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By chevvron
#1876970
Ever since we had those torrential downpours a few weeks ago, I've noticed my gas boiler is 'reluctant' to fire up mainly during morning and evening periods ie about 7am - 9am and 5pm to 7pm. It will go through several re-light sequences before it finally operates
Could this be down to local reductions in gas pressure during peak periods? It's not the sort of thing you can check on your own.
Years ago, when I tried to light the hob to heat a kettle late one night, there was an initial burst of gas which quickly died. The engineer I called found no pressure at all and next day they found that there had apparently been a leakage of water into the gas main which had effectively blocked it; could this be happening again?
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1876988
My limited understanding of this is that meters contain something that measures pressure and locks out if it drops too low (requiring a technician to come and reset)

I guess there could be an edge case where pressure at the meter is within tolerance, but losses within the premises mean it ends up being too low at the boiler.
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1877016
I assume you can't check a gas hob now / when the issue is happening? Do neighbours experience similar?
There can be many reasons for a boiler struggling to fire. Some newer boilers can provide detailed error information on why they haven't fired / are struggling.

Water in the pipes does indeed happen - took them a week to drain the pipes near to me earlier this year after a leak & flood.
By Big Dex
#1877043
Writing as a qualified gas installer (GSR# available by request):

You have a very easy solution of calling 0800 111999 (gas emergency line) and you will get a speedy and effective response measured in hours not days.

Unless you have water in your home gas pipework causing the blockage, and with domestic natural gas pressure being 19-23mb, it cannot “lift” water in a pipe by more than about 200mm, the fault almost certainly lies upstream of your meter outlet, which is conveniently also where your maintenance responsibilities end too. My money is on water in the underground pipework.

Assuming that you have a low-pressure meter (99% are, very seldom to you see a medium pressure regulator), there is no reset button/lever on the regulator.

The gas network must provide you with sufficient pressure for your system to operate at 19-23mb up to the maximum rated meter consumption (standard domestic U6/G4/E6 meters are good for 64kw), as your appliances are designed to run at this working pressure, so if you’re not getting that (too low is as bad as too high), they’re not going to be burning correctly and it would constitute an unsafe situation (incomplete combustion, lean burn, flame failure, CO etc). Hence the number above should be your first port of call; tell them that you have inadequate gas pressure, and you’ve been advised by a gas installer that they need to come out and check the incoming pressure and the regulator setting. If the fault transpires to be in your pipework, they still won’t charge you, but then you’ll need a local gas installer to investigate at your expense, but there’s a very good case for passing that bill on to UU, as it can only get in there via their pipework.

If you’d like a chat, drop me a message with your number and I’ll be happy to give you a call back.
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By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1877044
Be aware - if they think anything is unsafe on your side of the meter, they will disable your gas supply (take out a link at the meter) so it definitely wont work till you get someone to fix it!
By Big Dex
#1877065
They will not assess the appliances inside; they will check for gas leaks and possibly walk around for a visual check. Most of the UU/Cadent gas pipework team are not qualified to work on domestic appliances, but such work is outside of their remit so there’s no reason for them to be. Maintenance of the appliances and pipework in your home downstream of the meter are the responsibility of the homeowner. If there’s a leak in your home, they will not fix it, they will “make safe”, ie insert a blanking disk in the meter inlet pipework, easily and legally removed by a registered gas installer when they come to fix the leak.
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