Gas leak?

[Bryan Williams]

Had a new Vaillant boiler fitted last month, it's in the airing cupboard on the landing, vented strait up through the loft and out the roof, seems to be working OK,although had to call them back as a pvc elbow joint was leaking on the condensate pipe.
They recemented that.
We have a towel rack in the airing cupboard under the boiler, when I open to get a towel there's a faint wiff of gas, goes in a second, wondering if I'm imagining it I shut the door, come back a minute try again. There's definitely something, but very slight.
Is this normal?
We had a boiler fitted years ago in another house the vent came out an upstairs side wall above an extension. I smelt gas sometimes outside. A gas fitter came out and explained that on firing up a bit of unburnt gas is pushed out of the vent, on a cold day this will be rolling down the extension roof and that's what I was smelling.
I'm wondering if this is something along the same lines, but I would have thought that it would be sent up the flu.
Never had it with the previous boiler in this house.
Should I be calling them out again or do I just phone the emergency gas line?
Cheers.

 

[sg66]

Nope I would say if you think you can smell gas it's cause you can smell gas, just ask them to come check, a sniffer will pick it up in a cupboard straight away.

Could go buy yourself a tin of leak spray.

 

[Robotstar5]

Probably better calling the installer as if the emergency gas line folks come out they may isolate the whole house for safety.

 

[Bryan Williams]

Cheers, I'll phone them.

 

[Bryan Williams]

Yep, emergency guy came out.
Leak on the isolation valve on gas line.
Blanked the meter off.
Fitters coming out tomorrow.

 

[Kayos]

Yep, emergency guy came out.
Leak on the isolation valve on gas line.
Blanked the meter off.
Fitters coming out tomorrow.

Used to call them TOFO

It means Turn Off and errrr go away....

 

[Bryan Williams]

that was about it.
To be fair I had a little chat with him, asked how dangerous it was, he said if I put a match to the leaky valve I'd get a pop, that's all.
He wasn't allowed to fix it.
His sniffer went straight to the leak, it also showed up on his gasmeter test.
I asked why it didn't show up for the original fitter, he said there is an acceptable parameter on the meter gauge that he would probably have been in,so he went away happy, I've then spotted the leak as the door is closed on the airing cupboard later as it's built up.
He said now he'll have to forget the parameters and get it bob on.
Installer coming out tomorrow morning so it's a three dog night tonight.

 

[waddycall]

How serious it could have been is totally dependant on how ventilated the cupboard is, the leakage rate and how often you open the door. I’ve always investigated any drop on a tightness test. Had to leave some that were in tolerance but never happy about it. If a leaks identified it has to be isolated and repaired. Really glad to be out of that game now. Some jobs haunt me.

 

[jimbo84]

Like having gas in the house, great for cooking and heating, but it does baffle me that somebody thought it was a good idea to pump at pressure a highly explosive gas into peoples homes, at least they added a stink agent to it.

 

[sg66]

was the leak on isolation valve at appliance?

You start any job with a pressure drop, if there is no reported smell of gas and its within what's allowed then you do same test when done and you should have same result.

You should have had no leak on any joints that involved the install, apart from drop test they should have sprayed all joints they did.

Hey ho, should be all sorted.

 

[pedrobedro]

Used to call them TOFO

It means Turn Off and errrr go away....

That would be TOGA, got a ring to it Any hint of gas in our house my missus spots it straight away, nose like a bloodhound. That's natural gas I have to add, not my gas.

 

[Bryan Williams]

How serious it could have been is totally dependant on how ventilated the cupboard is, the leakage rate and how often you open the door. I’ve always investigated any drop on a tightness test. Had to leave some that were in tolerance but never happy about it. If a leaks identified it has to be isolated and repaired. Really glad to be out of that game now. Some jobs haunt me.

Yeah that's what I thought when he said I'd just get a little 'pop' off a match, the cupboard does have a vent grill top and bottom though..

 

[Bryan Williams]

was the leak on isolation valve at appliance?

You start any job with a pressure drop, if there is no reported smell of gas and its within what's allowed then you do same test when done and you should have same result.

You should have had no leak on any joints that involved the install, apart from drop test they should have sprayed all joints they did.

Hey ho, should be all sorted.

The leak was on the gas isolation valve directly under the boiler, the guy who came to find it and blank the meter off commented that the valve comes fitted to the boiler from the factory with the boiler, so you would think its tightened up properly already.

 

[Bryan Williams]

Anyway fitter came back this morning, was very thorough took it off, refitted, sprayed leaky check, on doing his test on the meter he said there is a bit of tolerance on the initial installation, but he's got this Bob on now, no drop whatsoever, so we'll see..

Like the guy falling from the aeroplane after his chute failed, sees a guy flying up towards him, as they pass he says 'know anything about parachutes?' other guy.. 'no, know owt about gas boilers?'

 

[Farside]

Yep, emergency guy came out.
Leak on the isolation valve on gas line.
Blanked the meter off.
Fitters coming out tomorrow.

Yeah, they don't shilly shally on the way.
Years ago, while strolling through the town centre, I smelled gas. Popped into a phone box (pre mobley days) and called the Gas Board.
About thirty minutes later I was walking back up the way I came and two guys were out with a pneumatic chisel digging the pavement up, exactly where I'd smelled it.