broken boiler - any ideas what it is? portable heater recommendations?

[3bookworms]

I posted about this in chat last week, and now its happened again - I think I need the experts on here, as the plumber has so far not been able to help.
Downstairs loo has combi boiler and washing machine in it, and suddenly smells very, very strongly chemical like lighter fuel / solvent when the heating is turned on - not every time, but twice in the last 2 weeks. It's not a very old boiler. We don't use this loo, so it isn't that. Can't see how it can be the washing machine. (which wasn't on anyway) When it happened last week, the plumbers couldn't find anything wrong with the boiler, no gas leak, no CO leak, hummed and and haad a bit about valves and went away, now not answering their phone. I've turned the boiler off, and the smell seems to have gone. Anyone had this?

I have flu and we have a 1yo, so we could really do with some heat in here. Any recommendations for cheap, cheap-to-run portable heaters? I can see us being left like this over Christmas...

you don't need plumbers, you need a gas safe engineer. Most of them do ignore phones and you have sod all chance of getting anything done over Xmas, so you need to get on the phone to gas safe people NOw to see if you can get any help.

have you paid the others?

glad it doesn't appear to be dangerous but obviously it needs fixing.

go buy some fan heaters for now. 3kw means 3 x your unit rate to run per hour.

I suspect that condensate (water from the steam in the flue, which contains dissolved flue gases) is leaking out.

If you are lucky, it will be a joint in the plastic waste pipe (usually white and about 18mm diameter if indoors) that is leaking. Have a look. It should not be the flue or the casing leaking, which would be very dangerous.

Go outside and catch some of the water that drips off the end of the flue. Does it smell the same?

Look for the condensate waste pipe. Preferably it will go to an indoor drain like the sink waste. It might go through the wall and run to an outside drain.

Yes, you need a competent gas engineer. Ask friends and neighbours. They will be busy. Ask him to show you his Gas Safe id card which has his photo and name on it. If he's "left it at home" or "it's in the van" or "the dog ate it" tell him to fuck off you'll wait while he fetches it before he starts work.

p.s.

I recommend oil-filled radiators starting at about £20 for a tiny, but you will need about 2kw for a medium sized room. Look for a thermostat knob and a hi/med/low power switch for economy.

avoid ones with an integral timer because it is about the only part that goes wrong and can be noisy.

Many, Many thanks for helpful info. Sorry, I've been ill and not kept up with replies. The plumber who came out after the first fumes-in-loo incident was a gas safe heating person. He couldn't find anything the matter with the boiler - fairly certain he checked flue and casing, and I hope would have checked the internal outlet pipe (thanks - I spotted it after your description!) No gas leak, no CO leak., or any other leak. BUT he came 24 hours after it happened, when there was no longer any smell, and presumably no leak. As the boiler was pronounced safe the first time, the Landlord won't send an engineer out now it has happened again, so we will probably have to find someone ourselves, seems little chance this side of Christmas.

Pigletjohn if it is condensate leaking from the internal waste pipe causing the fumy turps-like smell, is it likely to be dangerous, or just annoying? By 'dangerous' did you mean CO? I will go out and get us a CO alarm today!

what PJ says (as always) makes sense. Condensate is a mildly acidic liquid, can damage surfaces but is not dangerous.

never hurts to have a CO alarm (make sure you position it correctly). Glad the boiler has been declared safe.

once you have the alarm fitted and working, try again and see if you can spot the leak. You could also call the chap who came to confirm what he looked at.

BTW you can always check gas safe guys on the Gas Safe website, or by phoning them. No reputable engineer will mind you checking.

thanks special