This is the condition of a flue up in a loft that I found while investigating poor boiler performance. The boiler had been serviced by British Gas every year and given a clean bill of health. On closer inspection of the flue I found it was hot to the touch on the outside (the cold air intake side) which led me to believe that exhaust gases were escaping from the inner pipe and contaminating the fresh air coming into the boiler. Naturally I placed an At Risk warning notice on the boiler and switched it off.
I was asked by the customer to investigate further and found, as expected, that the internal pipework had come loose and that the boiler was burning it’s own exhaust gases, creating high levels of carbon monoxide.
I don’t know how long the flue pipes has been disconnected but I am sure the ah-hoc installation was an original feature back in 2001 when the boiler was installed.
With the flue in such poor condition and the boiler 20 years old and performing poorly the clients elected to fit a new boiler. They decided upon a Viessmann 100w system boiler linked to a 250L unvented cylinder. The system is a high tech system running on weather compensation with domestic hot water priority using the Viessmann 4 pipe system, all managed via the Viessmann, ViCare App. The boiler has a built in WiFi module so there’s no need for expensive external third party controls.
The new flue has taken a similar route to the old one but, as you can see, has been secured firmly to the building structure to give it many years of excellent performance and life.
Boiler Bee Limited 