The good, the bad and the ugly

Thegoodthebad+theugly

We want your pictures

Registered Gas Engineer wants to see your pictures – whether you’ve come across some horrors or instances of really good work. And there’s a prize for the best one: so go on, get writing and email your stories and pictures to editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk or via Twitter @RGEMag

Jamie Newman

traced a gas escape to this old isolation valve, which had been ‘plugged’ with a cork and chewing gum. Jamie rectified the situation by removing the valve and sealing the pipework with an appropriate fitting. M Shipman soon identified the source of an intermittent fault on the boiler. A towel had been wrapped around the chimney termination to stop ‘dripping’ from the terminal on to occupants seated directly below. The towel has been removed.

Joe Davies was called to check this LPG boiler installation and found black tape wrapped around a gas pipe in an attempt to repair a gas escape. He made safe immediately.

How not to attach two sections of the exhaust flue duct of a boiler chimney: using duct tape rather than a 45° fitting. Colin Marman made safe and a new boiler has now been installed.

Michael Dawson

found this red plastic plug in place of a meter test point nipple while he was carrying out a landlord’s gas safety record check. Michael made safe and advised the landlord.

Jeff Micklethwaite

saw this inadequately supported gas meter when he was asked to service a gas fire. He refitted the meter box securely. Andy Sawyer sent us this picture to highlight the problems he found on a boiler wiring harness and electrode leads caused by a cracked combustion cover sight glass on the boiler.

Kevin Totterdell

found not one but two boiler chimney terminations in this jungle of foliage. The vegetation has now been cleared.

After Gary Brown had carried out a boiler service, the customer asked him to check the ‘room-sealed’ space heater in the bathroom. A conservatory had been added on the other side of the wall and the chimney had been removed so that the products of combustion were dispersing into the cavity wall. Gary made safe and disconnected the appliance from the gas supply.

We may share some of your pictures on social media, so remember to include your contact details so we can tag you (or let us know if you’d rather we didn’t).

Thegoodthebad+theugly

This month’s winner

While Carl Fisher was working on a gas fire and carrying out a tightness test, he found that the customer had cut the boiler chimney where it enters the cupboard, apparently to help dry towels. It had been further modified to allow products of combustion to exit through the cupboard to outside. Carl made safe.

Jason Hearn’s customer said there were strange noises coming from their boiler. Jason investigated and found the burner damaged, which he replaced and the left the boiler working correctly. Murat Karakas soon discovered why his customer’s hob had never worked properly: too much jointing compound.

Photo prize Win

There’s a prize for the best photos sent in (in our opinion). Please remember to take pictures at high resolution and email them to editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk

This month, Anton by Crowcon is giving away a Clip CO personal carbon monoxide alarm – a tough, lightweight, reliable and durable fixed-life, maintenance-free personal CO protection alarm with pocket clip.

The Clip has audible, visual and vibrate alarms at 30ppm and 100ppm, plus a sensor range of 0-300ppm. It has a two-year, maintenance-free fixed life PLUS on-screen life duration countdown, self-test and ingress protection to IP66 and IP67.

Details of the Clip CO alarm and many more products – as well as fast two-day turnaround on FGA servicing – can be found at

www.shop.crowcon.com

This month’s winner is Carl Fisher from Wolverhampton. Congratulations!