Boiler Condemned :(

dodgem said:
Where did you hear that??? 99.9% sure that's untrue.

Did you know that you can actually fit your own boiler including doing the gas work? Not that I would recommend it to anyone, but it's not illegal to do so in your own home.
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are you joking?

you can fit a pipe yeah and maybe you're getting it ready to be used for gas but someone gas safe registered would have to commision the work and you'll find it hard to get someone out if they know you've been messing on..

but it can be done, the only trouble is, if it was me, i'd be pulling everything you had done to bits, boiler back off the wall and pipes all apart before i'd start putting my name to anything you had done..

please stop telling people its fine to work on gas while you're on..

this thread should be locked or you should be banned, you're going to get someone killed
 
Mickie said:
are you joking?

you can fit a pipe yeah and maybe you're getting it ready to be used for gas but someone gas safe registered would have to commision the work and you'll find it hard to get someone out if they know you've been messing on..

but it can be done, the only trouble is, if it was me, i'd be pulling everything you had done to bits, boiler back off the wall and pipes all apart before i'd start putting my name to anything you had done..

please stop telling people its fine to work on gas while you're on..

this thread should be locked or you should be banned, you're going to get someone killed
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You only need to be Gas Safe registered if you are receiving payment for the work. The regs make a distinction between someone doing work for payment or not, and as I said, you simply need to be competent. The problem is that there is no definition of competent. If I were to install my own boiler and it worked fine for x number of years just as if it had been installed by a Gas Safe installer, then that could be taken as a sign of competency...

And please, I am not telling people it's fine to work on gas, I said it's not illegal, and I also said that I would not recommend anyone to do it...
 
dodgem said:
That looks pretty nice paddy :) Seems to be similarly priced to the Viessmann I've bought and has the option of using optimum start with weather compensation which I don't think mine will do :mad:

Still, too late for me to go changing my mind now. Does the ATAG have an option for using a mixer kit out of interest? (Hoping you say no, so that I know i did choose the right boiler for me ;) )
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No idea to be honest :)

Although if we do a house extension that will have UFH, so hopefully something can be done with it.

When it comes to it I'll give them a ring and ask what they recommend, they've been very helpful on the couple of times I've rung them.

Our plumber (a WB man) has never seen any of their domestic stuff but he admitted he thinks it awesome.

Enough of making you doubt yourself :p
 
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Bah, my 20 year old vailant was great, until the heating/water solenoid valve went. It was replaced with a baxi combi, which less than 3 years down the line has a 'fan/flue' error that causes the boiler not to ignite; manual says something about the air pressure switch, plumber man says common fault, even the baxi engineers don't really know what it could be except maybe a dry joint on the control board.

I was enjoying a hot shower yesterday morning, when the water suddenly went cold... :mad:
 
Mickie said:
really? do you fancy giving me your name and address and i'll give gas safe a ring tomorrow morning.. thanks
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Lol, no. You can call Gas Safe and check the legality of the situation without any of my details ;)

For your peace of mind, I am not installing or commissioning my boiler. I am doing all the plumbing work and then a Gas Safe plumber is going to hang the boiler on the wall and commission it.

As you have alluded to, it is very hard to find someone willing to do that, but after much searching I finally found someone who will. He naturally wanted to check my work first and has already seen the plumbing I have done up to this point and has said he is quite happy with the standard of work, and will do a gas leak test at the time of commissioning.

I consider myself very handy with errrr my hands, and I doubt I would have much difficulty installing my boiler, but it's better to be safe than sorry isn't it!
 
you arent gas safe registered so you arent competent no matter how good you are with your hands.. you havent got a clue when it comes down to knowing anything about gas..
 
Mickie said:
you arent gas safe registered so you arent competent no matter how good you are with your hands..
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Being Gas Safe registered is not a requirement of proving competency, but you must be Gas Safe registered if you are receiving payment for the work. Call them tomorrow to check.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2451/regulation/3/made

3.—(1) No person shall carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or gas storage vessel unless he is competent to do so.
(2) .......
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (1) and (2) above and subject to paragraph (4) below, no employer shall allow any of his employees to carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or service pipework and no self-employed person shall carry out any such work, unless the employer or self-employed person, as the case may be, is a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of this paragraph.

Part 3.3 above refers specifically to employers, employees, and self-employed persons, i.e. those receiving payment, being a member of a class of persons, i.e Gas Safe.
Part 3.1 does not mention being a member of Gas Safe or any other body as being a measure of competency. There is no definition of competency in the Legislation.

you havent got a clue when it comes down to knowing anything about gas..
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You haven't got a clue when it comes down to knowing what i do or do not know... :rolleyes:
 
you've said you're paying someone to carry out your gas work..

to be competent you'd have to go through some sort of training, if you havent, you arent competent..
 
I'm paying someone yes. Am I his employer? No. So I don't need to be Gas Safe registered, he does!

Are you competent at changing a car tyre?
Are you competent at changing a light bulb?
Are you competent at making a roast dinner?
Are you competent at building your own pc?
Have you been through training for these things? Do you have a cooking certificate?

Listen, I understand that it is potentially dangerous for most people to do their own gas work, and I have specifically said that I wouldn't recommend anyone to do it.

I said that if you are competent, it is not illegal to do your own gas work, and that the regs do not define competent. That is true, and no amount of bluster on your part will change that so can we please leave it now?
 
jak731 said:
Cheap/easy fix? Been thinking about getting a magnaclean filter fitted as that's fairly cheap, I imagine there is loads of gunk in the system.
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Replacing a mid-position valve is both cheap and easy. Make sure that you turn off the power to your valve controller/wiring centre first though, and of course drain the system of water!

Plumbers I have spoken to have generally recommended fitting a magnaclean. As you say, they aren't expensive so you may as well!!
 
magnaclean's arent expensive if you think £100 is poket money..

anyway, i think you've been smoking something and you've got it in your head its ok to work on gas, that anyone who can change a light bulb can also work on gas..

you're getting mixed up, ring gas safe your self and ask them if they think its ok for you to work on gas..
 
eXor said:
:eek:

I'd rather die than take a cold shower.

I'd look for the nearest neighbour / friend / family to impose on.

Failing that, worst case scenario would be immersion heater + bucket + jug. :p
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I dunno, I'm kind of getting used to them now, its a wake up call that's for sure.
 
Mickie said:
magnaclean's arent expensive if you think £100 is poket money..

anyway, i think you've been smoking something and you've got it in your head its ok to work on gas, that anyone who can change a light bulb can also work on gas..

you're getting mixed up, ring gas safe your self and ask them if they think its ok for you to work on gas..
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Hate to tell you Mickie but your wrong!

Anyone can work on the gas in ther own home provvided they are a 'competent' person it does not say you need to be a member of a professional body certifying you as a competent person. The term competent has never been tested in a court of law for gas fitting so there is no definition, you only need to be gas safe registered if you are taking payment from someone.

You've seen the regs quoted and been told the facts by two people, if you really still don't believe it ring up gas safe and ask.

Just to make it even more amusing working on gas isn't all that difficult and certainly no more challenging than doing normal plumbing and installing a gas boiler is stupidly straight forward have a look at the instructions if you don't believe me!
 
dodgem said:
Listen, I understand that it is potentially dangerous for most people to do their own gas work, and I have specifically said that I wouldn't recommend anyone to do it.

I said that if you are competent, it is not illegal to do your own gas work, and that the regs do not define competent. That is true, and no amount of bluster on your part will change that so can we please leave it now?
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The regs may not define a competent person, but if anything bad happened I would expect the courts be going along the lines of a competent person is one who had received proper training etc... Also if you blew your house up or Co your family to death I would expect manslaughter charges/no insurance.
 
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