Would you let DP fix electrics on boiler?

[greenbanana]

Our boiler stopped working a week ago. We got a plumber round who we've used before, he identified a couple of parts that needed replacing. With these replaced the boiler now lights from cold no problem, but after a while stops again.

DP, who has a Phd in electronics, has identified that the PCB (circuit board) in boiler is causing the problem by failing to provide enough power to the fan (I'd give more details but honestly I'm not sure how it works!). He has found where to buy a replacement PCB and rather than getting the plumber back he wants to replace it himself. He's very good at stuff like this and in general I trust he knows what he's doing but I'm nervous as it's a boiler. Do you think he's ok to replace it? It's not like he's fiddling with the gas bit.

ooh er. Doesn't that kind of thing need to be certified?

No way. It's one of those "you don't know what you don't know" situations. When the boiler technician replaced the circuit board on ours there were some checks he then had to run afterwards. I don't know what they are, but probably important I would think. I just don't think it's worth the risk.

I've done some googling on that and it's a bit vague. Obviously he's not touching the gas parts, which would definitely need certification. And he's not getting paid for the work which would be illegal without certification. But for other things it seems to be allowed if you are 'competent', but there isn't a clear definition of that. DP says as he has his Phd including practical electrical engineering he's competent to replace a circuit board.

No. You need a boiler technician to sign it off.

Ok, I think we'll buy the PCB ourselves as we're pretty certain that's the problem, and get the technician to come and fit it.

What DH might do (degree in EE), is phone up the electrician with his plan, talk thru with him, do work himself and pay electrician for 5 minutes to sign it off.

No, a faulty boiler could kill you. Pay a professional.

your partner is competent, but he isn't Competent, i.e. legally. To do that he needs to do a separate qualification.

check out the part P regs.

What boiler is it? Make - back potterton Glowworm etc

Not in a million years. Seriously would you put your DP at risk (doing the work) and the rest of the family (being in the bathroom /house after its done) at risk for a couple of hundred pounds?!

I am all for cutting costs but there are some things, irrespective of perceived competence, that are just not worth messing with. Just leave it to the professionals.

I have done this on two occasions, once disabling a faulty condensate trap "safety" sensor, and once servicing the flue air intake fan motor. On both occasions a heating engineer has arrived several days later and put a sticker on the boiler saying "out of commission", turned off the boiler at the mains, then winked at me and said "good job - I won't know if you turn this back on after I've left".

As long as he's confident he has the correct replacement PCB, I wouldn't hesitate. As a precaution, I put a CO alarm near the boiler and I test the alarm regularly. The boiler is well maintained, with annual safety inspections by a properly certified engineer. But for an emergency repair? Do it.

PhD in Physics here, so similar background. He should be able to tell the difference between "not allowed according to the letter of the law" and "dangerous".

How can you tell if it's dangerous or not if you don't know what the rules are surrounding work on gas appliances?

Yes, he's fine to do it if he's "competent" which he probably is with his background. My dh does similar with ours (has changed components within boiler units, etc, heck, he's rewired our house in the past). If you're not paying for it, you have to be competent, provably competent - dh does do this stuff as part of his work, and has for example been sent on domestic wiring courses for work. He does plumbing as a hobby so to speak, and has worked with electronics in marine environments, so is well competent. So, yes, I'd not only let him, but I'm competent too, so I'd do it... [part p doesn't let someone else "sign it off" any more, but what needs signing off? doh]

How can you tell if it's dangerous or not if you don't know what the rules are surrounding work on gas appliances?

I presume that's an attempt at a joke...

He's not working on any aspect of the gas, it's just the control panel. Electronics. Which he knows about.

The control panel, controls the gas components of a boiler. Get it wrong and the safety devices won't work properly.
I have had to attend several incidents where a home owner has attempted to repair or fix their gas appliance. Fortunately no fatalities but one family was hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Here we go. You seriously think that a modern boiler will fire up with safety interlocks not working? I mean, just to get this straight, you actually believe that the new PCB is going to work well enough to supply gas, air and ignition to the burner, but not well enough to stop when something goes wrong?

You clearly have a deep and intimate understanding of the workings of modern boiler control units. Not.

My DP considered this when our boiler needed an electrical component replacing as he's an engineer with relevant knowledge and queried our local Heating Engineer. The answer was that not only was it not allowed, but he would be at fault if he knew that the repair was carried out 'at home' and allowed it. So, we let him do the repair. Not worth the hassle IMO, let a professional do it.