I just called British Gas for some repair work on the central heating system. Then, they told me that I should have my gas cooker serviced every year as it could cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Now, that was new to me, so I didn't ask for it. However, is it a starndard practice now? Is the charge of 74 pounds reasonable? Thank you.

Nobby, August 2008

I usually check customers cookers for free when doing other work.As Cledlyn says as long as the flames are a nice sharp blue it should be fine,the oven flame may look a bit wavy but as long as it`s not yellow you should be fine.
If you are worried about CO gas,buy a £20 battery operated CO detector or open the window in your kitchen.
The Gas operative is correct though,in that all gas appliances should be serviced every year,but British Gas seems to be run by some kind of money grabbing mafia these days.
If you phone Corgi they will give you a list of registered installers in your area,phone one of them and ask what they charge to service a cooker.I`m sure you can get it done a lot cheaper than that.

Gasman, August 2008

Hi Nobby,
You didn't in all honesty expect a gas fitter to say anything else. All gas burning appliances have the potential to produce large quantities of carbon monoxide (CO) if the gas is not burnt efficiently. In the case of a cooker the products of gas combustion have no flue to be channeled out of the building so if you dont keep the burners and air intakes clean then problems can start.
Taking out a maintenance contract or not is your choice, personally as long as I can see that all my top burners, grill and oven burner flame jets are all burning with a clear skyblue>dark blue without sign of a yellow tinge, I know my burners are working at their maximum combustion efficiency.
Yellow lazy flames=trouble.

Cledlyn, August 2008