Fumes from Boiler next door

D

Da Vinci

Guest
I wonder if anyone has any views on this?

Recently our home has an overpowering smell of oil. Particularly noticable when we come downstairs in the morning or when we re-enter the house having been out. It seems to be concentrated in the kitchen which is the full width of the rear of the house.

The neighbour has a kerosene boiler which is fixed to the garden wall between our properties and the back wall of their house. The exhaust chimney is about a metre off the ground and about a foot out from the house ie. the depth of the boiler. We have been monitoring the smell closely as it is driving us mad and it seems to be occurring when their boiler is on. The problem is the smell lingers for hours and is actually there all the time.There is an air vent on our back wall about 6 foot above the boiler chimney. Firstly the smell is apalling, it is like living in a garage and secondly I'm sure the fumes can't be good for us.

What are our rights does anyone know? Basically their boiler is filling our house with fumes.

Is there a minimum distance that a boiler chimney should be from a house / vents / opening windows?

Any views would be welcome, Thank you.
 
Is it only this year that you've noticed it? Or is this your first year in the house?

I suppose it depends on who was there first, if the boiler was there first and then the extension was built it was foolish to have the vent above the boiler. If the kitchen extension was built before the boiler was installed then you may have more right on your side.

Could you move the vent to another part of the kitchen?
 
Thanks for the replies,

This is the first year that we have noticed it. However there are now tenants in the house, other years it was the owner that lived there.

There is no extension. The vent is the permanent fresh air vent which is in our back wall of our kitchen.

Their boiler is up against the back wall of the house and against the boundary wall. The vent into their Kitchen is a mirror image of our one so I am guessing that the fumes are going into their own house as well.

Just wondering what to do?
 
I think the first thing to do here is approach the landlord and have a proper service and flue gas analysis performed on the appliance as I may not be running correctly.

Yes there are minimum distances set out in the the manufacturers instructions that the flue terminal is required to be from doors,windows,vent opening etc.
 
Da Vinci said:
The neighbour has a kerosene boiler which is fixed to the garden wall between our properties and the back wall of their house. The exhaust chimney is about a metre off the ground and about a foot out from the house ie. the depth of the boiler. We have been monitoring the smell closely as it is driving us mad and it seems to be occurring when their boiler is on. The problem is the smell lingers for hours and is actually there all the time.There is an air vent on our back wall about 6 foot above the boiler chimney. Firstly the smell is apalling, it is like living in a garage and secondly I'm sure the fumes can't be good for us.

What are our rights does anyone know? Basically their boiler is filling our house with fumes.

Is there a minimum distance that a boiler chimney should be from a house / vents / opening windows?
Click to expand...

Yes there are regulations outlining minimum distances. I take it that the boiler is a non-condensing boiler and therefore, Building Regs state the minimum distance the flue can terminate from a boundary is 600mm. It should also be a minimum of 600mm from an opening, air-brick or window, etc.
If this problem was not noticed before, then it sounds like the burner is running pretty smokey and is in bad need of the service with a flue gas analysizer to ensure a clean burn. Get the landlord to get it serviced by an OFTEC registered technician.
If the boiler is a condensing boiler, then the minimum distance from the boundary should be 2.5m and 1.0m from an opening, air-brick or window, etc.
Should the problem still persist following this, they could fit an extended flue, but the boiler enginer should be able to advise on this. For condensing boilers, a plume diverter can be fitted.
 
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DGOBS said:
300mm from a boundary wall me thinks (oftec regs)
Click to expand...

OFTEC BOOK THREE Page 1(44) Diagram 1.16b Location H = 600mm from Flue to Boundary for Non-Condensing Boilers

OFTEC BOOK THREE Page 1(47) Diagram 1.17 Location F = 2.5m from Flue to Boundary for Condensing Boilers
Location E = 1.0m from An Opening, Air-brick, etc.

FYI, OFTEC is not a Regulatory Body, just an Assocation of Registered Technicians. All regulations come under Building Regulations, also taking into account Regional Requirements for specific Regions and Local Authorities. OFTEC only ensure registered technicians are suitably trained and have the required knowledge of the regulations (via examination).
At the moment, it is with Public Consultation from the Department of Environment since May 2010, to ensure all technicians that work on oil fired appliances are suitably trained and qualified. It will be highly likely that OFTEC will be the governing body that implements this, similar to RGII for gas.

Hope this helps/clarifies...
 
Hi Shane,

Forgive me, and sorry for a late reply

Where in the building regs are you finding the 600mm?
I see nothing on LLD discharge flues

The oftec guidlines you quote, are distances for flues FACING a boundary wall,
and assumed by the OP description that it was a module with an LLD that was
running perpendicular to the boundary wall, hence the 300mm
 
Da Vinci said:
The neighbour has a kerosene boiler which is fixed to the garden wall between our properties and the back wall of their house. The exhaust chimney is about a metre off the ground and about a foot out from the house ie. the depth of the boiler.
Is there a minimum distance that a boiler chimney should be from a house / vents / opening windows?
Click to expand...

Hi DGOBS,

Yes, quite true, but without seeing the situtation, it is difficult to advise. For example, the flue could be near a window, opening, air brick, etc. and would therefore also be required to be minimum 600mm whether facing, beside, above, below, etc.
I did also advise that the property should be inspected by an OFTEC engineer and to ensure that the boiler is running clean. This will probably give a better account of what is actually happening on site.
OFTEC are not "guidelines" but are regulations taking from building regs. Clearances are taking from BS 5410 Part 1 (Domestic), of which Irish Building Regs are based, just replacing the BS with EN. Regional requirements, such as Republic of Ireland will reference the regulations with regard to heating system in Part J - Heat Producing Appliances and Part L - Conservation of Fuel and Energy. Part J also includes oil storage installations.
Hope this helps.
 
Yeah, part L is where I was looking also, but it tends to deal with conventional flueing as opposed to LLD, I am familiar with Bs5410 Parts 1/2 (domestic/non domestic) and the relationship with the oftec literature.

But it does state that from a boundary wall 300mm is the clearance, facing a boundary wall is another matter. As the OP stats, the boiler is fixed to the wall, so the flue could not be facing it, of course other openings (vents/windows/doors etc) would have a bearing.

I am not disputing what you are saying above as a guiding principle for flue terminations is that they do not cause a nuisance, but 300mm is the minimum distance
 
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