Glowworm Fuelsaver Mk1 25-30B Case Seal

I had a call from a lady asking me to look at her Glowworm Fuelsaver Mk1 25-30 boiler, GC No. 41 315 79.

The pilot light had extinguished and her son had fixed it by replacing the thermocouple but now there seemed to be a smell of gas coming from the boiler. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that the case was not on properly at the top and assumed that this was where the smell was coming from. Removing the boiler front I could see that the case seal was not in the best condition and couldn't guarantee a good seal even if the case was fitted properly. There was quite a bit of damage at the top in the centre either where engineers had levered the case open at the top or where the retaining clip of the case front had damaged the rubber.

I carried out a tightness test and found a 1 Mbar drop which is enough given the smell of gas to switch off the appliance. There was no drop indicated when the appliance was isolated and so it was definitely a leak at the boiler. Using leak detector fluid and my Anton gas sniffer I could not detect a leak so it may be that the gas valve was actually passing gas.

I made the boiler safe and made enquiries into a replacement case seal and gas valve but both these parts are obsolete and no longer available for this boiler.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.