Another unfortunate death from Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. Click here The needless death of fourteen year old Hannah Thomas-Jones,  occurred due to the use of a BBQ in a tent.

Most people are now aware of the risk of death from CO poisoning by faulty gas appliances due to recent high profile cases such as Zoe Anderson in Bath, and the publicity generated by organisations like http://www.co-gassafety.co.uk/  and http://www.covictim.org/  Unfortunately many people do not realise that CO is produced by any hydrocarbon fuel when burnt, e.g. coal, wood, oil, paper, petrol and gas. In actual fact a correctly maintained and working gas appliance is one of the safest heat producing appliances there is. The average number of deaths caused by gas appliances in the UK is around 5 per year, compare this to road accidents with a death rate of over 2000 or alcohol abuse with around 40000 per year to put the problem in pesrpective.

The Zoe Anderson case saw the installer of the boiler jailed for three years, after he failed to correctly assemble the flue. This case raises a number of unanswered questions. Why did this practically new boiler produce a sufficient amount of CO to cause death within 30 minutes? Most modern room sealed boilers will not function if the flue is incorrectly assembled. How did the CO get from the garage to the bathroom without being diluted? How many doctors have been jailed for similar mistakes? Their are approximately 1200 avoidable stillbirths in the UK each year, according to SANDS but how many medical staff have ever been jailed as a result?

I am not trying to defend the actions of the installer in the Zoe Anderson case, he made a mistake which he will have to live with for the rest of his life, but we should have a level playing field. If every person who made a mistake  which led to a death or serious accident were jailed we would have to double the number of prisons in the country.

The CO lobby would have us believe that fitting CO alrms in every property would save countless lives, whilst this measure would indeed save lives it would be at an astronomical cost per life saved, money which would be far better spent on measures such as better testing for prostate cancer (around 10000 deaths per year) and a CO alarm would not have saved poor Hannah.

The best defence against CO poisoning is common sense.

Ensure all heat producing appliances are correctly maintained by a qualified person (Gas Safe Register HEATAS or OFTEC)

Never block up air vents.

Never use a BBQ, gas lamp, generator, engine or any similar appliance in a confined space

Do not use cookers as space heating appliances

If you start to experience flue like symptoms, head aches and nausea, switch off any heat producing appliances, get into fresh air, call the emergency services and tell them you suspect CO poisoning.

Readers may or may not be aware of the problems of flues in voids (FIV). For
those of you who are not up to date with this issue I will try to clarify
things.

History.

When balanced flue boilers were first introduced they had to be fitted on an
outside wall to enable the flue and combined air intake to be fitted through
the wall, whilst this was an advance from traditional open flued boilers which
needed a flue (chimney) up through the roof it sometimes made siting the boiler
difficult. As technology progressed, fan flued boilers became the norm and some
manufacturers developed flue systems which could be longer in length, meaning
the boiler did not need to be fitted on an outside wall. In some instances
flues can be as long as 45m. Many blocks of apartments were built with boilers
situated away from an outside wall and the flues routed through the same and
neighbouring apartments to the outside. Most of these flues are enclosed in
boxing and/or floor voids for aesthetic reasons.

What is the problem?

When flues are enclosed, there is no way of checking if the joints in the
sections of flues are correctly assembled and free from defects at a later
date. If a flue joint fails, products of combustion (POCs) can escape into the
building. One of the POCs produced by any fossil fuel burning appliance is
Carbon Monoxide which can cause severe illness or death.

What is being done about it?

The gas industry has produced a document (TB008) which details the steps to
be taken by registered gas installers (RGIs) when encountering FIV. The RGI
will undertake a risk assessment and decide on a course of action. Whatever the
outcome you will have to have inspection hatches fitted to enable inspection of
every joint in the flue system; this work will need to be carried out by 31st
December 2012. If this work has not been carried out by this date any RGI
carrying out work at your property will have to switch off your boiler for your
own safety.

What should I do now?

If you are in any doubt about your flue system, contact a Gas Safe
Registered Engineer to check your system. For further information go to http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/advice/flues_in_voids.aspx

Customers often ask how much money can be saved upgrading to a new condensing boiler with weather compensated controls. Whilst every property is different, what can be said is that not only will considerable monetary savings be made but also the comfort level in the property will be enhanced.  The following two case studies show what can be achieved.

Case 1.

Property: 1 Bedroom maisonette.

Previous heating & hot water setup: Conventional boiler with Part L compliant DHW cylinder Radiators for heating.

New heating & hot water setup: Remeha Avanta Combi boiler with Celsia 20 Controller complete with weather compensation.

Energy Saving: 25%

Case 2.

Property: 4 Bedroom Detached House.

Previous heating & hot water setup: Conventional boiler with Part L compliant DHW cylinder, combination of underfloor heating and radiators.

New heating & hot water setup: Remeha Avanta System boiler with TEM 6320 Controller complete with weather compensation. Existing underfloor heating, radiators and DHW cylinder retained.

Energy Saving: 23% 

From the above information it can be seen that whatever the size or type of property, significant savings can be achieved whilst improving comfort levels due to more stable tempeeratures within the property.

For further information see www.mwpropmaint.co.uk/Energy-Efficiency.php

Most people think nothing of paying more than £100 a year to have their car serviced, but many fail to have their gas appliances serviced despite it being less expensive than a car service, a condition of the manufacturers warranty and vital to ensure safe and efficient operation.

The attached pictures show the burned out heat exchanger on a Multipoint Water Heater which is less than six years old. This appliance has not been serviced since the day it was installed. The first hint to the customer that there was a problem was when the pilot failed to stay alight due to water dripping on it.  If the appliance had been serviced regularly, any potential problems could have been spotted and dealt with under the manufacturers warranty. Now it is uneconomical to repair and a replacement unit will have to be fitted at a much greater cost.

You have been warned!

Who would have thought it but PC is alive and kicking in the plumbing industry.  Look at any article in the national or trade press these days and it is odds on that you will see a picture of a female plumber.http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/12/plumbers-energy-efficient-homes-engineers?CMP=twt_gu is a prime example.

What is wrong with this you might ask?  Well it is totally unrepresentative of the plumbing and heating industry. Yes there are a few female plumbers and I am sure the majority do a very good job, but they only represent a tiny proportion of the industry. Summit Skills, the Sector Skills Council
for the building services engineering sector in the UK, has estimated
that there are approximately 160 000 plumbers in the UK but less than
one percent are female. You wouldn't think so judging by the coverage in the media.

I am sure there are a few 6ft tall, black, male nurses in the UK, but I don't see their pictures draped all over media coverage.

I have nothing against female plumbers, or females doing any other job if they are competent to do it, but let's see realistic media coverage instead of 'political correctness'.

Thanks to Chris Flaherty for bringing this to my attention