Boilet gasket missing

[Chris1]

Hello, I have 22 year old water tank boiler in a rented house. While the burner was lit yesterday I smelt a very faint smell of gas. It was confirmed it was leaking only when heating up, and yesterday the gas engineer found there was no gasket under the burner.

It could have been like this years, so I wanted to know if a boiler missing a gasket like this would always leak gas? And although in seemed to only be a small amount that couldn't be smelt from outside the boiler cupboard, could a leak like this on a long term basis cause health issues?

Thanks for your time

 

[Deleted member 120897]

Before we can start giving information/opinions we need to know exact make and model of boiler. What did your engineer say when you asked them?

 

[Chris1]

Before we can start giving information/opinions we need to know exact make and model of boiler. What did your engineer say when you asked them?

Thank you, it's a powermax range 140. They said it may have only just started leaking, and it was an electrode gasket that was missing and this was the cause of the leak. Is it possible for a boiler to not leak gas with a missing gasket?

 

[Chuck]

If you couldn't smell the gas it won't have done you any harm. Even at high concentrations it's considered non-toxic but will act as an asphyxiant. You can smell gas at concentrations of around 0.1% in air but it is not fatal (mouse, LD50) until the level reaches roughly 50:50 gas:air. (Assuming it gets to that level without exploding)

 

[Chris1]

Having spoken to the boiler company I finally have the full picture. The boiler is a powermax range 140. The gas leak was from the electrode and they have confirmed is was when looking at this they discovered there was no burner gasket, and hasn't been for years. It has passed every yearly service and gas safety check for the last few years despite unknowlingly having no gasket. I can't see how this is possible but sounds like it has been safe in the past despite the missing gasket as no carbon monoxide or gas leaks were detected during those visits. Does this sound right. Thank you for any input, I am very worried as have been living here for many years.

 

[Chuck]

If you think the boiler was leaking products of combustion including carbon monoxide then my reassuring comments about natural gas, which is what you seemed to be concerned about, are true but irrelevant. Here's the NHS website about CO poisoning:

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Find out about carbon monoxide poisoning, what the symptoms are, what to do if you have it, what causes it, how it is treated, and how to prevent it.

www.nhs.uk

IMO, it's unlikely to have been a problem for you given your description of the circumstances.