DanTheGas

Domestic, commercial and on the edge of renewables. I'm Dan and I'm a heating engineer that's based in the Hertfordshire countryside that believes in better heating for all.

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What I Do

Gas appliances

I've fixed and serviced appliances and their systems for over 20 years which means I've seen and worked on pretty much every brand out there. No matter what the issue is, it can be resolved.

Heating systems

A gas boiler is only ever going to be as good as the system it runs on. I see the system as being the key to efficient heating and as the world transitions away from gas, this will become even more important.

Controls

From underfloor to connected controls, many heating engineers shy away from controls and I've never really understood why. Controlling the heat source is essential to a healthy home.

Online tools

I code, so I've made several tools to help assist others with some of the more complex aspects of my industry. From scheduling to calculating, I always have a project on the go.

My background

I left school and started my mechnical/electrical apprenticeship back in 1998 with Thames Water on the waste water treatment side (Not what you'd expect), I spent time learning about and playing in the incinerator plant where controls and combustion united in my head. Before qualifying it all got a bit messy and I transferred to British Gas in 2003 where I qualified in 2004 and found myself as a technical lead by 2006.

Being the kind of person I am, I needed more so headed out of British Gas and went and got myself commercially qualified and found myself in a role where one minute I was working on a combi boiler in Hampstead to setting up LPG bottles for the pyro technic guys at Chessington World of Adventures or playing with 600kW forced draught burners in blue chip buildings in London. Life was mad and when my first kids came along, the travel and craziness had to stop.

So I calmed down and settled in to a lead role with N4 Gas, realising that I still needed to have a challenge, this role has seen me back and forth to Germany and a few sideline projects including mrStat. I've always done "private" work as it's what has kept me fresh and driving forward. DanTheGas has been me since around 2008 when I left British Gas and first got CORGI registered in my own right.

Over the last few years (In fact, probably when I started mrStat in 2015) I realised that the industry had a problem with not only our systems, but our general engineering knowledge and it was around this time that I started my journey on low temperature heating.

My qualifications

There's too many to list, so I'll start by saying that I'm gas qualified and registered for domestic, commercial, lpg and catering. However I don't "do" catering or mobile LPG out of choice.

Technically I'm actually an electrician and a gas engineer... But don't focus on electrical work except when it comes to controls - I just don't enjoy cable work. Plus keeping up with gas legislation is hard enough.

I have a vast array of water and heating qualifications, most are irrelevant now as we move into the realms of low temperature and I don't do nowhere near enough commercial as I'd like, but I carry my WRAS and G3 Unvented to keep on the right side of the law. In more recent times I picked up a BPEC in Heat Pump (Air Source) installation and a BPEC in Low Temperature Heating Design.

I've done a zillion courses, webinars and manufacturer days out; too many to list. But more importantly I'm accredited with both Viessmann and Vaillant - My boiler brands of choice. And I've done the HeatGeek course (For installers) from start to finish with a recent attendance to Kimbo Betty's Northants Heating Academy which was a good couple of days.

So in short, if you want to know you are dealing with someone who knows what they are doing, you are. Well the paper says so anyway. None of the paper I own beats experience and that, well... I'd hate to think how many systems I've brought back from death or boilers I've sorted out after multiple visits by others. Experience says it all and you either like what I do, or you don't - That's your call.

What you should know

This is not my income, this is effectively a hobby. I love my industry, my job and I offer this service not for financial gain. I support a variety of charities through this service, with my profits heading to Parkinsons UK and Alzeimers UK.

Please do not be offended if I am unable to assist you, it's never personal.