Interesting Question

You can do it (I certainly will if I need to) but you will need to get a mate still in the trade and gas safe registered to commission it and complete the notification otherwise no warranty. If you still have an analyser then yes you can do the benchmark, but without an analyser you cant commission the boiler in the full knowledge that it is functioning as it should.

To me this is where the rules get a bit pedantic, your clearly going to be competent after a lifetime working in the trade and no doubt can follow a copy of manufacturers instructions, but as your no longer registered both the manufacturer and the building control won't recognise your past experience with out a bit of paper from a college and a money making organisation to say your safe.

 

I think Dave has said it as it is, and you, not unsurprisingly, agree. You can fill out the benchmark (as you should) but the manufacturers almost certainly won't accept it should the need arise - and if they check your GasSafe status when you try and register it with them.

So, what to do?

What I would do if I were you is to go ahead and install it, carry out every process that a GasSafe would do (analyser etc) and record all this in the docs.

Sit back, enjoy, carry out a 'service' every subsequent year (record this too...) and if the boiler goes faulty within, say, 5 years, then you get the manufacturer to fix it FOC. If they try and refuse - as they likely will - you get them to do it anyway, pay them, sign the invoice "paid under protest" (or whatever the lingo is) and then sue them using the Small Claims Court or MoneyClaimOnline.gov.

(Count Court may well be better in this case as you can represent yourself and face off the person sent by the manufacturer - you will be able to counter their every argument and convince the 'judge' that you know exactly what you are talking about, and the fault can only be down to a faulty product.

Provided you can show that the boiler has been installed EXACTLY to the manufacturer's recommendations, you will win.

You will win because a properly installed boiler should last at least 5 years, or else it clearly wasn't of good enough quality in the first place. And I understand that the legal onus is on the manufacturer to prove that the item did not have a manufacturing fault, and not that you need to prove that it did .

And it'll be very satisfying...

Proviso: if the boiler does go faulty, then with your experience you will almost certainly have a good idea of what the fault is. If it is clearly a manufacturing fault (leaking exchanger, failed pump, blown PCB, etc) then you will win the case, with almost no doubt whatsoever.

However, if the fault can be attributed in any way to an inadequate install - say caused by remaining sludge - then you won't.

 

apparently the hardest word to to define in a court of law is competent,
this maybe your get out

 

The Shadow: "M'lud - I am COMPETENT!"

Boiler's Rep: "Oh gawd - nolle prosequi, M'lud..."


(Yes, I had to look that up... )

 

And make sure don't buy a Worcester Bosch combi...

 

If you are buying the boiler yourself and dry-mounting in place, temporarily connecting up all the wet pipes and then hoping a GasSafe comes out and finishes it off, then I reckon you need to find that willing GasSafe first...

They do exist, but are few and far between. After all, they make some money on the boiler sale which they are now losing out on, so they'll be starting the job feeling a bit aggrieved - and expected to take the responsibility of the whole install.

Is it an old wet system or a new one? The former will also need a proper clean to conform with the manufacturer's warranty requirements.

 

So it's already a condensing boiler (you have a condensate pipe already in place) and it's an old existing system, so may need a further clean even tho' in theory this was done 7 years ago.

£700 for what should be a very straight-forward boiler swap is taking the pee a wee bit, but there has to be a minimum amount a GasSafe would need to charge before they could be bovvered doing it, so I doubt you'll get it much cheaper. Did the quote include a system cleaning of any type? Do you have a filter fitted, and - if not - is it included? If yes and no/yes, then the quote is actually fair enough.

Shadow, this has to be your call. You ain't going to save that much if you have to call out a GasSafe to commission your install, so your choices are to either do it ALL yourself with all the warranty risk and hassle that this could involve, or else bite t'bullet and get the GasSafe to do it all. And relax..

 

Legally, yes you can.

Provided the install is 'competent'. Ie - it has been carried out in accordance with all the stuff - manufacturer's requirements, building regs, it's been fully checked & commissioned, it don't leak none, it don't blow up non, etc etc.

If you get something wrong and it becomes an issue - especially a safety one - then it would presumably be an illegal act.

If it goes wrong becuase of your install and someone is hurt, then it becomes a serious legal and liability issue.

Hey-ho.

Ok, that's one side of the issue

The other side is that if this GasSafe cove - who's charging £700 - doesn't carry out a chemical clean or fit a filter, and your boiler subsequently becomes damaged through 'sludge', then you can effectively kiss that manufacturer's warranty goodbye.

I think part of the benchmarking process is to confirm the 'clean' and 'filter', so what's the cove going to write in there?

So, yes, £700 is silly money. If it's really just a boiler fit job, then it's a half-day's work max. (Unless running the gas pipe is particularly torturous for some reason).

 

If I was you Shadow I would install it myself mate.

 

Agree.

 

Totally agree, go on and do it. the only issue that could arise is if your planning on moving then the solicitiors will need the notification certificate which only a gas safe enginner can raise.
Having been in the trade do you have any mates still doing the work and would sign you off for a drink?

 

Don't really want to go all over this again...!

However, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Regulation 3 make it very clear. If you are not Gas Safe, then you cannot touch gas. In your case, I cannot say that I agree but you asked the question and that is the answer. Lots of good advice above, key will be to get someone to agree to sign if off before you start. Boiler warranty and building regs will be a nightmare without it being signed off.

No-matter, Walter will be along later to tell you what to do and show off his copy and pasting skills !