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Didnt like having to AR warm air unit!

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Knappers

Plumbers Arms member
Plumber
Gas Engineer
Messages
996
Had to switch off an old fellas heating today as he had no fixed ventilation for warm air unit, tried to argue the benefits of letting him use it but was bashed with the letter of the 'law' by gassafe advisor.
I totally get the point but when does it become ok (no a requirement) to leave an 80+ dementia patient without heating because of a fault with the boiler that I can prove isn't an issue?

The fella is going into a home and the new owners want a safety cert so he'll be gone in a few weeks.
Now these old warm air units take a bit of dodging to pass at the best of times, they all blow back a little on ignition and I was once laughed at by manufacturer for trying to analyse the POC.
This install in a leaky old house hasn't had purpose provided ventilation for probably over 40 years but under any circumstance I could create it draws like a champ, the heater exchanger is flawless and has no major flaws (for a warm air unit) I even tested ambient CO.

So if it hadn't been under the scrutiny of 5 separate parties I would have been inclined to complete a risk assessment and conclude that the health risks associated with shutting down appliance was was far greater than the risk of the house suddenly hermetically sealing itself and causing the boiler to become dangerous.

When did it become LAW for me to have to blindly follow a set of guidelines and not balance my knowledge of them, years of experience and on site findings?

Why can't I advise the clients, issue a warning notice, label and CO alarm accompanied by a risk assessment explaining why boiler has been left running.

I've just had a call from another engineer complaining because I didn't remove the fuse when I isolated the appliance (oops) and suggesting that because the guy has dementia I should have capped it off!?????

Is it me thats delusional? I'm trying to tow the line (that I broadly agree with btw) its just not sitting well with me!
 
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True story: a plumber friend of mine was working in an engineer's house and several tradesmen complained that he was questioning everything. My friend had no problem with him, however.
IME, asking a tradesman why they recommend doing something in a particular manner is a fairly reliable way to whether they are good. If they are happy to answer and explain the pros and cons you've probably found a good 'un.
 

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