Hey everyone
I desperately need your help.
My mum's boiler is close to 30 years old and is floor standing Allied Heatwave. The burners are at the bottom with two 'chambers' of nippled walls (these are sooting up). I can get to the top panels and front panels which lead to the chambers. The back quarter of the boiler is open (so i assume 'open flued') as the lue sits just by this, but not attached. It has never been attached, its just always been this way. She is having horrific issues with it sooting up - this i where you come in!!!
Its done this in the past, alot, and my dad used to service it himself. Largely by turning the gas off, dismantling it and giving it a good scrub and hoover out. Now he's left she has been put off by a few plumbers who have come round and tried to comdemn it, but through pleading she has managed to get them to 'wipe their hands of it' rather than shut it down. We know it desperately needs replacing but she just can't afford it. I mean she'll have to save for 6 months to afford it, which means if we get an engineer out this week, and he shuts it dowm, she's stuffed for the winter.
Because she doesnt want to disconnect the gas (rightly so), she has been hoovering it out the best she can from the panels which come off (top and front) and trying not damage the burners. She has done this about15 times over the past 5 years so is good at it. This usually buys her about 3 months. This winter it's only lasting 2 weeks.
I need your help. She isn't in a stable mental or financial position to have someone come in just to shut it down 2 weeks before xmas, and i can't help her financially, if i could i would have done it years ago. I need to know if i can turn the gas off and disconnect the pipe, clean the boiler, and reconnect it myself. I know how to do it, i jut don't know if i'm allowed. I am pretty certain it's illegal. But i'm really torn up trying to find a quick fix for this just to get her through christmas.
It's such a bad situation. Does anyone have any advice/tips about how to clean it without disconnecting the gas?
Or why it's sooting up so quickly after each clean?
I basically need all the help you can offer. Please.
Thanks guys.
