Letters

Intouch Please send your letters, which may be edited, to editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk.

‘I’m glad the fire failed when it did’

This is why I love my job – without a doubt, saving customers’ lives. This roomsealed fire was not working: the ignition lead had cracked, it was arcing off the thermocouple, and had been taped up as temporary fix.

I was carrying out Regulation 26.9 checks and suspected that all was not right. I ran my analyser around as a room CO test, which picked up 135ppm and rising.

The customer’s CO alarm was on a table, not in the correct position: when she moved it above the fire, it immediate alarmed.

I evacuated the elderly customers and ventilated, capped off the fire, and found the rope seal was at fault as it was not sealing.

A new fire has been fitted but, more importantly, two lives were definitely saved. I’m glad the fire had failed when did. Rob Wilson RW Gas Services

Why replace boilers when they can be fixed?

I fitted a heating system for a regular customer 35 years ago. The boiler I fitted lasted 28 years – not uncommon for the old type of boilers back then that were made from cast iron.

Seven years ago, the boiler had to be replaced and the customer found out he was eligible for a free boiler. He had one fitted for free and I serviced it regularly.

He contacted me last week as he was having a problem with the pump. I then found out he has since had another new boiler (from the same manufacturer) fitted free of charge.

Apparently, as the boiler was seven years old, they contacted the customer, telling him he was eligible for a new boiler. The customer found it hard to believe, but he wasn’t going to refuse. I find it ridiculous to take out a perfectly good boiler. We are trying to save the planet and this beggars belief.

I have just found out that another customer of mine has had a seven-year-old boiler replaced. I am fairly sure these two boilers could have given another seven or eight years of service. It’s wrong on all fronts. Paul Davis

Retirees will leave a big hole in our industry

I read with interest the results of the ‘Who are you 2021’ reader survey (March 2021).

I believe I speak for many, as it is apparent to me that the 62 per cent of us aged 46-65; the 54 per cent of us who have accumulated more than 21 years of experience, and the 81 per cent whose customers come from word-of-mouth recommendations will leave a big hole in the gas industry in the years to come – especially as hydrogen takes over – due to our retirement and us ‘oldies’ sticking to traditional work.

This is backed up by only 10 per cent of us dealing with new-builds, which, as we have seen, are slow to happen. Renewables, in my opinion, are based on the government helping the industry, which has previously failed to happen.

Let’s hope I am wrong, but time will tell.

Perhaps if the government gave any homeowner with a boiler over 15 years old a cash incentive for a gas engineer to swap it with no ring-fencing strings attached, it would help lower global greenhouse gas emissions. The same incentive could apply to renewables and help secure and futureproof the industry. Alan Teal, Gaswaves

No more plastic please

Why does my magazine come in a plastic bag when there are biodegradable alternatives?

I receive other publications in biodegradable bags and suggest this publication starts to do likewise. Keith D’Arcy

From the editor: Keith makes a very good point that’s been on our mind too. We’re finishing up our stock of polythene wrapping now so as not to waste it, and we will be switching to a much more environmentally friendly wrapper very soon.