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For all the latest energy safety news visit www.esv.vic.gov.au
July 2014
energysafe issue 36
Faulty heater hides
burning secret
When 92-year-old Eileen
reported a strange smell
coming from her heater,
she had no idea how close
she was to disaster.
Michael Weber reports.
It was just a normal day in the “office” for
gasfitter Tom Austin when he knocked on
the door of Eileen’s Hallam home.
Set to install a gas meter for energy
monitoring, he was required to first carry out
a routine carbon monoxide test on the existing
gas appliances in the home.
It was a job that may well have saved the life
of the 92-year-old.
Unknown to her, Eileen’s old Vulcan Quasar
gas furnace had developed a crack in its heat
exchanger and was spilling carbon monoxide
at a rate of 35ppm on initial start up.
The sprightly pensioner had reported
feeling ill but had attributed the symptoms to
her advancing years.
But as Tom soon discovered, the potential
dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning were the
least of the problems.
Gas supply to the heater was immediately
capped and sealed, and it was subsequently
decided that the 20-year-old unit was
unserviceable and beyond economical repair.
A replacement heater was the only option and
it was a decision that may well have saved Eileen’s
life because Tom wasn’t prepared for what he
found when the heater was finally removed from
the wall.
Charred and cracked gyprock was a
stark sign of how close this home had come
to potential tragedy.
Not only had this faulty heater been spilling
carbon monoxide, which in itself could have
claimed Eileen’s life, but the hot gasses from the
cracked heat exchanger had burnt through the
wall behind the heater posing a very real threat
of serious damage to the property and even
loss of life.
“In 18 years as a gasfitter it was the worst
situation I’d seen,” Tom said. “I felt ill knowing
what could have happened if that wall furnace
had been turned on again.”
But there were still more surprises in store
for Tom and Eileen as they investigated what
impact all that prolonged heat had on the other
side of the wall.
Clothes in the wardrobe on the other side of
the wall had also charred and burnt showing just
how potentially serious this situation could have
been if more flammable materials had been on
those coat hangers.
“There was immediate danger of the house
catching fire the next time the heater was turned
on,” Tom said. “It was an extremely dangerous
situation.
“And the surprising thing is that there was no
indication from the installation that the problem
existed. On the face of it, there were no visible
signs of a problem.
“The only inkling Eileen had that something
was wrong was she mentioned a funny smell
when the heater was operating.
Out of fashion: The photo above right shows the damage to the wall behind the heater while (above)
are some of the clothes from Eileen’s cupboard, which was behind the faulty heater.
“Since carbon monoxide has no odour, it
could only have been the burning clothes that
were causing it. And we don’t know how long the
heater had been in this condition.”
Tom said he had no doubt that the removal
of that heater probably saved Eileen’s life