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

David Roberts was checking the gas supply pipework to an old fire point and found this gas fire isolation valve in situ. He made safe by removing and capping the supply to the fire using an appropriate fitting. Ralph Gregory’s customer said they had insulated their condensate pipework but their boiler still wasn’t working. Ralph could see why.

This month’s winner

The wall to this property had been chased out to accommodate the boiler chimney and plume displacement kit, as found by Garry Coppard, who made safe. The expansion vessel to this boiler installation, fitted just 12 months previously, was sited in a washing-up bowl on of top a bamboo table. Andrew Turner soon put things right.

Mark Warner’s customer had to agree that their water heater was beyond repair. Mark isolated the appliance in accordance with IGEM/G/11 and has now replaced it. Chris Bonner’s photo shows the air intake duct of a boiler chimney completely frozen because of a dripping overflow pipe from the toilet cistern in the flat above. The problem and the cause have both been rectified.

Scott Barnfield was on a routine maintenance inspection when he saw that the chimney had rusted through the air intake duct of the boiler’s chimney, exposing the flueways. Scott made safe.

Derek McGuire was changing a sink and noticed a smell of gas. The hob had been fitted using plumbing pipework. Derek refitted it correctly and re-routed the electrical cables at the recommended safe distance from the gas supply.

John Vanes and Naim Aziz

spotted this plumbing fitting used as an isolation device to a gas fire while they were carrying out a landlord’s gas safety record check. The supply to the fire was disconnected and capped upstream of the gate valve using the correct fittings.

Steve Williams

found the source of a reported gas escape from this joint under the floorboards: 8mm pipework feeding a gas fire had been pushed into 10mm pipework and soldered. Steve replaced the pipework. When Doug Forbes unearthed a wasps’ nest inside the boiler, he went beyond the call of duty and removed the nest without any additional costs to his service so that his customer was not ‘stung’.

When Ross Booth was asked to find out why a strange smell was coming from the fire, he soon saw that the chimney had been blocked by a bird.

Thegoodthebad+theugly

Steve Smith’s customer had had a wasp’s nest in their boiler last year and was determined that it wouldn’t happen again. Steve removed the obstruction from the chimney and advised his customer accordingly. Water had entered this meter box and frozen at the bottom due to an illfitting lid and leaves blocking the vent holes – leaving the emergency control valve inoperable.

Mike Di Bernardo

removed the block of ice and rectified the situation.

Thank you to PRO-Tech, who found a forest of twigs and debris blocking this gas fire chimney on a service visit. The obstructions were removed and the installation was left working safely.

Stuart Mercer

removed the chimney from an old boiler that he was replacing. His photo illustrates the importance of sealing the chimney correctly to the fabric of the building.

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 Ralph Gregory from Northampton. Congratulations!