Carbon Monoxide Alarms

houseplant

Hi. I am renting a house with gas heating and gas fire in sitting room. The boiler is in a press in the kitchen. Only move in just before the summer and the landlord says that both have been serviced in the last year, but there are no stickers on either appliance to state the last service. There are no carbon monoxide alarms in the house. My questions are,
1. Should there be stickers on appliances stating when they were last serviced, and how often should they be serviced?
2. Is it tenant or landlord that gets the service?
3. Is it tenant or landlord that should get carbon monoxide alarms fitted?
4. How many alarms and where should they be placed? 3 bed semi.

Thanks

The_Conductor

1. I've never seen a device with a sticker on it- and I get a few devices serviced each year (I'm getting a back boiler done on Monday).
2. They should be serviced annually.
3. Who gets it done depends. I've seen a number of cases where the landlord gets it done- but also vice-versa- often the tenant may take out a service contract with the supplier, which includes an annual service. Bord Gais Homecare are probably one of the better known of these- the benefit of a tenant taking this approach- is if something does go wrong- there is a service contract with the supplier to fix any issues, regardless of time of year, within a specified timeframe. I've had them out on New Years Day- in -10 temperatures- to get us up and running- and it was the best investment I ever made.

Check your lease- normally maintenance and service contract arrangements are spelt out.

4. Carbon monoxide alarms- normally a tenant gets their own. They're actually a consumable- they have a set lifespan- like lightbulbs. If you don't have one- get one- they're only about a tenner in Woodies/Atlantic/B&Q etc. Note- they only last 2-3 years- and have a 'best before' date on them (I'm not joking!!!) Check out their best-before date, and discard them when they reach this date.

5. You'd typically have a few smoke alarms in a 3-bed semi- most recent systems has them joined into one another. CO detectors on the other hand- you'd have one- low down in the room the boiler is (CO is heavier than air- and sinks- you'll have the greatest density in the room with the device- there is little point in putting a second or subsequent ones elsewhere- you'd be suffocating before they were ever triggered.

For the sake of 10 or 15 quid- get your own detector- note its expiration date- and change its battery every 6-9 months.

Talk to your landlord about getting the boiler serviced- but I would highly recommend taking out a service contract- the damn things have a nasty habit of breaking when you need them the very most........... If this is over Christmas or the New Year- you could well be waiting a week before you were able to get it repaired- service contracts really are the way to go with boilers.......

murphaph

Well the LL is obliged to have the appliances serviced at regular intervals. It is not any more clearly defined than that in law.

He is not obliged to fit CO alarms at all.

At the end of the day you will die if something goes wrong here and a CO alarm costs buttons and can be brought to your next place.

anthony4335

There are CO alarms in Aldi at the moment.

hfallada

I know a plumber that has been a plumber for over 30 years and is the best plumber have known. He will tell you a boiler service is sham. A modern gas boiler doesnt not need to be serviced regularly, as gas burns it doesnt leave behind anything. Its one of the cleanest fuels possible. Meaning there is no need for it be "serviced", which is the clean it and check it works alright. A modern boiler shoudlnt develop problems.

A carbon monoxide alarm most be installed with any new boiler installation. OP just buy one. They are cheap and life saving. They only need to be in the room where a fuel is being burnt eg in the room with a boiler or in the room where you light fires.

The_Conductor

hfallada wrote: »

I know a plumber that has been a plumber for over 30 years and is the best plumber have known. He will tell you a boiler service is sham. A modern gas boiler doesnt not need to be serviced regularly, as gas burns it doesnt leave behind anything. Its one of the cleanest fuels possible. Meaning there is no need for it be "serviced", which is the clean it and check it works alright. A modern boiler shoudlnt develop problems.

A carbon monoxide alarm most be installed with any new boiler installation. OP just buy one. They are cheap and life saving. They only need to be in the room where a fuel is being burnt eg in the room with a boiler or in the room where you light fires.

There are all manner of problems that can happen- ignition switches have a max 3-4 year lifespan, electrics can fail (I've paid for 2 new main boards this year for 2 Potterton back boilers), any boiler will need a flue that has to be inspected with a smoke test- and if it fails, a pressure clean is called for (I've the Dublin Chimney and Flue company coming out to me tomorrow evening for this very reason), there is a pump associated with most boilers- which can go, etc etc etc....... As a very minimum a smoke test should be conducted regularly- its not a 'service' per se, more a safety check- but it can be a life saver.........

Randomly discounting getting a gas boiler (or appliances) serviced on a regular basis is very poor advice, and indeed possibly fatal advice. We have had a number of carbon monoxide deaths in Ireland in recent years- from boilers that weren't serviced- not getting a service is a false economy, esp. when you consider the average age of gas boilers installed is over 10 years of age.

Modern condenser boilers- are more efficient- and less prone to issues (at least for their first 5-6 years of use). They tend to be out of warranty at 4 years- and often need electrics replaced at years 6-8. The big issue is with the older boilers installed in the 90s- many of which have had not so much as an inspection since their installations...........

ABajaninCork

If you're getting CO detectors, then don't skimp on them. Get Kiddes ones. They're the best and have a 10 year life. Cost a bit in the beginning (I paid £13 for mine), but for what they can do, it's cheap...

The_Conductor

ABajaninCork wrote: »

If you're getting CO detectors, then don't skimp on them. Get Kiddes ones. They're the best and have a 10 year life. Cost a bit in the beginning (I paid £13 for mine), but for what they can do, it's cheap...

And make sure you check the 'best before' dates on them.........

ABajaninCork

The_Conductor wrote: »

And make sure you check the 'best before' dates on them.........

Of course. Didn't want to repeat the point you'd already made Conductor....

Michael D Not Higgins

The gas boiler in my flat was only just newly installed before I moved in, about two years ago. During its last service the serviceman noticed the pressure was low and had to get the gas network to sort it. There's a number of issues that can be seen during an annual service, and it's a legal requirement of the landlords here to get it done every year.

Thinking about it now I haven't got a CO alarm. I'm gonna go get one for the flat, but does anyone know where the best place to put it would be? I see that CO is slightly less dense than air but some websites are saying don't place them on the ceiling, place them at head height, another saying you can put them on the ceiling.

ABajaninCork

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

The gas boiler in my flat was only just newly installed before I moved in, about two years ago. During its last service the serviceman noticed the pressure was low and had to get the gas network to sort it. There's a number of issues that can be seen during an annual service, and it's a legal requirement of the landlords here to get it done every year.

Thinking about it now I haven't got a CO alarm. I'm gonna go get one for the flat, but does anyone know where the best place to put it would be? I see that CO is slightly less dense than air but some websites are saying don't place them on the ceiling, place them at head height, another saying you can put them on the ceiling.

I bought one for my rented house last year. It's a Kiddes. I've placed it just above the dividing doors from the kitchen into the living room, and it seems to work OK there.

For my house in London, I had a BG detector which was placed in the front room by the engineer as I had a back boiler. None were placed on the ceiling. Only my smoke alarms went there.

murphaph

I've a Kidde one and it said to install around head height.

jack1000

It is terrible advice to say that servicing a gas boiler is a sham. Besides anything else a proper service should involve checking the soundness of the pipe work and joints. Like anyother pipework leaks can evolve in them over time.