Hi All,
Just a quick word of warning that comes from a recent experience of mine.
I rent a property and my landlords had recently purchased the property when we moved in. They were kind enough to have both of the gas heaters serviced 12 months ago. Both heaters were old and nobody knew when it had last been done.
The space heater in our living area heats the main living space and the kids bedrooms so we would use this heater of an evening to keep the sleeping space warm for the kids so when the pilot light went out and I couldn't get it re-lit I contacted one of my plumbers and asked him just to re-light the pilot for me. My cost obviously!
My plumber / gasfitter attended, re-lit the pilot, got it going and ran a CO test which had alarming results. The heater was leaking CO at an ever increasing rate for the 3-5 mins that he had it running. Obviously he has had to shut it off and disconnect the heater. Upon closer inspection he found that the person who had serviced the heater 12 months before had left the heater in an illegal state which was likely the cause of the CO leak. This heater is about 40 years old.
Although there are no laws as to a landlords responsibility to service gas appliances every 2 years is the recommendation, however, if you have a gas heater in your IP which is as old as the hills it might be a good idea to have a service & CO test carried out every 12 months by a trusted trade!!
(and for those landlords that are wondering at the cost - I requested that the invoice be sent to me. The landlord didn't ask for any work to be done! I'll send them a copy so they have the details of the problem that has occurred but will not be seeking reimbursement!!
)
Just a quick word of warning that comes from a recent experience of mine.
I rent a property and my landlords had recently purchased the property when we moved in. They were kind enough to have both of the gas heaters serviced 12 months ago. Both heaters were old and nobody knew when it had last been done.
The space heater in our living area heats the main living space and the kids bedrooms so we would use this heater of an evening to keep the sleeping space warm for the kids so when the pilot light went out and I couldn't get it re-lit I contacted one of my plumbers and asked him just to re-light the pilot for me. My cost obviously!
My plumber / gasfitter attended, re-lit the pilot, got it going and ran a CO test which had alarming results. The heater was leaking CO at an ever increasing rate for the 3-5 mins that he had it running. Obviously he has had to shut it off and disconnect the heater. Upon closer inspection he found that the person who had serviced the heater 12 months before had left the heater in an illegal state which was likely the cause of the CO leak. This heater is about 40 years old.
Although there are no laws as to a landlords responsibility to service gas appliances every 2 years is the recommendation, however, if you have a gas heater in your IP which is as old as the hills it might be a good idea to have a service & CO test carried out every 12 months by a trusted trade!!
(and for those landlords that are wondering at the cost - I requested that the invoice be sent to me. The landlord didn't ask for any work to be done! I'll send them a copy so they have the details of the problem that has occurred but will not be seeking reimbursement!!
)
