Strong fumes, dodgy central heating

[fumefree]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and new to oil boilers. I have an older Worcester Heatslave 18/25 (13 years). I've been in this house for about a month. I had an engineer do an inspection before moving in and he said everything was perfect. Since then I've turned on central heating and water heating a good number of times. All seemed to be working okay, until today.

This morning I had the oil tank topped up (from 30% to 100%). The boiler was turned off during this time. After 30 minutes or so I started to smell fumes in the house. I opened the windows to air it out and after another 30 minutes I tried turning the central heating on. It didn't do anything. I waited for a while but nothing, and the smell got stronger. I then tried to turn the water heating on, and that worked right away.

I ended up calling an engineer to take a look at the boiler but they could not find a fault in it, even though I told him water heating and central heating could be turned on independently and this was not working. He managed to brute force turn on central heating by turning on both water and central, and clanking the heating intensity button up. Thermostat was set to 20C and it was marking 17C so heating should turn on. He said I needed a plumber, not an oil engineer.

An hour later I'm still getting very strong smells whenever I try to turn central heating on, and have to air out the house, which defeats the purpose.

I'm located in Aldington (TN25) and wondering if anyone would have any idea of what could have happened. And would you recommend a professional I can call in the area?

Thank you in advance

 

[Deleted member 120897]

Are you certain it’s fumes? In my opinion, if you’re getting fumes, then you do need an oftec/oil engineer ASAP, one that has fumes investigation as well. Where is the boiler in relation to the fumes? Is it possible for fumes to be coming from elsewhere? Can you post a photo of flue arrangement?

 

[Roy_66]

Also interesting to see a photo of which room the boiler is in, room ventilation, and is there any kind of enclosure for the boiler e.g. cupboard and how is that ventilated.

Cheers,

Roy (amateur)

 

[fumefree]

Are you certain it’s fumes? In my opinion, if you’re getting fumes, then you do need an oftec/oil engineer ASAP, one that has fumes investigation as well. Where is the boiler in relation to the fumes? Is it possible for fumes to be coming from elsewhere? Can you post a photo of flue arrangement?

How would one troubleshoot if it's fumes or not? All I know is that the whole house reeks of kerosene since this morning, and I have several windows open. I began to feel ill (dizzy, nausea) downstairs where the boiler is, because the smell is too strong. So I haven't turned it on anymore and it still smells a lot even with windows open.

I'll take a decent picture of the flue tomorrow in daylight. It's located about 2.3m from the ground.

 

[fumefree]

Also interesting to see a photo of which room the boiler is in, room ventilation, and is there any kind of enclosure for the boiler e.g. cupboard and how is that ventilated.

Cheers,

Roy (amateur)

The boiler is in a kitchen cupboard under the counter. I'm not sure how it's ventilated. What would the ideal ventilation look like?

The kitchen has no door on the opening to the living room. There's a window in the kitchen to the back garden.

 

[Deleted member 120897]

How would one troubleshoot if it's fumes or not? All I know is that the whole house reeks of kerosene since this morning, and I have several windows open. I began to feel ill (dizzy, nausea) downstairs where the boiler is, because the smell is too strong. So I haven't turned it on anymore and it still smells a lot even with windows open.

I'll take a decent picture of the flue tomorrow in daylight. It's located about 2.3m from the ground.

I wouldn’t know, as I’m not an oil engineer, however the issues you describe along with your symptoms suggest it’s fairly urgent.

 

[fumefree]

I wouldn’t know, as I’m not an oil engineer, however the issues you describe along with your symptoms suggest it’s fairly urgent.

Yeah, I'd think so. I called several numbers to get an engineer to come. Someone will be here in an hour, so hopefully he'll know what to do.

 

[Deleted member 120897]

Can you let us know what he says? Thanks. Hopefully he’ll have the experience.

 

[SJB060685]

Are you sure it's kerosene you're smelling and is it when the boiler runs or all the time?

 

[fumefree]

Can you let us know what he says? Thanks. Hopefully he’ll have the experience.

So the boiler was indeed leaking. The oil pump was dripping into a puddle of oil, hence the awful constant smell. He smelled it as soon as he came in the front door. He said the pump will need to be replaced and that the nozzle should be changed along with it. Also, there was a clamp just sitting there which he said should be securing an exhaust hose. He'll also service the boiler when he repairs it. Basically the guy I had inspect it didn't do a good job at all ☹️ I'll be a few days without heating or hot water but at least it's not in January.

 

[fumefree]

Are you sure it's kerosene you're smelling and is it when the boiler runs or all the time?

Yep, it was kerosene. It was just dripping in there.

 

[Deleted member 120897]

Good news really, as it could have cost you more and a couple of days without heating/hot water isn’t all that bad considering.

 

[SJB060685]

If you've found a leak isolate the fuel at the tank and get an engineer to visit.

 

[Deleted member 120897]

If you've found a leak isolate the fuel at the tank and get an engineer to visit.

Have you missed a post mate? Engineer visited, and now OP awaiting parts, boiler is off.

 

[SJB060685]

Have you missed a post mate? Engineer visited, and now OP awaiting parts, boiler is off.

That I have yes 🤦🏻‍♂️.

 

[SimonG]

Can happen when oil is topped up, puts additional strain on seals and joints. Sometimes the shaft seal, sometimes the stem seal, some times the pressure adjuster seal (depending on pump type).