainly least hassle and cost). I'll just have a quick check with the tape measure before getting someone in.
If you did quotes as part of your job, you would find a chap who had a load of half baked 'research from the internet' a bit of a irritation.
If I turn up at a quote and the customer dictates how it is to be done, on the face of it, half my work is done. Unfortunately, the internet jockeys usually have no idea and the quote takes twice as long because they have already designed the system and won't let it drop. I ask them what they want the system to do, and they keep talking instead about hardware items.
My ideal customer tells us what they want the system to do, and where they would ideally like it to be situated. We then understand their requirements and try to design the best solution to deliver.
If you tell a heating engineer what to put in, and where to put it, whose fault is it going to be when it doesn't deliver what you were intending?
Remember, we only have an hour and a bit of 'free' time on site to assess feasibility and locations for your solution. It is totally impractical to design a flue on an internet forum, there are too many unknowns.
If I turn up at a quote and the customer dictates how it is to be done, on the face of it, half my work is done. Unfortunately, the internet jockeys usually have no idea and the quote takes twice as long because they have already designed the system and won't let it drop. I ask them what they want the system to do, and they keep talking instead about hardware items.
My ideal customer tells us what they want the system to do, and where they would ideally like it to be situated. We then understand their requirements and try to design the best solution to deliver.
If you tell a heating engineer what to put in, and where to put it, whose fault is it going to be when it doesn't deliver what you were intending?
Remember, we only have an hour and a bit of 'free' time on site to assess feasibility and locations for your solution. It is totally impractical to design a flue on an internet forum, there are too many unknowns.
As mentioned above, I was more just looking for general advice and opinion. I was not going to pop out and get a boiler and install it myself based on the advice (as yes, I do know that I can't do that - and even if I could, I wouldn't even go there).
Personally, I tend to find it much more useful to weigh up the options before speaking to someone. See what is or isn't even feasible, and get information and input from as many sources as possible. To help me decide what I want to do before I start speaking to people about it.
In many cases this works out quicker than having to call out at least a couple of people (to get at least two opinions on it) and probably on at least two occasions (once to run over the general feasibility of each option, and then again to look at them in more detail, and get quotes).
Anyway, thanks again to those who have taken the time to give their input.
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simond:
Thanks for that, that has actually helped me see thing from the other side a bit more.
As a software developer I know exactly how annoying it is when people are telling you how they want something to work, rather than what they want it to do.
I'm just always reluctant to speak to people about such things before I know if what I'm asking is feasible (or until I can picture in my head how the different options would work). I don't like asking for quotes until I know what it is I'm asking people to quote for. This is possibly also related to being a software engineer (especially the reluctance to speak to people).
Ah well, I guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and pick up the phone - and when I do, I will try to just tell them what I want done, and not how I think it should be done. Ideally I do want the boiler moved, so hopefully they will be able to suggest a solution.
Thanks for that, that has actually helped me see thing from the other side a bit more.
As a software developer I know exactly how annoying it is when people are telling you how they want something to work, rather than what they want it to do.
I'm just always reluctant to speak to people about such things before I know if what I'm asking is feasible (or until I can picture in my head how the different options would work). I don't like asking for quotes until I know what it is I'm asking people to quote for. This is possibly also related to being a software engineer (especially the reluctance to speak to people).
Ah well, I guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and pick up the phone - and when I do, I will try to just tell them what I want done, and not how I think it should be done. Ideally I do want the boiler moved, so hopefully they will be able to suggest a solution.
With the greatest of respect though if you were asking me these sorts of technical questions face to face I would tell you to do one
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean. Are you a registered gas installer? Do you mean I should ask an installer less technical questions, and it's best not finding anything out first?
Yes.
Yes and no.
Your welcome.
Lukens, be aware that some of the people giving "advice" on gas matters on these forums are not even CORGI registered.
Unfortunately the site owners dont even want you to be able to tell who is registered either!
Furthermore some of the advice given by the registered people is not corect either!
Many of them hide behind screen names and hide their real identities and locations making them able to act quite irresponsibly with little chance of any comeback.
Tony
Unfortunately the site owners dont even want you to be able to tell who is registered either!
Furthermore some of the advice given by the registered people is not corect either!
