A friend at work tells me that it's entirely possible to service your own
gas boiler. He says all you have to do is clean the deposits from the heat
exchanger, and that he's done this himself for the last 15 years on his
current boiler, without it giving him any trouble.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point, is
it advisable?

TIA for any advice.

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:12:50 +0000 (UTC), peak man
wrote:

A friend at work tells me that it's entirely possible to service your own
gas boiler. He says all you have to do is clean the deposits from the heat
exchanger, and that he's done this himself for the last 15 years on his
current boiler, without it giving him any trouble.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point, is
it advisable?

TIA for any advice.


Yes, it is entirely possible to do it yourself. However, you won't be
able to test the combustion gases without a Telegan.

Indeed, afaik the Brit Gas 'service' comprises just a Telegan
reading..nothing is cleaned or replaced unless a suspect reading is
taken.

sPoNiX

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:12:50 +0000 (UTC), peak man
wrote:

A friend at work tells me that it's entirely possible to service your own
gas boiler. He says all you have to do is clean the deposits from the heat
exchanger, and that he's done this himself for the last 15 years on his
current boiler, without it giving him any trouble.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point, is
it advisable?

TIA for any advice.



First of all, do a search in Google Groups for articles on gas fitting
in this group.

One of the significant points is that the law requires you to be (in
effect) a member of CORGI if you want to do gas fitting for others for
reward - i.e. as a job. It does not specifically exclude doing your
own work but requires you to be "competent" to do gas fitting, and
does not specifically define that.

You can take a look at Ed Sirett's gas fitting FAQ to gain an idea of
whether you consider that you are.

THe second point is that in addition to any checks that should be done
regarding the gas pipework (i.e. is it sound?), the manufacturer's
recommended service procedure should be followed.
This will be in the installation and service manual which you can
often download from the manufacturer's web site.

Cleaning is part of that, quite often, but there may be other things.
These checks may involve checking the firing rate, although that is
often do-able by running the boiler and timing the gas meter or a
pressure check at the burner. That requires a manometer which you
can buy for about £15. That is needed for a soundness test anyway.

Increasingly, the manufacturers are recommending flue gas analysis as
part of the set up and service test procedure for their products.
These cost from around £200. If you really wanted to do your own
servicing on an ongoing basis, you would cover the cost in a couple of
years.

The remaining point is that you may have to replace certain parts such
as gaskets as part of the service procedure. Some types of combi
have components in the water valve which will fail after a period of
time and need to be replaced anyway. It is possible to buy spares
from various sources.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:12:50 +0000 (UTC), peak man
wrote:

A friend at work tells me that it's entirely possible to service your own
gas boiler. He says all you have to do is clean the deposits from the
heat
exchanger, and that he's done this himself for the last 15 years on his
current boiler, without it giving him any trouble.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point, is
it advisable?

TIA for any advice.



First of all, do a search in Google Groups for articles on gas fitting
in this group.

One of the significant points is that the law requires you to be (in
effect) a member of CORGI if you want to do gas fitting for others for
reward - i.e. as a job. It does not specifically exclude doing your
own work but requires you to be "competent" to do gas fitting, and
does not specifically define that.

You can take a look at Ed Sirett's gas fitting FAQ to gain an idea of
whether you consider that you are.

THe second point is that in addition to any checks that should be done
regarding the gas pipework (i.e. is it sound?), the manufacturer's
recommended service procedure should be followed.
This will be in the installation and service manual which you can
often download from the manufacturer's web site.

Cleaning is part of that, quite often, but there may be other things.
These checks may involve checking the firing rate, although that is
often do-able by running the boiler and timing the gas meter or a
pressure check at the burner. That requires a manometer which you
can buy for about £15. That is needed for a soundness test anyway.

Increasingly, the manufacturers are recommending flue gas analysis as
part of the set up and service test procedure for their products.
These cost from around £200. If you really wanted to do your own
servicing on an ongoing basis, you would cover the cost in a couple of
years.

The remaining point is that you may have to replace certain parts such
as gaskets as part of the service procedure. Some types of combi
have components in the water valve which will fail after a period of
time and need to be replaced anyway. It is possible to buy spares
from various sources.

Useful info, Andy, thanks.

Mary


.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point,
is it advisable?

This is a case of "if you need to ask, then you shouldn't".

Christian.

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:12:50 +0000 (UTC), peak man
wrote:

A friend at work tells me that it's entirely possible to service your own
gas boiler. He says all you have to do is clean the deposits from the
heat
exchanger, and that he's done this himself for the last 15 years on his
current boiler, without it giving him any trouble.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point, is
it advisable?

TIA for any advice.



First of all, do a search in Google Groups for articles on gas fitting
in this group.

One of the significant points is that the law requires you to be (in
effect) a member of CORGI if you want to do gas fitting for others for
reward - i.e. as a job. It does not specifically exclude doing your
own work but requires you to be "competent" to do gas fitting, and
does not specifically define that.

You can take a look at Ed Sirett's gas fitting FAQ to gain an idea of
whether you consider that you are.

THe second point is that in addition to any checks that should be done
regarding the gas pipework (i.e. is it sound?), the manufacturer's
recommended service procedure should be followed.
This will be in the installation and service manual which you can
often download from the manufacturer's web site.

Cleaning is part of that, quite often, but there may be other things.
These checks may involve checking the firing rate, although that is
often do-able by running the boiler and timing the gas meter or a
pressure check at the burner. That requires a manometer which you
can buy for about £15. That is needed for a soundness test anyway.

Increasingly, the manufacturers are recommending flue gas analysis as
part of the set up and service test procedure for their products.
These cost from around £200. If you really wanted to do your own
servicing on an ongoing basis, you would cover the cost in a couple of
years.

Many so called heating men do not have these (these are usually plumbers
masquerading as heating engineers) and will not touch a boiler which
requires a flue gas analyser. Most regular boilers, like the Baxi combi,
only require the use a U tube tester, which a very cheap to buy, to test the
burner rate and test the pipe system for soundness.

A visual check on the flames is required to see if it is burning yellow.

Most services consist of cleaning the heat exchanger and a visual look at
the burner. Most service men will always ask this question first, "is there
anything wrong with it?" or "any smells from it . If the answer is no, then
they clean the heat exchanger, look to see if anything obvious is amiss and
see if the burner is burning yellow. If not burning yellow then they just
leave it. So, you pay for someone running a brush over your heat exchanger.

A top mounted burner condensing boiler doesn't even require the heat
exchanger cleaning, so having one of these serviced means he may just looks
at the burner and a visual check that nothing is amiss after asking the tell
tale questions to user.

Christian McArdle wrote:

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point,
is it advisable?


This is a case of "if you need to ask, then you shouldn't".

That kind of statement is a little unfair don't you think?

Who is he more competent:

The person who understands some of the points required yet has some
"grey areas" in their knowledge - but dives in and "has a go" anyway,
or, the person who in the situation described, asks questions first
until they understand all of the required activities, and then does the
work?


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Who is he more competent:

The person who understands some of the points required yet has some
"grey areas" in their knowledge - but dives in and "has a go" anyway,
or, the person who in the situation described, asks questions first
until they understand all of the required activities, and then does
the work?

I would say neither are competent to work on gas appliances.

Christian.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point,
is it advisable?

This is a case of "if you need to ask, then you shouldn't".

.... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

I was merely responding directly to the question. The nature of the question
and surrounding text led me to the opinion that the OP would not be
considered competent to service gas appliances. Unless, of course, you
define "helpful" as saying "yes, of course, go ahead", rather than giving an
honest opinion based on the facts that are known or can be deduced, which, I
suspect, the OP would find rather more useful.

Christian.

... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

I was merely responding directly to the question. The nature of the question
and surrounding text led me to the opinion that the OP would not be
considered competent to service gas appliances. Unless, of course, you
define "helpful" as saying "yes, of course, go ahead", rather than giving an
honest opinion based on the facts that are known or can be deduced, which, I
suspect, the OP would find rather more useful.

.... is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
. net...
... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

I was merely responding directly to the question. The nature of the
question
and surrounding text led me to the opinion that the OP would not be
considered competent to service gas appliances. Unless, of course, you
define "helpful" as saying "yes, of course, go ahead", rather than giving
an
honest opinion based on the facts that are known or can be deduced, which,
I
suspect, the OP would find rather more useful.

Seconded.

Mary

Christian.

In article , peak man
writes

... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

I was merely responding directly to the question. The nature of the question
and surrounding text led me to the opinion that the OP would not be
considered competent to service gas appliances. Unless, of course, you
define "helpful" as saying "yes, of course, go ahead", rather than giving an
honest opinion based on the facts that are known or can be deduced, which, I
suspect, the OP would find rather more useful.

... is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

Christian is a regular provider of helpful replies, and advising you to
call in a professional if you aren't sure what to do is another one of
them.
--
Tim Mitchell

peak man wrote:
Christian McArdle wrote:
peak man wrote:
Is it still possible to do this? [ service own gas boiler ]
More to the to the point, is it advisable?

This is a case of "if you need to ask, then you shouldn't".

Well, people find out the answer by asking, generally, and
can then tell whether they can do the job or not. Even CORGIs
learn by instruction!

... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply,
then you shouldn't"?

Well, it was sort of helpful, but evidently not the way you
would have preferred! Hopefully you'll get practical advice
as well.


J.B.

an
honest opinion based on the facts that are known or can be deduced,
which,
I
suspect, the OP would find rather more useful.

Seconded.

Thirded! What the OP should consider is how he would feel if an untrained
person did the work and overlooked something that resulted in death or
injury that is far too common with defective gas appliances. It is quite
evident from the OP that his "friend at work" is not competent to do the
work.

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 17:13:28 +0100
Tim Mitchell wrote:

In article , peak man
writes

... or is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

I was merely responding directly to the question. The nature of the question
and surrounding text led me to the opinion that the OP would not be
considered competent to service gas appliances. Unless, of course, you
define "helpful" as saying "yes, of course, go ahead", rather than giving an
honest opinion based on the facts that are known or can be deduced, which, I
suspect, the OP would find rather more useful.

... is it a case of "if you can't write a helpful reply, then you
shouldn't"?

Christian is a regular provider of helpful replies, and advising you to
call in a professional if you aren't sure what to do is another one of
them.

Very sound advice too.

--
Tim Mitchell

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 09:04:35 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:12:50 (UTC), peak man
wrote:

A friend at work tells me that it's entirely possible to service your own
gas boiler. He says all you have to do is clean the deposits from the
heat
exchanger, and that he's done this himself for the last 15 years on his
current boiler, without it giving him any trouble.

He's got a simple central heating boiler but mine is a combi (a 2-year
old Baxi). Is it still possible to do this? More to the to the point, is
it advisable?

Useful info, Andy, thanks.

Mary

Do you think you could service your wood burning, bronze heat
exchanger, combi-boiler from that info Mary? ;-)

T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 09:04:35 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

snip maintenance tips

Useful info, Andy, thanks.

Mary

Do you think you could service your wood burning, bronze heat
exchanger, combi-boiler from that info Mary? ;-)

I haven't got one. The wood burning oven is still in the pre-planning stage,
the timber drying, stones located and clay found. It won't have a bronze -
or any metal - heat exchanger though.

I'll continue heating water in the cauldron, it's more conducive to
incantations.

Mary
whose servicing is always done by Spouse anyway

T i m