"EN" wrote in message
...
I've become very concerned by the discussion below about servicing gas
boilers and landlords. Can anyone advise about oil boilers

Yes

and how often
they should be serviced? By whom? And landlords responsibilities? I can
only seem to find out about gas appliances, the rules don't mention oil.
Presumably because they're not dangerous? Or some other reason?

Oil boilers do need regular servicing mostly because oil has an ash and
sulphur content which after combustion deposits on the surfaces of the heat
exchanger. A thin coating of such forms an insulating barrier which results
in expensive heat being ejected from the flue rather than absorbed into the
waterways. Also pertinent is the deposit of fluff etc on the combustion fan
blades and within the air intake ports. Sufficient of this means the
air/fuel ratio varies leading to soot formation. Fortunately it is pretty
difficult to make a pressure jet boiler produce Carbon Monoxide in any
serious quantity but soot is dirty and blocks the flueways as well as acting
as an even better insulator blocking heat transfer even more.

My house is rented and the boiler was serviced three and a half years ago.
when he arranged it the landlord said it was my responsibility thereafter.

Unlike gas appliances there isn't any legally specified interval or
obligation on the landlord so he was able to formally pass the buck to you
on this duty.

I need to get this done now I expect. Beside the boiler what other
aspects of heating should be checked out? Pump? timer? Thermostat? Or
would that all be part of a general service.

Its usually advised that oil boilers should be serviced annually. I know of
people who don't do this but when the unit does fail its a double or treble
sized job to get the thing back into good order again. Not to mention your
additional running costs due to heat not being fully utilised.


Any thoughts gratefully received. thanks
Liz

Depending where you are geographically oil service engineers may be thin on
the ground. The major oil companies often have personnel available but its
best to keep in mind that the people who sell you oil aren't neccessarily
the best ones to keep your usage down g.
If you are in the Hull/East Riding area maybe I can help?