Gas leak testing? (1 Viewer)

[dave newell]

I prefer a nice piece of official paper that says exactly what I'm allowed to do, than have to prove that fact possibly in a court of law, but that's just me.

" How's this? I can maintain the massive gas fired heat treatment furnace we have in work, which is big enough to fit any motorhome inside, but I'm not allowed to touch the gas system in my motorhome! But hey the rules are the rules, there are some pretty inept people out there who need protecting from themselves, just watch You've Been Framed, unfortunately the rules effect us all, and it can be very frustrating, especially for me!"

Noww I'm confused, you started off bemoaning the fact that you can maintain industrial gas fired equipment but not your own motorhome. When I explain that you can indeed do your own motorhome gas work you flip it round and say you want a piece of paper that says what you can do.

So the question is do you want to do your own motorhome gas work or not?

I assume that you are certified to work on the industrial gear? If so then that certification should prove your competence in general terms where gas systems are concerned.

D.

 

[mitzimad]

" How's this? I can maintain the massive gas fired heat treatment furnace we have in work, which is big enough to fit any motorhome inside, but I'm not allowed to touch the gas system in my motorhome! But hey the rules are the rules, there are some pretty inept people out there who need protecting from themselves, just watch You've Been Framed, unfortunately the rules effect us all, and it can be very frustrating, especially for me!"

Noww I'm confused, you started off bemoaning the fact that you can maintain industrial gas fired equipment but not your own motorhome. When I explain that you can indeed do your own motorhome gas work you flip it round and say you want a piece of paper that says what you can do.

So the question is do you want to do your own motorhome gas work or not?

I assume that you are certified to work on the industrial gear? If so then that certification should prove your competence in general terms where gas systems are concerned.

D.

thats the way i read it i to am qualified to work on ng and do my own gas i think provided ive swotted up on all relevant regs and carried out the checks im wiling to stand up and declare my competence
didnt know about the 600ml bit but i tested my pipework to no drop so im sure thats as good as it gets one thing i cant get my head around is the exclusion zone below a window for water heaters for ng i can put a 37kw boiler 310mm under a window but on a van with a 12kw water heater its excluded totally

 

[tofo]

thats the way i read it i to am qualified to work on ng and do my own gas i think provided ive swotted up on all relevant regs and carried out the checks im wiling to stand up and declare my competence
didnt know about the 600ml bit but i tested my pipework to no drop so im sure thats as good as it gets one thing i cant get my head around is the exclusion zone below a window for water heaters for ng i can put a 37kw boiler 310mm under a window but on a van with a 12kw water heater its excluded totally

Awnings are another thing I would consider on our
15 year old swift we have a fiamma awning

That extends out and is above a window
And the caravan door the gas fridge flue outlet
it worrys me that some folks would enclose
This space with side sheets and then
Use it as an extension and place
A bed or two in the space provided

With a possible defective gas fridge
Leading to carbon monoxide poisoning

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[timdownieuk]

Leisure vehicle appliances intended for use with LPG in the UK have for decades been capable of running on 28mbar butane or 37mbar propane, the new 30mbar regulator can be used with either fuel gas and the 30mbar is a compromise between the two previously used pressures. Beware if using older German equipment as it was often set for 50mbar.

D.

Doesn't this mean that if you're on propane you're going to have a poorer heat output from all appliances (compared to running at 37mbar)?

Tim

 

[reader]

Having spent most my working life around compressed gas and installations incl lpg I would suggest that if you have to ask how its done then you should go to someone like Dave Newell for it to be fitted. End of story. The cost will be lower in the long term.

There is another issue though when you carry any gas cylinders the carriage/installation IS covered under the Pressure Systems and Transportable Gas Containers Act.
Anybody who does these installtions like Dave would be working within these parameters.

 

[Techno]

Professional installation on my van prior to me buying it. The underside was equally bad.
Needless to say I've replaced it all. The stepped olive in the reducer was also fitted the wrong way around so I had no trouble sliding it off the pipe.

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[Gromett]

Professional installation on my van prior to me buying it. The underside was equally bad.
Needless to say I've replaced it all. The stepped olive in the reducer was also fitted the wrong way around so I had no trouble sliding it off the pipe.

Scary

I live fulltime in a self build. I read up on the gas regs and then jumped in. For testing I used a Mark 1 nose which picked up 2 leaks. 1 was caused by a dodgy olive which I really should have noticed when installing. The other was caused by me not tightening up the regulator to the bottle hard enoughoh:

I have drop vents next to every joint. There are no joints at all in the system except where it meets an appliance. I can tell you routing 5 meters of copper pipe from one end of the van to the middle of the other side was an exercise in learning how to bend copper pipe properly.

2 and a half years in, I have had no big bangs or nasty smells.

You may not want to park next to me if you believe certification is essential for gas fitting.

 

[dave newell]

Further to the original question in this thread, the procedure for drop testing has now changed slightly. The procedure I described is now only valid for initial testing of new installations. For the new procedure there is no requirement to volumise the system and the test pressure is normal regulated output pressure for one minute.

D.

 

[Revolvor]

I have one of these fitted to my boat:

Bubble Tester

This allows me to check for leaks regularly.

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[David and Sally]

What about one of these?



I used to use one on a boat. Pressurise the system. Turn off the gas cylinder and watch for a drop in pressure over time.

 

[Wagoneer]

What about one of these?



I used to use one on a boat. Pressurise the system. Turn off the gas cylinder nd watch for a drop in pressure over time.

I also use the Gaslow pressure gauge on a 2 bottle installation. Great for detecting pressure loss...check the gauge every time I open the gas locker, before turning the bottles back on.

 

[Reallyretired]

I also use the Gaslow pressure gauge on a 2 bottle installation. Great for detecting pressure loss...check the gauge every time I open the gas locker, before turning the bottles back on.

So do I. There is always a possibility in a mobile system that a non leaking system may develop a leak perhaps by jarring over a pothole.It would be a bit impractical to have it checked by a gas engineer daily.

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[Geo]

So throwing in a lit match seems to be a no no now

 

[Odd job]

So throwing in a lit match seems to be a no no now

in the past I may have used a lighted match to look for gas leaks I would never do it now though, don't need to as we have electronic testers these days.

 

[Odd job]

I have one of these fitted to my boat:

Bubble Tester

This allows me to check for leaks regularly.

I tried to get the Round the world race boats to let us fit them, years ago when they sailed out of Southampton, they wouldn't let us. They only wanted the most basic gas on board as they thought anything fancy would not stand the treatment they put the boats through. I saw some of the pictures and they may have been right.

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[Sandancers]

in the past I may have used a lighted match to look for gas leaks I would never do it now though, don't need to as we have electronic testers these days.

There are still training films around from the early days of the British Gas Corporation, as in when it was first Nationalised, which shows BG employees looking for gas leaks on the streets. When they sniffed the gas, they did throw down a lit cigarette to ignite the gas to see where it was coming from and they then took off their jackets and beat out the flames with them.

This from the days when the men would travel to jobs on the bus or on a bike.

Big step forwards when we invented Gascoseekers. Not sure if the guys could claim for the ciggies on expenses tho.

 

[mitzimad]

So throwing in a lit match seems to be a no no now

swan testas