Commercial boiler makers.

[ayesha2]

hi paul 1979

your comment the system works fine why change it

would you be a professional boiler maker by any chance?

this of course is said without prejudice

[Deleted]

I find the report that the DTI have declined to get involved in court cases on this subject to be most illuminating.
A few years back I was able to make a modest contribution to the compilation of the HSE document on miniature railways, but did not go on to play any part in the pressure vessel discussions. However, I have tried to keep up with developments.

The first thing that our fraternity should realise is that the CE directives have little to do with pressure vessel safety. It is all about providing a 'level playing field' for commercial manufacturers across the EU. No country's manufacturers should be able to gain an advantage by working to more relaxed requirements, regardless of whether these will provide a satisfactory product or not. Whatever happened to competition? My reading of engineering journals has never led me to believe that there were widespread problems with pressure vessel quality.

When the implications of the new directives were realised by the model engineering world, I believe that representations were made to the Minister - Lord Sainsbury at the time, I think. However, the Government were unwilling to seek a dispensation from Europe on our behalf because it seemed that there were other European countries wanting to make the requirements on 'full size' engineering even more onerous and our Government were unwilling to give them the opportunity. We were therefore told that we would have to make our own arrangements within the legislation. A number of people put in a lot of hard work to get us to the position we are now in. Mike Leahy's excellent paper in 'M.E.' 4188 and Geoff Sheppard's report in 'M.E.' 4199 give some idea of the eventual solution.

So now the Government can feel very satisfied:-
1. The EC Directives have been implemented at a level they are prepared to accept.
2. The hobby has worked out a solution that can be 'lived with' (if you'll pardon the grammar).

They are now happy, as long as we go away and don't trouble them any further.

It now strikes me that the only recourse any dis-satisfied customer of a commercial boiler maker has is through the good old 'fitness for purpose' route and a trip to the small claims court.

Time, irate customers and bad publicity will eventually sort the wheat from the chaff, but at some cost to some of us. The effect will be fewer boiler makers, longer waiting lists and, inevitably, higher costs. In the long run it may be worth investing in a Sievert torch set and Alec Farmer's book and getting some practice in on some smaller stationary boilers. The current series on 'Empire Building' in 'M.E.' also provides excellent advice.

At least, the judges at 'M.E.' Exhibitions will not have the problem of deciding how many marks should be knocked off because the boiler has not been built by the entrant!! Best of luck.

[ayesha2]

Hi all
there is a possibility that a case can bought for dodgy goods
for up to 6 years according to trading standards???

yours tony

[ettingtonliam]

Jul 22, 2009 9:09:32 GMT ayesha2 said:

Hi all
there is a possibility that a case can bought for dodgy goods
for up to 6 years according to trading standards???

yours tony

Isn't this a new thread altogether, it doesn't seem to specifically relate to commercial boiler makers? Anyway, this has been running for so long now, I've forgotten what the original problem with the boiler/boilermaker was.

Richard

[ayesha2]

Hi ettingtonliam

its in [commercial boiler makers] and it concerns boilers made by them that are not to drawing etc.
anyone who finds this thread can take heart that all is not lost,
and have to put up with a rubbish boiler.

if this has been running for so long why have 1,507 people looked at it, 4/5 or more a day are reading it sometimes 10.

come to think why don,t those who, may be have a boiler thats not up to standard they have not done themselves, kept quite about because they my feel silly, cause its cost them a lot of hard earned money, stuck it in the attic,or back of the shed or garage or is this thread just for a few.

It should be spread about by one and all, has a means to communicate with all model engineers, who may be having problems with anything to do with modeling.

The threads [CE marking] and [boiler rules, insurance, legality]
would be best read through again till you see the points that have been made, has unfortunately they are all related, you can,t really escape these facts they will always be there
more so i think for the future model engineers.

Todays attitude, i wont be around then so why worry, i can,t be bothered someone else will do it.

Do we have to mess every thing up, because its boring, its gone on too long etc etc.

What do you want to leave for your future ME,s

yours tony

p.s. must be getting good 2 spelling mistakes

[GeorgeRay]

Just to be correct its not 1507 people that have looked at this thread but the thread has been looked at 1507 times. On Proboards the counter goes up one every time anyone looks at it . I have looked at it probably once for every post so that is 28 people. As a better estimate you could work on dividing 1507 by half the number of posts to get a more realistic idea of how many people are interested or reading the thread. This works out at about 108.

[ayesha2]

Hi GeorgeRay

i think i covered numbers in one of the other posts if i remember correctly.

maybe its time the numbering system was modernised.

it is those who are just reading, that i think matter the most, some are just passing time,
some are looking for information, those are the ones you should be thinking about,
why should i think so, all info gathered in you line of work, your experiences has a model engineer, are all lost when we pop our clogs

i,d better stop now has this should really be in another post

yours tony

[kwil]

All you armchair lawyers, sorry to come back to this thread but you should read the latest from Dr Alan Blacker , a real lawyer, in Postbag in the latest ME [4365]

[russell]

As he is a lawyer, it doesn't surprise me at all that he has made technical errors! See the recent thread in the "Model Engineer" section.

Russell.

[drainblocker]

Hi: Is that the bit about a space rocket or aircraft powered by a steam engine, not needing a C E Mark?

Drainblocker

[ewal]

Build yourself a boiler & try it . As my friend said "You don't think I would ride behind a bomb do you"? I have built my own because I was not impressed with the ones I bought. By the way I am talking about Steel boilers not copper & certainly not stainless. When I am riding behind a 12" steel 1/2" thick back head the scaryist bit is that thin glass tube. I am told that it is safe so ok. ewal

[ayesha2]

Hi all
see the[ pro,s] are still having a dig

sorry Kwil, but unfortunately i no longer subscribe to model engineer since i was made redundant in 1997, it sounds interesting reading,
has it appears to have put the wind up somebody, ooooh arrr jim lad ;D

could you email the article if possible Ta & Thanks

yours Tony [ayesha2]

[ayesha2]

Hi all
more on model engineer web site under Beginners/Beginners Questions/ Back to the work shop

yours Tony

[S.D.L.]

Have these cases been resolved in the courts yet?

If yes what was the outcome?

Steve Larner

[Deleted]

Does anyone know if Swindon Copper Boilers are still trading? Their website is still up and running (of sorts) but it hasn't been updated for years, and the 'send us an email' link doesn't work. There is an enquiry form that you can fill out and submit, but you won't get a reply. Must admit I haven't tried 'phoning yet.

[springbok]

Hi

Try Helen Wirral at Western Steam she is one of the finest boiler makers in this country but be prepared to get into the queue
Am trying to chat her up for delivery at the Bristol exhibition this year. I will have my 5"g B1 on show (minus boiler) on the club stand. but will have fun makeing all the bits for it in the meantime.

Bob

[Boadicea]

Recommend Paul.

[Deleted]

I've seen Helen Verrall's work and it really is first class, unfortunately she is almost a year behind on deliveries and has a waiting list as long as your arm, which must say something!

[kwil]

Helen makes a lot of the smaller boilers, depends upon which gauge you are in.