Flue Gas Analysers for Boiler Repairs in London and Bromley
Flue gas analysers for boiler repairs are a necessity these days. We have had compulsory
condensing boilers installed since 2005, and as a result the amount of
High Efficiency boilers ( different name for the same thing ) in the
country is now more than 8 million. The concentration where I work
is a probably bit higher in South East London, than in Bromley, and
a bit less again in Kent need flue gas analysers for boiler repairs of this kind, because they need careful tuning
to make sure the mixture of gas and air is exactly right. During the
past 10 years, combustion analysers (another word for FGA)have become a vital part of every central heating engineer's tool kit.
Today's electronic instruments are multifunction in their operation,
often enabling gas escape detection, temperature, pressure and
carbon monoxide (CO) environmental monitoring as well as analysis of
flue gases. These functions can help to assist in completing forms
such as landlord certificates, gas safety certificates and Benchmark
commissioning checklists.
For a central heating engineer who is fully qualified in the use of combustion analysers in Bromley and south east London, call:
Mon-Fri 08.30-20.30
0208 265 8822 Emergencies and out of hours 07852 736 626
The Gas Safe Register announced in 2010 that all registered gas engineers who have modules CEN1 now require the combustion analyser ( different name for the
same thing ) qualification CPA1. Those central heating engineers who do not
hold the CPA1 qualification after 1st April 2012 will have their
CEN1 suspended. ACS stands for Accredited Certification Scheme and
CEN1 is the specific diploma required for boiler
engineers.
British Standards such as BS 6798, BS 7967 and BS 5871 Part 1 state the requirement to use a flue gas
analyser when maintaining and servicing particular heating
appliances. The CPA1 Combustion Performance Analysis of Domestic
Appliances assessment is intended to provide gas engineers with the
essential knowledge of correctly using a flue gas analyser for
boiler repairs. Monitoring the products of combustion will
ensure a heating professional has the ability to precisely control
levels of carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O2), the ratio of carbon
monoxide and carbon dioxide (CO/CO2), excess air and flue gas
temperature.
Recently, the Gas Safe Register and Health and Safety Executive have raised serious safety concerns in
respect of the use of heating appliance flues located in internal
voids within buildings. A working party cross-government group has
been created to deal with these safety concerns and registered
social landlords have been consulted and requested to help identify
any situations involving gas boiler flues passing through internal
voids, or in layman's terms: boxed in flues.
The safety issues surround the
installation of boilers fixed to internal walls in properties where
the flue is directed through an area containing a void, for example,
a vertical flue passing through a ceiling into the floor area above
and no inspection cover is installed. Since this hidden part of the
flue cannot be properly inspected, a compromised flue in the void
area may release significant amounts of products of combustion,
including carbon monoxide, into living or sleeping areas, which
could be lethal to residents.
With progression of technology during
the last decade, manufacturers of heating appliances can now provide
installers with longer lengths of flue gas discharge pipe work that
can also turn in several directions. Although the Gas Safety
(Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 places a legal duty on all
landlords to check the condition and effectiveness of a heating
appliance flue, residents are often unaware of the path and
direction of flues concealed in voids and may mistake staining on a
ceiling surface that is caused by products of combustion and/or flue
condensate. This problem can be detected with the same flue
gas analysers used for boiler
repairs
Emphasis has been put on notifying
residents, particularly those who own or rent flats and apartments
that were constructed or refurbished between 2000 and 2007 like
there are many in South East London and Bromley. New buildings
constructed over this period could also be identified using the
house stock database which will help the industry provide a means of
inspecting the properties for possible safety concerns and install
appropriate inspection covers that comply with relevant standards
and current regulations.
Obviously, every heating engineer who uses flue gas
analysers for boiler repairs, is in a unique position to
identify flues that are concealed and take the necessary action to
remedy the problem. From the data collected, heating engineers will
also be able to identify a pattern that may exist on a particular
housing estate giving a clear indication that other properties on
the estate might be at risk from the same problem. Estates in South
East London are often built in numbers of 200-300 so even a 1% check
can reveal 1000 people at risk of Carbon Monoxide ( CO ) poisoning.
Flue gases are individual gases that
are emitted to the atmosphere through specially manufactured metal,
concrete, plastic or clay pipes or ducts, called a flue, which are
specifically designed to allow the gases to safely pass from heating
appliances such as a boilers.
The specific content of flue gases
depends on what particular type of fuel is used and how it is
combusted. This will determine the constituents of the flue gases
released. For example, a poor combustion process running at low
temperatures with a poor air supply will invariably produce more
pollutants than a combustion process with the correct combustion
control factors of fuel delivery, ignition and air supplies etc.
These are several reasons why a
serviceable combustion analyser
for boiler repairs is essential in quantifying the composition of flues gases within the combustion
process of a heating
appliance. In essence, flue gases are the
by-products from the combustion process which determines their
ultimate make up. That said, flue gas will primarily consist of
uncombusted nitrogen taken from primary and/or secondary combustion
air supplies, water vapour (H2O) created by the combustion of
hydrogen in the fuel with oxygen (O2), also taken from primary
and/or secondary air supplies, excess oxygen, again also taken from
primary and/or secondary air supplies and carbon dioxide (CO2) which
is the result of carbon from the fuel combined with oxygen.
Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odourless, colourless and poisonous gas caused by incomplete burning
of carbon-based fuels during a poor combustion process. Carbon
monoxide accounts for most fatalities associated with flue gases
from heating appliances.
Mon-Fri 08.30-20.30
0208 265 8822 Emergencies and out of hours 07852 736 626
The constituents of flue gases are within the control of the heating engineer. As one of his primary
responsibilities, he must be fully conversant with principles of the
combustion process to overcome any potential problem associated with
poor combustion performance of a central heating appliance. Consequently,
the use of a serviceable flue gas analyser for boiler repairs
essential for all who service, or repair gas boilers in south east
London or Bromley.
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Alarmingly, it is becoming a quite common story of deaths caused by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning
because of incorrectly operating or dangerous conditions of heating
appliances within dwellings. Therefore it is imperative that gas
service engineers are able to competently check the safe operation
of a boiler after installation or during a central heating service
or breakdown call out. This has led to the government to legally
require that all central heating engineers are certified in understanding
the proper and safe use of a flue gas analyser for boiler
repairs. Not only does this improve safety, but also the
efficient and reliable working of your central
heating.
Many thanks to Kevin Mileson, the managing director of http://www.gesuk.com for providing the technical information
needed for creating this page, and his patience in answering my endless questions. His training in combustion theory and the use of flue gas analysers
for boiler repairs that I carry out in Bromley and south east London has proven to be invaluable.
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