jondeau

[quote user="BIG MAC"] Dont be tempted to squeeze pipe into a gap that is too tight its better to have a bit more mortar than a split pipe inside the wall.[/quote]   I must admit......French soil pipe is an awful lot thinner walled than the English variety.

Well I must admit I have never sleeved any soil pipes.........and I have installed a lot, never had any complaints about it either, in fact about the only thing I have ever sleeved has been copper gas and oil pipes.

A non return valve is required in the UK on any mains pipe that is liable to be contaminated by hot water from your plumbing system. As you are aware......when you heat water it expands and on a typical French system it expands back down the water main, It has always amazed me that the French didn't insist on a non return valve years ago..... ....the next requirement to come along will be an expansion vessel on the chauffe eau.

Denso tape is the stuff..........if you can stand the mess.

That's a dammed good idea !

Well there we have it then.......an interesting debate I'm sure you'll all agree, so what conclusions can we come to regarding this issue ?   First of all I think we could discount the gas issue despite somebody writing 'over 300 people a year die in France due to this issue' Well I couldn't find any statistic for France but the British health and safety people (similar population) issued figures for 2006/7 showing that only 8 people in the UK died of CO poisoning not all of which were in the home, which is quite remarkable as they do not have any mechanical ventilation for houses with gas.   No it must be there to get rid of dampness......and of course various pongs.......   Would I leave mine on if I lived in a house that had one fitted ?..............no better not answer that ......          

QUOTE It is not a matter of competence, it is a matter of regulation. The other side to this coin is; If you don't want to conform to/can't be bothered check up on/don't care a f*** about the normes, why bother to tell us? It wasn't the OPs question, so how is it relevant?     Well........it's called democracy, and this is an example of democracy in action where the populace debate the laws passed by the legislature in order to understand their reasoning and their validity. There is nothing more fataly wounding to democracy than complacency and blind adherence to the law.

It never ceases to surprise me just how many people on this site seem to regard it as a personal insult should some person disagree with their opinion. Surely, if somebody writes something you disagree with, you are under no obligation to reply and thus avoid the need to 'feel sick of answering this question' I have never lived in a modern house in France so the question of noisy ventilators has never come up for me. However, having spent a lifetime in the gas/heating industry, all I can say is there must be some pretty inept gas fitters in France if you need to have an extractor running 24/7 in order to ensure safety.   Monika: the groupe de securite would not be affected in any way by the extractor.    

[quote user="thunderhorse"] Is this normal by French standards? [/quote]   Having spent almost twenty eight of the last thirty years in rural France.............I would say yes, it's normal.    

I'm not surprised at the description of the usefulness of these appliances...... When they were first introduced, many many years ago, the were known as decorative effect gas appliances

I'm not in France at the moment but I thought I'd mention a few things that may point you in the right direction.   This type of heater is usually fitted with with various safety devices including flame failure device (FFD) and would normally have also fitted an oxygen depletion device (ODD). These two devices are quite often combined together in one package so to speak....... The ODD is there to shut off the appliance in the event that the oxygen level in the room falls below a certain level due to the appliance using up the air in the room for the combustion process. The FFD is self explanatory...........(I hope) One of the things you can check is that there is sufficient ventilation in the room that it is being used in. A bit difficult to be more specific without knowing more about the problem.

Sorry...........I was being flippant, that's what comes of having too much red wine. There are indeed a lot of country house in France that only have a few feet of flue pipe, but nontheless there can be problems, one thing that many people seem to forget is that smouldering wood gives off large amounts of carbon monoxide. A few small cracks in the masonary above the boiler and you have a receipe for disaster........especially if the room above is a bedroom.

I would have though that the plumber would have realised that 12-16mm pipe would not have been suitable to run a gravity system, after all 22-28mm is available in France. To fit a pump on the domestic side is problematic.........it would be simpler to fit a mains fed cylinder as BIG MAC suggests.   In answer to your other posting.......If the hot water from your boiler was not circulating through the cylinder the boiler in your  Esse cooker would quickly overheat........and you would certainly know about that! Gravity circulation works well if the pipework is correctly fitted. A very simple test will tell you if it is circulating.......if the flow pipe feels very hot at the boiler but cold at the cylinder then there could well be a problem with circulation.

And if all else fails, you can buy a hose with a male 1/2" fitting at each end which can easily be adapted with a few fittings to fit your cooker (French thread sizes are the same as English BSP) This company does mail order and has an extensive website.......http://www.bes.co.uk   !/2" hose is part no.6026

Bluebell..............threequarters (at the very least) of the countryside houses in France have the same system fitted .......   Relax........  

I'm not familiar with Esse stoves as such.........however I'm totally perplexed by the idea that a solid fuel stove can have an effect on the hot water pressure . Perhaps you could post the details of your hot water system ? JD

When I first glanced ay the original posting I thought it said your wall was 2 metres thick.........I figured you must live in a chateau. However......in the cold light of day, and sober........I'll agree with bigears.   It is generally accepted that the area of wall at risk during this process is a triangular shape above the hole you are making, so if you want a one metre wide opening a one metre triangular area above the space is at risk. The normal procedure is knock a hole through the wall centrally above the area you want to remove, slide a suitable piece of steel/wood through this hole and then place an acrow prop under it at each side of the wall in order to support the masonary above your opening. If the opening you want is wider that one metre you may want to add two or more such sets of props it. Also, bear in mind, that old stone walls may not strictly conform to the triangle rule......if in doubt whack in more supports. Don't forget to allow for the lintels and a bit of elbow room when you put the supports in.  

I have to admit.....that being an old gas fitter (me not the gas) that this goes against the grain somewhat, but you will be better off with the electric. As to it needing draining down........Did you ever drain down your gas heater ? Probably not, so it's quite probable your electric chauffe eau will be fine left to it's own devices overwinter. In almost twenty years in the Charente I can only recollect one winter where we had freezing conditions likely to freeze pipes and cylinders.   (I will no doubt now be castigated for these remarks by the various doom merchants who inhabit this site)   JD, Old gas fitter en retrait

A couple of years ago I had a tooth extracted by a dentist in Aigre (just a few miles the other side of Matha) it only cost me 25 Euros .......I felt like having the lot out at that price. Nice chap, didn't speak english though.    

You sure the pressure gauge is working ?

Personally I would not install gas bottles in a cellar........but if you are set on doing it why not fit an LPG gas detector as well.?  

It is a very simple problem.....though fixing it may not be, somewhere on the system you either have a leak or the boiler has a faulty safety valve. Any half way competant installer should know this straight away

The simplest way to check if you have an underground leak........ First of all make sure the kettle is full. Take a reading from your water meter......and then do not use any taps or appliances in the house for as long as possible, preferably overnight. Then re-read the water meter. Of course you may have to find the meter first.