Many of them hide behind screen names and hide their real identities and locations making them able to act quite irresponsibly with little chance of any comeback.
Tony
and some of them blatantly advertise at every opportunity as well
S
sturharv
Oh no not another post that has spiralled into this bickering!!
It happens all to often.
It happens all to often.
Well, it seems it may be back to the drawing board.
After being persuaded that it was best to leave the boiler where it was, I got the tape measure out today, and there is only 530mm between the window and the drain pipe.
I require 300 (distance from window) + 100 (flue diameter) + 150 (distance from pipe) = 550mm, so am coming up 20mm short.
This could possibly be overcome with tonybhoy's suggestion of having the flue terminate proud of the drain pipe, but I'd have to check this was acceptable (both by the boiler manufacturer, and in terms of the listed building consent).
If anyone is willing to give non-specific general information about the pros/cons and possibilities of flue runs and flues up chimneys or wall cavities, it would be appreciated. I'll also investigate the possibility of moving it to the bathroom, but I'm not sure there is space between the wall and window to mount it.
Finally, accepting that I'm going to have to cave and get someone in to take a look, when I pick up the phone to talk to them, what exactly do I ask? "I'm looking at getting a new boiler, and probably relocating it, and was hoping your could come and have a look and offer some advice" - or would I at least need to tempt them by saying I'd want a quote?
After being persuaded that it was best to leave the boiler where it was, I got the tape measure out today, and there is only 530mm between the window and the drain pipe.
I require 300 (distance from window) + 100 (flue diameter) + 150 (distance from pipe) = 550mm, so am coming up 20mm short.
This could possibly be overcome with tonybhoy's suggestion of having the flue terminate proud of the drain pipe, but I'd have to check this was acceptable (both by the boiler manufacturer, and in terms of the listed building consent).
If anyone is willing to give non-specific general information about the pros/cons and possibilities of flue runs and flues up chimneys or wall cavities, it would be appreciated. I'll also investigate the possibility of moving it to the bathroom, but I'm not sure there is space between the wall and window to mount it.
Finally, accepting that I'm going to have to cave and get someone in to take a look, when I pick up the phone to talk to them, what exactly do I ask? "I'm looking at getting a new boiler, and probably relocating it, and was hoping your could come and have a look and offer some advice" - or would I at least need to tempt them by saying I'd want a quote?
I started two threads on here the other day, and both have deteriorated into bickering. That's impressive for any forum!Oh no not another post that has spiralled into this bickering!!
It happens all to often.
Well, mainly because a quote isn't really what I'm after now. What I'm after is help on making a decision on what would be the best solution, so that I can then apply for listed building consent if necessary (and at least check with the conservation and planning officer if it would be necessary).
Though, cost would come in to the decision of which solution to go for, an exact quote wouldn't really be necessary, and it wouldn't necessarily be the overriding factor.
At this point I really just want to be able to weigh up what is or isn't a realistic option, decide which would be the most desirable solution, and get any necessary consent. I don't want to ask for a quote until I know what other plumbing work I'll want quoted for (like repositioning radiators, etc...).
I guess I'd just feel dishonest asking for a quote, when that wasn't technically what I wanted. I'm thinking though that I may get British Gas or Southern Electric in to do a quote, as I'd feel less dishonest asking them. However, they say they send a 'Heating Sales Advisers' to do the quote - and I guess they may not have enough knowledge to advise on the different options.
Just ask someone to come out for a 'survey' and pay for that.
Have to say that would be a first,certainly for me.
Admire your honesty though so tell the punter on the blower the same thing.
You'll probably get a few knock backs initially but persevere,we are not all money grabbing bassas
Have to say that would be a first,certainly for me.
Admire your honesty though so tell the punter on the blower the same thing.
You'll probably get a few knock backs initially but persevere,we are not all money grabbing bassas
OK, so my current thinking is the bathroom. However, I see that raises yet more issues.
However, am I right in thinking that if it is in Zone 3 then all is OK? Does it also need to be in a compartment/cupboard of some kind? It probably will be anyway, but is this a requirement?
However, am I right in thinking that if it is in Zone 3 then all is OK? Does it also need to be in a compartment/cupboard of some kind? It probably will be anyway, but is this a requirement?
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