Had my back boiler at home serviced and annual checked yesterday and I got to thinking!! The boiler is 22 years old and it has done us proud all that time with only minor faults/repairs required. Over the last couple of years we have had "not to current standard" and I accept that - standards change! What I am having difficulty with is the enginers insistence this year that an "at risk" label be applied. Now this may be down to the particular engineer but when I asked "at risk of what" and "what level of risk" he changed the subject. So I didn't get a satisfactory response. Any gas people out there can throw some light on this terminology.

Every year I have an 'at risk' notice because the flue (which is surrounded by a low privet hedge and not accessible) is 2m above ground level and this is now (apparently), too low. I checked into the issue and the definitive answer is 'No' the regs do not apply retrospectively, however, the gas service engineers have a mandate from Gas Safe to make a written note of it so that if anythng happens to you, they are off the hook (makes sense).

bilbo From what you describe it's preposterous that the engineer wouldn't answer your reasonable questions about his reason/s for the "at risk" label. Declining to pay for the boiler service and check until he explained his reason/s might have been effective, but I guess that he's already been paid. However, if the engineer is an employee or came as part of an annual maintenance scheme, it might be worth complaining to his employer or the organisation running the scheme. Also, there might well be scope in asking/complaining to Gas Safe. In addition, BBC TV's consumer programme "Watchdog" might be interested. It recently re-featured a gas engineer from whom Gas Safe had withdrawn registration because of unsafe work by him. However, the engineer had simply carried on doing gas work, so "Watchdog" carried out and broadcast a 'sting' catching him in the act with the intention of sharing the details/evidence with HSE and the local trading standards department. On the subject of Gas Safe registration I wonder how many of us bother to ask gas engineers visiting our homes or workplaces to show us their Gas Safe identification cards! According to the Gas Safe website at http://www.gassaferegist...ult.aspx?popupcheck=true each registered engineer should carry a valid card displaying his/her name and photograph and (on the reverse side) the types of gas work for which registration is held. In this respect I admit that I didn't do this myself when an engineer serviced and checked my boiler plus a gas fire at home recently. However, I did do so when the engineer came last year to service the boiler and also to install the gas fire. Furthermore , from conversations with him about gas safety matters during visits over the years I've always felt reasonably assured about his competency. In echo of what bob youel wrote about spare parts becoming difficult to obtain, I should add that the gas fire installed last year was a replacement for an older fire which had been very effective until a fault developed in part of its control system. However, even though the fire was of a very well known UK make, neither my gas engineer nor I could find any supplier which still stocked the necessary spare part. Most annoying! However, on the plus side, the replacement fire does look neater than the previous one which had too many decorative parts on it and wasn't easy to keep dusted! :-)

bilbo, You will probably find that the "at risk" label has been applied because of changes in the regulations that come into effect in January 2013. The change relates to flues that pass through rooms and voids between the boiler and outside wall. The requirement is that the flues must be inspected and where they are in voids, inspection hatches must be fitted. As you have a back boiler, you will probably be affected by this, hence the different label. This change has been discussed in detail on the forum :- http://forum.iosh.co.uk/...spx?g=posts&t=107095

stuie - Your info about the Gas Safe website facility for anyone to check registrations is helpful. I've just used it myself and been reassured to find that the engineer I use remains registered and is licensed for all types of domestic gas work. bob youel - If your gas boiler is still reasonably efficient and spares are obtainable for it, it might be best to continue with it. As you probably know already UK law requires any replacement domestic gas boiler to be a condensing type boiler. As such boilers are fairly sophisticated (in order to extract as much heat as possible from the burner flames and also the flue gas) I understand from some sources that they're more prone to breakdowns than non-condensing type boilers and that replacement components are expensive. However, other sources suggest that recent designs of condensing boilers are much more reliable than the earlier versions. Anyhow, those of us with such a boiler will know that problems can occur through freezing of condensate (water derived through condensing of water vapour in the flue gas) inside any external section of condensate drain pipe during prolonged freezing weather. If a condensate pipe has a tight connection with a boiler, obstruction of the pipe by ice can result in water accumulating above the ice and backing up into the boiler. In some cases this can wreck the boiler and thus cost far more than the money saved by the energy-efficient nature of such a boiler! :-( By contrast condensate pipes with a loose fitting will allow any accumulated water to escape. This was what produced an unexpected pond of water beneath my new boiler during very cold weather over the winter of 2009/2010, and first alerted me about the problem with condensate pipes. Perhaps designers and installers of condensing boilers either didn't anticipate UK winters having prolonged spells of very cold weather which could affect condensate pipes or, worse still, knew of the problem and didn't care! My own remedial measures consisted of removing the long external section of pipe and diverting the inner section to the drainpipe for my washing machine nearby. This has only a short length of external pipe with a greater diameter than the condensate pipe and is thus less prone to freezing. In order to cope with the residual risk of freezing I tried last winter to find a low voltage trace heating system to fit to the external section of pipe, but had no success despite contacting a number of plumbers' merchants and DIY stores. My comments above about condensate pipes are intended to be of use to those who already have a condensing boiler or are thinking about having one installed. However, as they are simply based on personal experience plus information gleaned from various sources, comments or corrections from more knowledgeable forum users are welcome.

quote=stuie]You can also go onto the gas safe website and search for engineers in your area, it comes up with what they are licensed to do along with a picture of the engineer(s) that work for the organisation. http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/ just pop your postcode into the search box and hey presto.