Boiler - can a pipe nut work itself loose over time?

Lysander

Lysander

Lysander

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After a shower this morning I found water pouring out of the bottom of the boiler cupboard coming from a pipe near the floor. Repairman came round - same guy who installed the new boiler two weeks ago - and immediately said, "who did this??!" implying someone loosed the nut.

Could the nut have worked itself loose over time, over the last two weeks? And surely this shouldn't be happening?
 
As above - yes, IF it wasnt properly tightened in the first place. Very unlikely otherwise (would have to be some extreme vibrations to loosen a properly tightened compression fitting).

So it sounds like he's blaming himself when he says "who did this??!".
 
£10 says it was him.

I had some obnoxiously expensive valves replaced on my boiler.

Bit later on it's leaking water.

I call the guy back.

He didn't tighten everything correctly.
 
Thanks everyone. He tightened it properly, we'll keep an eye on it. It probably was him and he probably knows it.
 
Next issue with this boiler - we have detected a very slight smell coming from the boiler cupboard in the last few days but haven't been able to identify it. On inspection last night we found that the boiler wall switch was hot - very hot - so much so that the plastic of the switch has started to melt.

We have turned it off in case it causes an electrical fire. We contacted the landlord so he could send a DIFFERENT guy for a second opinion rather than the normal guy and he just continually insisted that he had to send the same guy. He's worked for the landlord for apparently 20 years or so so obviously they get a good deal with him.

What could be causing this? Too high a boiler temperature setting? I fear we are just going to continually play whack-a-mole here until/unless we get someone else.
 
Melting of the switch points to a loose connection in there. Often on cheap fittings the terminals are poor. This is more common than you would expect.
 
200sols said:
Melting of the switch points to a loose connection in there. Often on cheap fittings the terminals are poor. This is more common than you would expect.
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Thanks, maybe also it's because he routed the old cable to the wall socket, and the old cable can't 'take' a modern, faster boiler? Will report back after his visit.
 
Guess 1: What may have happened is he may have used a paste sealant on the pipe. Some plumbers do anything and everything to avoid leaks. Thing is that if the "nut" was not tightened fully then the paste will slowly get pushed out until it leaks. This can happen from hours to days after fitting.

Guess 2: It's difficult to imagine that the unit is taking so much power that it's overheating the switch so it's more than likely a fault with the switch itself. This is because boilers don't take a lot of power and the switches are usually overrated. So, either there is contamination in the switch or it has not been tightened up correctly. Since you say it's an old cable, could also be that the cable is contaminated.
 
pp111 said:
So, either there is contamination in the switch or it has not been tightened up correctly. Since you say it's an old cable, could also be that the cable is contaminated.
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Can you say a bit more about this? What has not been tightened up cofrrectly? The first time he left site the front of the switch was hanging off and we had to get him to retighten it when he was next there. So the issue may be linked to that too?
 
Lysander said:
Can you say a bit more about this? What has not been tightened up cofrrectly? The first time he left site the front of the switch was hanging off and we had to get him to retighten it when he was next there. So the issue may be linked to that too?
Click to expand...

Is this person an electrician :confused:

Inside the switch are terminals for the cable to wire into, if they are not sufficently tightened or you get a poor contact it can cause arcing which leads to heat and melting. The outer faceplate being loose is not the cause of the melting but it does bring into question the general standard of the work carried out.
 
200sols said:
Inside the switch are terminals for the cable to wire into, if they are not sufficently tightened or you get a poor contact it can cause arcing which leads to heat and melting. The outer faceplate being loose is not the cause of the melting but it does bring into question the general standard of the work carried out.
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Indeed it does. In fact this is the second or third time he's had to come back since the boiler was fitted. I don't know if he's an electrician as such, probably just a general handyman - he tiled the bathroom and replaced the bath too [I imagine an electrician would not tile a bathroom].
 
Lysander said:
Indeed it does. In fact this is the second or third time he's had to come back since the boiler was fitted. I don't know if he's an electrician as such, probably just a general handyman - he tiled the bathroom and replaced the bath too [I imagine an electrician would not tile a bathroom].
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The landlord has a duty of care to ensure the work is carried out correctly and safely. Doesn't sound like they are doing that.
 
He came back and took the wall switch off. One of the connector terminals was black and fell apart. He said it was his apprentice. Personally I don't care who did it, I don't like these workmen being attached to the property in the first place.
 
Lysander said:
He came back and took the wall switch off. One of the connector terminals was black and fell apart. He said it was his apprentice. Personally I don't care who did it, I don't like these workmen being attached to the property in the first place.
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I don't blame you, this sounds like a right bodge. Landlord clearly doesn't want to pay for a proper sparky.
 
Lysander said:
Can you say a bit more about this? What has not been tightened up cofrrectly? The first time he left site the front of the switch was hanging off and we had to get him to retighten it when he was next there. So the issue may be linked to that too?
Click to expand...

Well he seems to have a bit of a thing with failing to tighten stuff up! If he has left the screws in the terminals loose then there could be arcs and so heat.
This could also happen if the ends of the wire is contaminated.
 
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