Gas Engineer - CORGI registered

[steve_m]

Can anybody recommend a gas engineer in Herts/Cambs area ?  Need a central heating boiler fixing, pilot light lights but won't stay on, looks like the metalic heat sensor that heats up isn't working.

[Hammy]

A good bet is to call age concern -they have a list of CORGI Engineers and have a recommended scheme. Better than pot luck from yellow pages

[JeffC]

cant help you on a plumber but I Fitted one of them on my boiler few years back If its what im thinking thermo-somethingor other ? wasnt  a hard job  , from what I saw you cant really go wrong , I got one from plumb centre for a few quid and about 20 mins to fit it.  

[stewart pickles]

that would be a thermocouple jeff

[dean6767]

If you need a registered gas installer in your area ring CORGI on 01256 372200 and they will give you a list of about 4 or 5 qualified and registered engineers in your area.

A thermocouple costs about £4.50 so do not get overcharged for a 10 minute job.

Dean

[Darkspeed]

And most likley to be described as a Universal thermocouple kit (different lengths available)- about £3 from plumb centre etc.

A simple thermopile device - provides a small electrical current to the coil of the gas valve keeping it open.

Sorry no help on the engineer.

Andrew

[NRW]

I had a similar fault the boiler fan baldes where dirty and couldn't create enough of a vacuum to keep the sensor happy so the boiler electronics kept shutting off. The corgi engineer came and charged me £150 for a new board and went away and it still didn't work so i did it myself after a bit of investigation...

[Kevin Wood]

Had a thermocouple changed a few years back. CORGI engineer spent 10 mins diagnosing the problem, another 5 mins fitting a new thermocouple and then f*rted about for ages testing the draw of the flue and other irrelevant stuff that he was allegedly "required by law to do". Ended up costing about 150 quid or more. The next week I spotted a "universal thermocouple" for about 3 quid in B&Q.

Kevin

[Thrustyjust]

you can change a thrmocouple on your own and don't need a corgi engineer,as you are not breaking any gas pipes.B&Q sell them for a couple of quid.There are a couple of types.Check if you have an overheat stat connected half way down the pipe or not.It is a very easy device to fit.

[Bob Green]

A thermocouple is a doddle to change.  I have fitted 4 in different houses I have lived in and the bricks and mortar still stand!

[steve_m]

Thanks very much, looks like it might be cheaper than I thought  

This thermocouple, we are talking about the piece of metal that sits just above the pilot light flame and then exits the burner in a small copper pipe like a brake pipe and then enters the gas valve housing ?

If that's all, it does look like a 10 min job to change and doesn't mean touching the gas bits at all.

[Thrustyjust]

the 'pipe' gives an electrostatic charge from the flame to keep the gas pilot valve open.If you can only get a thermocouple that has the inline overheat stat fitting,you can make a wire loop across the connections to loop it out,so using it as a standard thermocouple.

[steve_m]

Thanks, £5.98 from local plumbers merchant !    Will find out tonight if it works.

[brianm]

QUOTE

Thanks, £5.98 from local plumbers merchant !    Will find out tonight if it works.

keep yer 'eds down tonight lads if yer near neighbours          

B,

[steve_m]

Have faith Brian !    It works perfectly    

Thanks for the help everybody, much appreciated !