Worcester Green Star 30CDi system boiler

[RaceDiagnostics]

Time I started to have a think about my boiler. It's not been serviced in the two years we have been in the house, and I'm pretty sure it was never serviced by the previous owner. The house survey shows it was installed in 2012 so coming up for 14 years old. So far it's not giving any problems but I'm sure the heat exchanger could do with a clean out. It also looks like the ignighter/flame detector module is also original as it's not the updated version.
The condensate trap, looks like it's half full of crap too.

I don't have a manometer to check on the flue fan vacuum. Any recommendations on a cheap on that will do the job?

Hopefully cleaning out the heat exchanger will also improve efficiency. Will also by a few replacement parts so that I only need to go in there once.

 

[waddycall]

So as an ex gas engineer I have to tell you what you already know which is that doing it yourself is illegal. itll also need setting up with an analyser etc. etc. They can be quite tricky if disturbed. It really is best left to a pro with all the gear. If you go into the heat exchanger youll knacker the seals so they’ll need replacing.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Was planning all new gaskets etc.

This is the problem I have with so called Pros. This is the a review of the closest heating engineers to me, just round the corner.

 

[Olderisbetter]

Worcester were doing a service plan thing for a oe off payment before, ithink we paid £300 and they ended up replacing half the boiler

 

[reb78]

Was planning all new gaskets etc.

This is the problem I have with so called Pros. This is the a review of the closest heating engineers to me, just round the corner.

View attachment 426914

There are good ones out there too though.

We have external oil boilers but beyond checking filters, cleaning the baffles and changing the odd external part on the burner if I touch anything that alters the burn needs someone with a flue gas analyser who knows how to use it to set it up so I get a trusted qualified plumber in.

 

[bricol]

So as an ex gas engineer I have to tell you what you already know which is that doing it yourself is illegal.

No it's not.

It's all there in the regs, in black and white - If you are competent you can service your own gas appliances.

In fact, you can service other peoples boilers if again you are competent and not taking payment.

And paying to be on the Gas Safe list doesn't make you competent as various prosecutions over the years have proved.

Whether you should service your own (or others for free) of course, is another matter. If something does go wrong, you are are either dead or in a lot of legal trouble.

 

[waddycall]

Do you mean this bit -

 

[waddycall]

Nope - you mean this bit I guess

seems you’re right. I must have been brain washed at gas engineer school. Trouble is being competent to service a boiler means you know what equipment is needed, how to use it and what the results should be. As you say pretty serious consequences if you get it wrong. I’ve been to quite a few DIY fixed boilers and some of it is scary.

 

[winchman]

Usually the way competence is measured by some sort of training or provable experience it really can be a mine field as you have already mentioned plenty of Gas engineers have been taken to court.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Cleaning out the heat exchanger is a very straightforward job and requires little experience. Just common sense with regards to safety.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

I've been getting told, "you can't do that", time and time again.

You can't fit your own combi boiler, and central heating. Done.

You can't do your own domestic wiring. Done.

You can't fit your own wood burning stove. Done.

You shouldn't rebuild your cars breaking system. Done.

You can't rebuild your own engine. Done.

You can't respray your car with 2k paint in your garage. Done.

You'll never be a particle physicist at CERN. Done

 

[Blobber]

Go for it, when I did ours it was surprisingly clean but there are lots of plasticky components and its packed in tight so go gently!

 

[Fazerruss]

I've been getting told, "you can't do that", time and time again.

You can't fit your own combi boiler, and central heating. Done.

You can't do your own domestic wiring. Done.

You can't fit your own wood burning stove. Done.

You shouldn't rebuild your cars breaking system. Done.

You can't rebuild your own engine. Done.

You can't respray your car with 2k paint in your garage. Done.

You'll never be a particle physicist at CERN. Done

I'm with you on this. I have a 20 + years old baxi back boiler that needed a 5 quid thermocouple. The local merchants sold me one but said " you can't fit that yourself, your boiler is old bla bla" . I just paid and told them to mind thee own business.

In todays society people must be pigeon holed and only do certain tasks. They can all go #%&@

Way I see it, if you are competent, mechanically minded who repairs everything anyway then you probably have more experience than some of the "experts"
I've done a lot in my life and I'm still here using oxygen.

 

[RWD3M]

You'll never be a particle physicist at CERN. Done

Really?!

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Really?!

That's me

 

[Chippie]

Usually the way competence is measured by some sort of training or provable experience it really can be a mine field as you have already mentioned plenty of Gas engineers have been taken to court.

But.....the so called competence is only as good as the training....monkey see monkey do...

I served a 4 yr apprenticeship at one of the leading chemical producing companies in the world ( they were at the time...) and spent most of my working life in oil and gas with 30 yrs at a gas terminal....Id consider myself as competent and experienced, dealing with gas pressures as low as millibars, as high as 100 bar plus from gas turbine driven compressors, Instrumented Safety/Shutdown and Process Control systems, Gas Metering (Fiscal Standard..) and Analysis.....etc....

 

[waddycall]

I fix all sorts of stuff myself too. I guess anyone on here tends to want to even if it’s just out of curiosity/interest/learning. There are definitely lots of incompetent gas safe engineers out there. I’ve worked with some and followed behind many. what you do is entirely up to you and im sure you’re aware it’s inevitable that asking for advice on servicing your own gas boiler on line is going to provoke these comments. You need to be aware of the risks as well as the legality. Somewhere in the regs is the requirement to check the gas rate and flame picture or combustion ratio of any gas appliance you work on before it’s put back into service, hence the need for an analyser and the training and knowledge on how to use it. Disturbing and cleaning the heat exchanger is likely to affect the combustion ratio which could be well out by now anyway. of course if you decide to do it it’s entirely up to you but as a comptent professional ex gas engineer, and designer of gas appliances I feel duty bound to point out the risks and potential legality issues. In the nicest possible way of course

 

[RWD3M]

That's me

View attachment 426954

Awesome!

 

[fizzy]

That's me

View attachment 426954

My old passion before I went into IT instead. Did you work under Lyn Evans - ex Swansea university and Aberdare boy. did rather well for himself.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

No I worked for a guy called Prof Franz Muheim, head of Physics at Edinburgh Uni, in the Atlas 2026 update team.