Does the top of this boiler look dodgy to you?

[Myboilerscaresme]

I’ve just put my heating on for the first time this year and I’ve been looking at my boiler and it’s freaking me out again. That top bit, one of the screws is missing and it doesn’t fit into the ceiling because that part has crumbled away. When the boiler is on, there’s a draft up there too (I can see the big spider web moving gross I know). (There should be a picture attached).

Is this safe?

I’m paranoid because I’m in social housing and it has passed two gas safety checks in this condition over the years but it doesn’t feel safe to me still. I try and ignore it because beggars can’t be choosers and all that but I’m frightened that it’s not right.

It might be worth getting a carbon monoxide alarm @Myboilerscaresme to make you feel a bit less worried. Even if your boiler is found to be safe, it's still a useful thing to have.

Can you see where it comes out on the other side of the ceiling?

the square patch on the ceiling is just ornamental trim. It is not very ornamental. The flue pipe should be airtight so that nothing can escape from it, and should be sealed all the way up to where it exits the building through roof or wall. If there are any joints in the flue pipe they should be visible or accessible for inspection.

There appears to be a blue warning sticker on the boiler casing, and another label in white and red. What do they say?

Thank you for the replies!

I have a few carbon monoxide alarms around the house. I’m very paranoid about this stuff!

I can’t see the other side of the ceiling. It’s in the loft space and I can’t get up there physically so I rely on the gas safety check for checking it :(

Thank you @PigletJohn about the ornamental trim! I always thought it was part of the boiler so that’s one massive weight off my mind. The warning stickers are both a variant of “do not store items in this cupboard” type warnings and the blue one advises that the boiler is to be serviced once a year too. My gas safety check is due very soon and it’s making me nervous because the second check found an issue with the flue that would have been present at the first check (not clipped down properly to the wall or something) so I find it very hard to trust them.

There’s also wires touching the pipes (I’ve attached a pic again) which I would have thought would be dangerous but both checks have left them resting on the pipes. Although, again, the second check guy on year 2 added clips on the left to attach them to the wall where they were originally just dangling (where the wires are straight on the left of the pic) whereas the first guy left them hanging loose.

It makes me worry :(

do you mean the green and yellow cables?

Or are there some others (usually rectangular, about four times as wide as they are thick)?

They’re like thick chunky white ones that go to the electric socket if that makes sense? They kind of come out of the bottom of the boiler, rest on a pipe and then the man on the second safety check lifted them a bit and clipped them to the wall but they still lean on the pipes when they first drop from the boiler.

OP if you are in social housing they should have left a carbon monoxide alarm when they last inspected the boiler.

Check where the flue goes out to by going outside and having a look. It should either go through the roof or out from a wall.

If you are unhappy about the tape being there put in a request for them to fix the boiler.

the "thick white ones" are electrical cables and should not be in contact with hot pipes as it shortens the life of the plastic insulation. If it was me I would put a bit of pipe lagging on the pipes to cover the hot surface. If the pipes are as thick as your finger you need 15mm size, if as thick as a carrot you need 22mm size. Somebody who does plumbing might possibly give you a bit for a cup of tea, you will see it on sale in places like Wilko as the cold weather comes. It is normally sold in bulk packs, you can sometimes buy a single piece in DIY sheds for about a pound. A bread knife will cut it and it reduces heat waste from hot pipes.

The green and yellow is Earth Bonding wire, it does not matter, because it is attached to bare copper pipes that you can safely touch. Yours looks very neat.

BTW there are black marks and tarnish which might suggest a leak. If you feel up to it, you can polish the pipes with a green pan scourer and a bit of washing up liqid, and rub off with a cotton rag. They will come up bright, which means that any continuing or future leak will be easy to spot because it will stand out, usually green or white. You only need to clean them once.

The black marks on the floor also suggest an old water leak, if you clean them once and they stay clean you will know you're OK; if they reappear you will know there is still a problem.

If it was me, I would hoover out the area round the ceiling plate, screw it back up with new plasplugs, and pack mineral fibre loft insulation (which is not flammable) around it from above, it will block draughts, dust and spiders. I realise that not everyone can do DIY or has the materials to hand, and the housing association might not bother.

update

I see the white flex now. I think it is just touching the gas pipe on the left, which does not get hot, so is harmless but perhaps you could loop the flex up with a plastic cable tie or piece of string? Insulation tape looses its stickiness and unravels over time so not very suitable.

I should have added to my post if you are in social housing, especially if it's a flat or terraced house, don't leave boiler repairs until you have your annual gas inspection.

Contact the repair service and ask them to fix whatever is wrong as if it is serious or is working it's way to be serious it could impact your neighbours.

Remember you are paying for repairs like that in your rent.

@PigletJohn

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me all that advice. I appreciate it so much because the boiler and that whole cupboard is one of the things I worry about a lot atm. I think the marks are from an old leak because they were there when I moved in but I’m definitely going to get it cleaned up because I never even thought about how I would spot a new leak with all those marks there already! Thank you again!