Gas boiler problem - who's liable?

Our gas boiler recently went on the blink. Basically it wouldn't switch on without hitting the reset button a number of times and there was water dripping out from the bottom of the boiler. It was due a service so I got Bord Gais to send out one of their contractors.

The contractor serviced the boiler but said that the heat exchanger is knackered due to a back flow of water into the boiler. Basically he said that the pipe from the boiler through the outside wall is at an incline rather than flat. So as steam goes out through the vent it cools down and water drips back down into the boiler and has rusted up the combustion chamber.

I got on to the builders and they came out to have a look and said that the pipe is at a bit of an angle but that it wouldn't have caused the damage to the boiler. They subsequently brought their own gas person in to have a look and he said he couldn't be 100% sure but when pressed by the builder said he thought it probably didn't cause it.

The builders offered to come around the following day to fix the pipe but I told them to hold off as I presume once they alter it I'll never be able to prove that the boiler was damaged due to the pipe being incorrectly fitted.

The boiler is approx 5 years old...in situe before I bought the property.

Basically I don't have 2 or 3k to shell out on a boiler but need heating.

Where do you suggest I take it from here?

If any more detail needed please ask

Thanks

Nicola

some boiler you are putting in for 2-3k. are you heating a swimming pool too???

That's what the Bord Gais contrator quoted.

gaggot said:

some boiler you are putting in for 2-3k. are you heating a swimming pool too???

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We were quoted €2600 for a 18kw condensing gas boiler just last week.

Your boiler is not fitted to manufactures instructions due to *incorrect positioning* of the flue, for this reason your boiler has been damaged, flues on standard efficiency boilers must *run away from the boiler* to stop rain water and condense from flowing in to the combustion chamber, once a boiler has been damaged by fluids getting into the combustion chamber it becomes hard to determine the extent of the damage to the components on a boiler, I would down load the installation instructions for your boiler which tend to be idiot proof if looked at, then read out loud to the builder and the builders plumber to educate them on the correct installation procedure for a boiler flue, also ring the manufactures and see if they can recommend a engineer to write a report, at the end of the day it's not the opinion of any gas fitter but the black and white instruction in the manufactures instructions manual(backed up by IS813 Irish standards) and as a manufactures technician it kills me to say the Bord Gais engineer is spot on, good luck, Gary

Thanks people. I'll have a look at those instructions now.

Sorry to hear your story. Same thing happened us when our house was six years old. Unfortunately we couldn't get any plumber( tried 3 ) to put in writing what had happened though verbally it was exactly what you described. The old boiler was a vokera and to replace it was a total of 2700 E. That was in 2006

I would not hav epaid any of those 3 plumbers you called out until thhey gave a written report. You are entitled to a service or condition report!

Yep - ours is Vokera too.

Thank God it's coming into Spring because we don't have that kind of money to replace it this year. Hopefully the builders who put the vent in will accept liability. But as mentioned we could run into difficulty getting someone to sign off a report.

DGOBS - who would you suggest I contact to get a written report? Do I just get a Bord Gais contractor to have a look?

Any RGII gas engineer would have to identify your installation defect(as the Bord Gais engineer did) to keep themselves on the right side of the new gas regs , i would go to the manufactures first as they have there own engineers and are seen as the experts on their boilers or see if you can get Tony (DGOBS) to do it, he has a soft spot for vokera's, failing that i would go to Bord Gais but try and have your fitting instructions to make it easier on the Bord Gais engineer, Gary.