How far can a plumber go ?

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Sanke

Hi all
If a non Gas Safe plumber has been called to a central heating problem & ascertains that the cause is in the boiler, how far can he go to solve it ? I was told that as long as you don't interrupt the GAS supply then you are okay to investigate an electrical fault etc However. just reading another thread it states that if you remove the cover you are breaking the law
Can anyone shed some light on this for me 🙂
Thanks
 
Very impressive website, did you do this? what program did you use?
 
i was always told back in college that anything within the boiler case is classed as a "gas fitting" so a non gas safe person cant touch anything within the boiler, im pretty sure there is a gas reg which mentions this to.
 
I contacted CIPHE and Gas Safe about this issue and got conflicting answers ( and thats from professional bodies!!!).I would air on the side of caution and not touch it, as you can guarantee if the s**t hits the fan it won't be in your favour. I think they make it a "grey" area so that they can cover themselves. Everybody has a different interpretation of competent etc etc.
 
there really is no grey area competent is quite clearly defined in the regs and if you disturb pipework/fittings then you are not qualified under law to test them
before undertaking work on a boiler/appliance you should be doing a tightness test(why you ask)
scenario
you go to change plate heat exchanger you dont do a drop test change heat exchanger take your dosh and foxtrot oscar
oh dear homeowner reports gas leak and claim was fine before you touched it or worse there is gas incident and your public liability wont cover when the householder sues you..the moment you take the cover off you are responsible for ensuring that when you finish that boiler has been tested including its safety devices even when replacing a non gas part
 
your insurers state you must be qualified and gas safe registered to carry out gas work, why not ask them, i expect they wont even want you to touch a boiler fire etc, and its them you have to please to cover your arse.
As far as removing covers, if you are working on a relativley new combe etc then the cover has its own seals, so taking it off means you are affecting the combustion air, flue etc. do you then have the ability to carry out flue analysis on this boiler when you put it all back together to prove its safe,
get some quals and leave the boilers to those that have them it makes sense really.
 
the main point is not to disturb or touch gas train, including flue, and condensate pipework, some boilers outercasing forms past of the combustion chamber - air intake for combustion - if so then you cant take off the casing. open flue boilers yes you can.
you cannot check the correct function of gas valve in either case, and clearly not check fan or pressure switch on a balanced flue boiler as that would require removing casing.

good luck
 
Similar to a common problem I have. I exchange meters for a living and although I have MET1, my CEN1 has expired. No point in renewing it as I'm happy doing meters but if a pilot light refuses to ignite using the sparker I'm legally not allowed to remove the casing to manually light it.
 
midge said:
Similar to a common problem I have. I exchange meters for a living and although I have MET1, my CEN1 has expired. No point in renewing it as I'm happy doing meters but if a pilot light refuses to ignite using the sparker I'm legally not allowed to remove the casing to manually light it.
Click to expand...

i didnt think that MET1 counted if you didnt have CCN1? Oh CEN1, sorry
 
boilers = headache, only my opinion tho so thought id stick my 10 p in just ignore me and il go away 🙂
 
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