Flue mess

[steads]

Please help I have a floor mounted ideal boiler , flue liner goes up through a flue out via a hood /cowl , for the past 3 months this wet oily sludge has been working its way down the flue collecting in the bottom and when the heat from the flue warms it up it seeps down the inside and outside of the flue pipe in the kitchen making hell of a mess on the boiler and round the floor and walls , i have checked the chimney stack to see if water could be getting in nothing visible or obvious, i have checked tanks in loft bone dry and tank in airing cupboard bone dry, to try and stop the oily sludge leaking into the kitchen i have applied fire cement round the collar that buts up to the base of the flue, and i have cleaned out the base of the flue / chimney best i can, the flue liner goes through a hole in the concrete slab at the base then sits into the collar on the top of the pipe in the kitchen, where the flue pipe goes through the hole in the concrete slab there i a half inch gap all the way round the flue pipe this is where the sludge sits then seeps through when warmed up , what i want to know is there any sort of heat proof liquid sealer that i can pour into the gap that hardens when cured and keeps the moisture out , i really don`t want to replace boiler and get rid of stack as money won`t allow at this point in time, any advice would be most appreciated

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

you have serious problems,i must advise you not to use the appliance and call a gas safe engineer

 

[REDSAW]

unfortunatly, you want cake n eat it.
it is going to cost for re-fluing work and is dangerous.

 

[Puddle]

, i really don`t want to replace boiler and get rid of stack as money won`t allow at this point in time, any advice would be most appreciated

As said stop using boiler straight away,get in professional advise
If this has been happening for 3 months,you and anyone else in the property should have blood tests
You worry about spending a stack of money on the boiler,if it comes to that and you do'nt spend it on the boiler ,you will instead be spending a stack on funerals for yourself and any other occupants of the property

 

[oldplumber]

I would guess that your chimmney was previously for a solid fuel fire/appliance and it now has a flue liner in it for your boiler. If this is the case the old chimney could well be anhydrous in nature due to the soot and tar remaining in it and this will cause water to build up inside the chimney and this will then drain back down along your flue.

One problem is that this substance is very corrosive and your current flue could well have rotted through, hence why it gets into your flue liner. This meansthat the poc will not be escaping properly up via the fue liner, but remaining in what is a sealed chimmney and could well be leaking back into your home if the chimney is porous.

you should immediately have a rgi inspect the setup, carry out a flue test and inspect your boiler system to see it is safe to use. Then carry out any repairs as reccommended by the rgi.

 

[BluePlumber]

you have serious problems,i must advise you not to use the appliance and call a gas safe engineer

A stated get it checked out, better that than dead!

 

[migoplumber]

agree with old plumber.

 

[steads]

Thanks for replies i have had the boiler looked at by a gas safe engineer a smoke test was done and passed it has a good draw up the flue he was happy that it was safe to use and no gases were coming into the property the oily sludge coming down the flue is a build up of sludge in and around the collar and hole in the concrete slab at the bottom part of it he had no idea how to stop or hold back this watery sludge as he could see no reason why it was there , i thought could it be condensation building up and running back down

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Thanks for replies i have had the boiler looked at by a gas safe engineer a smoke test was done and passed it has a good draw up the flue he was happy that it was safe to use and no gases were coming into the property the oily sludge coming down the flue is a build up of sludge in and around the collar and hole in the concrete slab at the bottom part of it he had no idea how to stop or hold back this watery sludge as he could see no reason why it was there , i thought could it be condensation building up and running back down

your engineer should go to speck savers,or back to collage and re do his core and appliances as i and others have said something is very wrong with your flue or appliance get a second opinion and a carbon monoxide detector

 

[migoplumber]

how have you managed to get a gsr to check your instalation within 2 hrs on a saturday night?
if he was there and is gsr, he would of known the name of the product you require to make the required seal !
you be kidding a kidder !!

get it sorted by a pro, big risks involved

 

[REDSAW]

Thanks for replies i have had the boiler looked at by a gas safe engineer a smoke test was done and passed it has a good draw up the flue he was happy that it was safe to use and no gases were coming into the property the oily sludge coming down the flue is a build up of sludge in and around the collar and hole in the concrete slab at the bottom part of it he had no idea how to stop or hold back this watery sludge as he could see no reason why it was there , i thought could it be condensation building up and running back down

oldplumer said,
One problem is that this substance is very corrosive and your current flue could well have rotted through, hence why it gets into your flue liner. This meansthat the poc will not be escaping properly up via the fue liner, but remaining in what is a sealed chimmney and could well be leaking back into your home if the chimney is porous.
to what you have said it is,
no its not.
no it wasnt.
and no,

straight forward question. what is the gsr number?.

monoxide poisning, cant see it, cant smell it, cant taste it. amen.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

oldplumer said,
One problem is that this substance is very corrosive and your current flue could well have rotted through, hence why it gets into your flue liner. This meansthat the poc will not be escaping properly up via the fue liner, but remaining in what is a sealed chimmney and could well be leaking back into your home if the chimney is porous.
to what you have said it is,
no its not.
no it wasnt.
and no,

straight forward question. what is the gsr number?.

monoxide poisning, cant see it, cant smell it, cant taste it. amen.

YOU HAVE HAD ALL THE WARNINGS AND GOOD ADVICE NOW DO THE FOLLOWING 1 turn the boiler off 2 get down the docs 3 get a gsr engineer WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING if you ignore this advice its your/familys funeral mate, SAFETY you cant put a price on it

 

[charitynjw]

CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2O.
In other words, for every one volume of Natural Gas you burn, TWO volumes of water (vapour) is produced.
It sounds like this is escaping from the flue liner into the chimney, condensing & running back down, mixing with the soot/tar on the internal brickwork.
If the products of combustion are not being safely discharged to atmosphere, it is classed as an immediately dangerous situation, and the boiler must be turned off/isolated from the gas supply & not switched back on until any defects are remedied by a competent registered engineer.
Also, by virtue of the statutory regulations, the responsible person (You) is liable.
GSIUR 1998 Reg 34.1 & 2

 

[oldplumber]

I presume from the lack of response from the originator that nothing will/is being done, best advice get it looked at, tested around boiler with an fga to prove absence of CO and install a co detector for peace of mind. Mind you I expect another report in the trade mags blaming a cowboy for poor workmanship in the months to come, causing a risk to occuppants or a worst case senario to home owners. watch and learn (again).

 

[steads]

Ok Advice Taken Boiler is off and will get another inspection by a GSE thanks for the response I think the old plumber has hit the cause right on the nail

 

[GreenArmy]

Glad your still alive steads. Be sure to let us know the outcome of the problem.

 

[steads]

ok when problem is solved i will post the conclusion