Is it normal to get a slight whiff of gas when a boiler fires up?

[Bagelsandbrie]

Obviously I know that generally speaking if you can smell gas it’s a problem. We’ve had Cadent out to the front of the house at the start of lockdown because there was a whiff of gas from the meter and they replaced the meter.

We have a 9 year old boiler - a Valliant. It’s in a bit of an awkward spot in a downstairs toilet- we had it put there when we did a kitchen extension when we moved in. When we are out in the garden and someone uses the hot tap and the boiler fires up you can smell gas for a moment (the flue (?) is in the back garden over the back door so you can smell it if you’re standing there). Is this normal?

I’ve asked the boiler man we normally get to do things about this before (boiler is regularly serviced etc) and he says this is fine. Dh is worried and saying it isn’t. I don’t want to pay £££ to get someone else out to potentially fix something that doesn’t need fixing.... I don’t particularly trust any of the other local boiler people after previous issues we’ve had.

Everything else with the boiler seems to be working ok.

Any input...? Thanks.

I'm nearly 60 and I've never ever smelt gas coming from a boiler so no I don't think it's normal ,

Can you smell it too? Or just your DH?

Funny enough I think this with our Valliant too - but we have carbon monoxide testers and get it serviced so I’m not worried

Hmmm. Weird!

I can smell it as well but I have a medical condition which means my sense of smell is much more sensitive than most peoples so I tend not to trust myself.

It’s only outside, not inside which is confusing me as if it was inside I’d worry more.

Yep same as ours, boiler is in the garage, can smell it from the tube that comes out the wall.

Yes, this is normal. My ex dp called the gas board once for this- the outlet from the combi was fairly near to our bedroom window and when the wind was in a certain direction we would get a whiff.

Gas board man showed us his meter and how the firing of the boiler gave off a slight amount of gas.

Thank you for your replies. Maybe it is normal then!

Yes, normal for older boilers. We have one in our (rented) property and I asked about that when they came to do a gas check. Never had that issue in previous properties (owned and rented).
With newer models it should be just water vapour.

We have the same. 8 year old combi from ferroli. I'd say normal BUT ours is worse at the moment. The service is in 2 weeks though - maybe there is a setting or sensor that need adjusting to minimise the gas.

My 8 year old Vaillant boiler does this too. I had it checked and serviced last week so assume it is fine?