Gas Appliance Installations
Appliance safety
With every new gas appliance installation, your safety is paramount, which is why they must be handled with complete care.
As a Gas Safe registered business, ‘Odsal Gas & Heating Care‘ have the expertise to carry out all your domestic gas work. All this with an emphasis on compliance with current regulations.
We are officially certified to work on a vast range of appliances within the Natural Gas classification and moreover operate strictly to the guidlines set out by the ‘Gas Safe’ Register. Other important standards are the Building and Water Regulations and the British and EU Standards agencies. By explicitely adhering to these protocols we are providing a service that guarantees the legitimacy of any warranty.
OGC have the know how and experience to handle domestic natural gas appliances with complete care and safety. Our trained professionals are on hand 24/7 to take care of all your gas appliance needs. Notably its our Engineers that offer a one hour response time for emergency call-outs, fixing any problem before they escalate.
If you reside in the Bradford, Leeds, Halifax or Huddersfield or across any part of Yorkshire and are interested in OGC’s competitively priced services, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Odsal Gas & Heating Care will undoubtedly be ready to arrange a visit for you.
Choosing the right kind of boiler
Combi Boiler
How they work:
Combis work as sealed systems, providing hot water for both the taps and central heating system. Heating the water directly from the mains as and when it is needed. This means there is no need for a hot water storage cylinder, or a cistern in the roof space.
Advantages: Combis are quicker, easier and cheaper to fit than system boilers, as well as space saving due to the lack of a cylinder or cistern. Water is delivered at mains pressure, so you can enjoy a more powerful (although not ‘power’) shower.
Disadvantages: It’s a priority system, so it only satisfactorily deals with one heating need at a time. While fine for small families with one bathroom, larger families will experience poor flow rates when multiple outlets are used at once. Performance is also dependant on the diameter of the pipe entering the property: if it’s less than 22mm, then a combi is a bad choice. How they work: System boilers are fitted to sealed heating systems, but unlike combis work on the principle of storing hot water in a cylinder. This means they can feed several outlets at once at mains pressure. There’s no need for a cistern in the loft and the expansion vessel is built in. Advantages: Ideal for larger homes with higher demands. As they have most of their major components built in (i.e. expansion vessel and pump), the installation is quicker, cheaper and neater. Flow rates are usually high as water is delivered at mains pressure, and hot water is instantaneous. Disadvantages: Will run out of hot water if overused. Some installers claim they are more complex and prone to problems than regular boilers, such as pressure loss. How they work: Regular boilers are now largely bought as replacements for homes with an open-vented heating system (i.e. supplied by means of a feed and expansion cistern in the roof space), meaning the system is open to air. Like system boilers, they work on the principle of stored water and require a separate hot water cylinder. Advantages: The water out of the taps will be at a good flow rate (not to be confused with pressure) and hot water can be supplied instantaneously. This is the ideal setup for a ‘power’ shower, which requires a cold water feed from the cistern and a separate electric pump. Disadvantages: They’re more expensive to install, needing more components and pipework, and also take up more space. They can suffer from low pressure if the cistern is not located high enough, meaning additional shower boosters may be required. Hot water can run out. Note: Sealed or Open? In a sealed circuit, the system is filled to approx 1 bar pressure and then sealed. Unlike an open-vented system, there is no cistern, so an expansion vessel handles excess water. Sealed systems are more efficient.System Boiler
Regular/Conventional Boiler
Benchmarking and Commissioning your new Appliance
‘Benchmark’ is a nationally recognised scheme that gives manufacturers and installers the means for ensuring best practices in the installation, commissioning and servicing of domestic heating and hot water products. It ties in as a legal requirement conforming with the Building Regulations in England and Wales. It is managed by the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC). Most importantly a completed ‘Benchmark’ checklist gives you evidence that your product has been installed and commissioned competently.
What the checklist provides evidence of:
- The installer is competent, qualified and committed to providing a high quality service
- The installer works to the Benchmark Code of Practice
- The product has been installed correctly
- The installer has given you a demonstration of the product and how it works
- The installer has given you the manufacturer’s user instructions
- You have signed to say that the installer has given you a demonstration and the handover is complete
Some engineers will not complete the Benchmark checklist correctly or at all for a gas boiler installation. Subsequently your boiler warranty will not be valid. This is because ALL the UK’s major gas boiler manufacturers, with the support of HHIC, have launched a campaign to rid the industry of incompetent installers. By linking the completion of a commissioning checklist to the warranty of a new boiler, the manufacturers are supporting the majority of legit and conscientious engineers. Correspondingly they are also sending a clear message to ‘illegal’ and ‘cowboy’ installers that manufacturers will no longer carry the cost for installations that have not been carried out in line with the manufacturers’ instructions.
When your new appliance is handed over:
- The engineer will provide you with all completed commissioning documents, such as the Benchmark certificate for boilers and water heaters and will leave the manufacturers instructions with you.
- We will remind you that your warranty registration needs to be returned and completed.
- If you’re based in England or Wales, the engineer will notify the installation to your Local Authority (unless it’s a flueless cooking appliance). Similar requirements exist in the Isle of Man and Guernsey.
- Most importantly, please make sure you’re happy with the work we have done and that it’s been completed as agreed before you make any payment.
It isn’t Rocket Science !
Odsal Gas and Heating Care will ensure that you are familiarized with your new appliance and de-mystify all of its functions. We always perform for you a full demonstration of all the user controls, and where neccessary show you all of the simple checks that will keep your new appliance running smoothly and correctly. Don’t panic, its simpler that it looks and help is at hand.
And Finally
Please give us a call if you have any concerns or need any help with your new appliance.
After you have had gas work completed in your property you can nominate your installation for an inspection by the Gas Safe Register. Find out more.
Remember all gas appliances in your home need to be serviced and checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer.