BOOM!

[guest7]

I was working in a recently vacated cafe today. at the end of the day I used a sink out back to wash up. After I'd finished I became aware of an odd noise. Initially I thought it was from outside and I wandered back into the kitchen, intending to go out the back door to investigate. Before I got there though there was a massive bang and a billow of steam from a pipe next to me. It looked like the windows had blown in, but I soon realised a water pipe had blown a joint next to my head.

Shortly after that (and faced with a cascade of water from what turned out to be the cold water feed) I spotted smoke coming from the water heater.

Luckily the water stop cock in the pavement was nearly new and an easy quarter turn had the water cut off. I went back in and the smoke from the boiler was worse so I turned off the gas and electric and, using a towel, pulled the cover off the boiler.

My guess is that the water heater kicked in when I turned the water on, but didn't shut off when I closed the tap. With the burners still going the pressure in the water pipe built up until a weak joint on the cold feed blew out. Then the boiler (still heating) was dry and the smoke was from the overheating burner assembly (and everything around it).

For a short while it was a very scary experience. Can anyone add anything to my diagnosis? I'm not a heating engineer so my knowledge of gas boilers is very limited.

GC

[guest24]

Egad! Our old Lynx boiler did the same and flooded downstairs kitchen. Thankfully the pipe burst out of sight rather than next to my head. Not sure what hurt most, the expolsion & flood, or the cost of replacement condensing boiler at £3000

Glad you are OK, though.

[Jez F]

I had a similar one but in the winter, Just moved into my first house, 28th december and the place had been empty for a while. I thought I'd do a bit of cleaning up so I fired up the combi boiler and carried on shifting stuff around, about 10 minutes later as I was walking through the kitchen, the boiler exploded and bits of heat exchanger went flying across the room. Dummy here forgot about the pipes being frozen, OOPS!!! Bloke from the Gas Board reckoned I was lucky as it could have damaged the wall. Diaphram (?) on mine had been forced open by the ice, so I reckon the one that went on yours must have stuck open for some reason.

[guest7]

It's hard to say what caused it. The premises were only vacated a week ago, but I have to confess I don't know if the business had ceased trading before that. I'm trying to get an engineer out to cap the gas feed and take the boiler off the wall. Perhaps then we can get a clearer picture.

I was confused when i examined it after the bang and couldn't see any power going to it. However, a friend of mine who is an engineer said that some boilers just kick in on the drop in pressure when a tap is opened. That's some relief because it means i can turn the power back on in the building without having to worry.

I had just got the adrenaline out of my system some four hours later when my youngest, on only his third day of riding without stabilisers, rode straight off a path and down a four foot vertical drop into a brook  He's unscathed, but my heart rate went mental for the second time today. I'm going to bed... nothing too exciting happens there 

GC

[Steve Lake]

#1.....you're the main geyser 

[Mark]

I had just got the adrenaline out of my system some four hours later when my youngest, on only his third day of riding without stabilisers, rode straight off a path and down a four foot vertical drop into a brook   

GC

Talk about throwing him into the deep end('scuse pun), most parents take their kids to the park to learn.

[guest7]

LOL. As it happens my dad learnt to swim in what is now called Cardiff Bay. He was a docks lad and they were always arsing about on the various piers, jetties and pilings. My old man was minding his business 20 foot up on a piling when a 'chum' pushed him off. Even today the water of the bay is unappealing, but in the late 40s it must have been awful. Obviously my dad lived, but history doesn't record the fate of the pusher and knowing my nan he may well have come to a messy end 

As for the boiler business, it was capped off, removed, left for the scrap man (read: Gypsies) and taken a short half hour later. In the meantime I set to removing all the dead copper piping and I have now added that to my copper pile ready for weighing in this Thursday (to raise some diesel money for Uttoxeter). This sort of makes up for the damn thing scaring me witless.

GC

[guest24]

As for the boiler business, it was capped off, removed, left for the scrap man (read: Gypsies) and taken a short half hour later.

They can be useful for that as they have recycled my washing machine, a bicycle, two folding scooters and various other scrap metal when I cleared my shed!