Boiler trouble - thermo-coupler

[flipflop104]

Hello. I'm having a problem with my boiler (no not the missus lol) and my dad reckons it's the thermo-coupler (soz don't know how to spell it!). A kind of sensor???

Can anyone give me an idea of how much it will cost to get this replaced with a "decent" person (not one of those rip-off guys you see in "house of horrors") and how can I find a decent person in my area (Leeds)? Is there some kind of online directory where you can get lists of people that are reputable?

Cheers

[pilotlight]

flipflop, Assuming the problem is indeed the thermo-couple,any self-respecting heating / boiler engineer will carry thermo-couples as part of the van stock. The part itself is fairly inexpensive ( �5 -- �10 ).The time required to fit the part varies, depending on the make/model of the boiler.

I suggest that you look in yellow pages, or your local paper for a Corgi registered engineer, although I doubt if you will receive a quote, as it may turn out not to be the thermo-couple that is at fault.

Hope this helps.

[KARL]

In all likelihood you are not allowed legally to change this yourself (i.e. assuming you are in the UK) because it is part of a gas appliance, although it actually simply unscrews and the new one screws in - no gas path is involved and either it works correctly or it doesn't (it is form of switch). The people who can do so legally are CORGI (a safety monitoring/regulating body, UK only) registered plumbers or fitters. No form of professional register of engineers exists in the UK - while a very small number may exist for very special work reasons, engineers are not generally CORGI registered nor do they deal with household plumbing except perhaps as DIY. A thermocouple can be had for as little as �3-4 over the counter at a plumber's merchant and the work should take no more than ten to fifteen minutes. If you know anyone who has had gas work done and is happy, try their plumber - this is often the best route. You are right to worry about being ripped off, but you are rather restricted because the man is to some extent officially licenced to rip you off (if so inclined) - a capable and honest, but unlicenced, man does not enjoy that "perk". This is the drawback of the system.

[flipflop104]

So, although my dad is pretty certain what the problem is and thinks he can do it (although he's not actually had a look at the boiler yet), he is NOT allowed to do the work (he is an electrical engineer btw)??

[KARL]

I will assume your father is truly a professional engineer (perhaps a member of the relevant institute and therefore a chartered engineer - not a technician - see my previous reply). He will find it pretty odd that someone like him who has a degree (perhaps even a Ph.D.), and maybe on top of that decades of exerience designing and/or supervising construction of anything from local transformer/switchgear instalations to power stations, is actually not allowed to replace a piece of cable in his domestic electricity installation (perhaps to a light fitting or a socket) unless he is licenced in the way the local electrician is. The electrician can in fact legally call himself an engineer, unlike the hospital nurse who would be sharply hauled up is he/she called him/herself a doctor. No mistake, legally no-one can do work on or installing gas appliances unless CORGI registered. Your father and you will make your own decisions on who will replace a glorified sealed tube to replace a failed one. By the way, I should have said in my previous reply that either it will work perfectly or not at all - totally black or white.

[alexmk]

To be extremely pedantic :-) this :

"No mistake, legally no-one can do work on or installing gas appliances unless CORGI registered. "

is incorrect.

The missing words to correct the sentence are "for gain"

you can if you wish install your own gas appliances (but, really, would you?), but you cannot charge to do it for others.

you don't have to touch the gas supply to change a thermocouple and it s nothing to do with Part P electrics as alluded to by KARL, so change it yourself