Asbestos

[caddie1]

On February 22 we were due to have our annual Boiler service and central heating check under contract with ?. On arrival the engineer said straight away i think we have a problem and went straight back to his van and produced document with a list of boilers which have asbestos in them. He explained the situation and said he could not carry out any inspection of said boiler. Potterton Netaheat mk2f 10/16. I accepted this as i know how dangerous asbestos can be.
I phoned ? customer services and the 2 people i spoke to seemed not to know anything about this. My biggest grievance is that in 2007 they did an initial inspection of my boiler and system and accepted this to be ok for cover and i have paid direct debit all this time and had past annual inspection with no problems or issues. If the boiler had broke down would they have done any work on it even though still taking my money?
Anyone else know of any other instances like this?


Things have escalated since this initial complaint but would like to know if you feel that myself and other customers should have been informed of this before cover was given, or at least spoke to us about this as soon as was known of any changes in policy.
Thanks.

 

[simon0703]

Hi, the company I work for has a asbestos awareness list which is constantly being updated with models and makes of boiler which contain asbestos. I have this situation sometimes when boiler was OK to work on year before and this year it has been added to list, so we can't touch it.

 

[Whyme]

you should have been made aware initially i think, a lot of boilers have been known for donkys years to have asbestos in them.

 

[caddie1]

Hi, the company I work for has a asbestos awareness list which is constantly being updated with models and makes of boiler which contain asbestos. I have this situation sometimes when boiler was OK to work on year before and this year it has been added to list, so we can't touch it.

Hi Simon0703.
The engineer said this notice came out sometime in 2012 but i cannot get a precice date. The Gasafe Bulletin has been around for a long time but at the very least it was amended April 6th 2012 so i think myself and any other customers should have been informed.

 

[stevetheplumber]

health and safety is being tightened up every where companies have to draw a line some where regarding the health of their employees you boiler is probably 30 years old now so leave it till it expires naturally

 

[tamz]

The Neataheat has been on the list for a lllooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg time.
It has an asbestos rope seal on the flue hood and an asbestos gasket.

 

[stevetheplumber]

i think its the case seals that are no longer \ available making it virtually impossible to service as removing the case is likley to reveal these to need changing i will say this is a positive pressure boiler and as such they should have used a smoke pen to test the seals are intact even if they cant open the case

 

[caddie1]

health and safety is being tightened up every where companies have to draw a line some where regarding the health of their employees you boiler is probably 30 years old now so leave it till it expires naturally

I agree the employee has to be protected. My point is about them taking my hard earned cash and not telling me the same time as the employee was told he cannot work on these boilers.

 

[caddie1]

The Neataheat has been on the list for a lllooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg time.
It has an asbestos rope seal on the flue hood and an asbestos gasket.

Thanks Tamz i thought that was the case.

 

[tamz]

As Steve said tho they constantly update their policies on what is acceptable to work on so that may have changed

 

[AWheating]

that boiler has been listed for many, many years as containing asbestos. The company should either service it or give you your money back. You are not getting the product/service you have paid for. if they refuse tell them you will be speaking to the hse about the fact they have disturbed asbestos in your property in previous years without proper risk assessment.

 

[villa_tom]

that boiler has been listed for many, many years as containing asbestos. The company should either service it or give you your money back. You are not getting the product/service you have paid for. if they refuse tell them you will be speaking to the hse about the fact they have disturbed asbestos in your property in previous years without proper risk assessment.

In some aspects they are getting the product they paid for though. Even though the case can't be removed, certain things can still be repaired in the event of a breakdown. Ie gas valves, pumps, 3 ports and rad valves etc.

you could still perform some sort of basic service on the appliance as well. You could gas rate, burner pressure, working pressure and FGA the appliance and test the seals on the boiler case. You'd get a decent indication of if its working safely or not, I'd still AR it though as I could see the internal side of the boiler.

But I would argue the point that the customer has been ripped off, as most repair work can be carried out.

 

[iain85]

Well as long as the asbestos is not disturbed I don't understand why it can't be serviced? The back panel on these need to be checked as can rust away leaking due to it being positive pressure appliance. Also what are people going to do when the appliance needs replacing?

 

[AWheating]

if the contract is for a proper appliance service then it can not be serviced correctly without removing the case and following the MI.

i bet the small print in the contract has enough get out of jail clauses to cover most issues, best to stick to local engineers to avoid paying for what you dont get.

 

[AWheating]

Well as long as the asbestos is not disturbed I don't understand why it can't be serviced? The back panel on these need to be checked as can rust away leaking due to it being positive pressure appliance. Also what are people going to do when the appliance needs replacing?

when it needs replacing you need to get a asbestos company to remove and take it away imo.

 

[villa_tom]

if the contract is for a proper appliance service then it can not be serviced correctly without removing the case and following the MI.

i bet the small print in the contract has enough get out of jail clauses to cover most issues, best to stick to local engineers to avoid paying for what you dont get.

small print is king in these circumstances.

It probably says "boiler safety check" rather than service 🙂

 

[iain85]

Do you get a 3rd party for this?
A rope seal and gasket. Wet it down double bag it and dispose correctly. Jobs a carrot. Just like when replacing any other dodgy gaskets.

 

[AWheating]

hard to bag a seal thats behind the boiler and falls apart when the appliance is removed off the wall. 🙁

if you have the tools and quals then fine do it yourself.

 

[AWheating]

small print is king in these circumstances.

It probably says "boiler safety check" rather than service 🙂

your probably right, which is normally not what the customer thinks they are paying for sadly.

 

[iain85]

Removed loads and hasn't fell apart on me yet. Wet it down and not a problem.

 

[villa_tom]

your probably right, which is normally not what the customer thinks they are paying for sadly.

I totally agree. It's just people being misinformed rather than ripped off in my opinion.

Nobody does, we are all guilty of it, but we should all read the small print.

 

[Dannypipe]

Repaired one of these today!

It's true whats been said about the seals. If they're gone, you're in trouble. The fan is blowing into the casing, so if the case seal is bad or there is a rust hole, you can be in trouble.

Great boilers in their day. But the above issues have killed people and is more worrying than the asbestos gasket!

I think they should have at least smoke checked the casing (I also run a mirror around it and look for steam) and then check the gas rate, burner pressure, maybe do a tightness test. At least you would have felt you got something for your money.

 

[caddie1]

Liking all the replies but 1 thing. Do you all agree that the customer should be informed that He/ She has asbestos in their property ie boiler or other appliances.

 

[Dannypipe]

Liking all the replies but 1 thing. Do you all agree that the customer should be informed that He/ She has asbestos in their property ie boiler or other appliances.

I guess so, if it enters your head to remember then why not tell them.

It could be seen as scaremongering though, as it's not doing any harm unless its disturbed. There's asbestos in lots of weird things you would never think of.

Lots of ceiling artex for example.

I'm not down playing how dangerous asbestos is though. Who want's asbestosis? Totally horrible way to go.

 

[AWheating]

Removed loads and hasn't fell apart on me yet. Wet it down and not a problem.

your lucky then. If the seal is in a bad condition you will be at a higher risk even with your resp,overalls, h vac and sheeting down etc...... Your risk assessment and method statements will need to cover you for all possibilities.

better to employ proper qualified persons imo.