2 Legal Requirements & Safety
a) Is it legal to do DIY work on gas?
In short, yes it is, but only if you are competent to do so.
So how is competence judged? You are to be your own judge of whether you are competent or not, but should some catastrophe result from your work, then it would seem clear that you were not competent and should not have tackled the work. That could leave you vulnerable to legal action (assuming you were still alive).
This question arises almost weekly on the news group
uk.d-i-y and can generate heated and inconclusive discussions,
sometimes propagating wrong information.
Like some other aspects of DIY there are laws
governing gas fitting. These are the Gas Safety (Installation and Use)
Regulations 1998 published by the Heath & Safety Executive (HSE),
ISBN 0-7176-1635-5, and are online at: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982451.htm
Regulation 3 (1) effectively says that anyone who works on gas must be competent. Regulation 3 (3) effectively says that anyone who is rewarded for gas work (in money or otherwise) must be registered with CORGI. The guidance notes published along with the laws state that level of competence must match the work being done.
I don’t think there has been a legal ruling yet on precisely what competence means in regard to DIY gas fitting, but for professionals it means they have the knowledge, experience and exam passes in the relevant aspects of gas fitting. There are dozens of exam categories covering domestic, commercial, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and more exotic gas fitting skills.
Opinions vary amongst DIYers as to the range of gas work they may undertake. The HSE and CORGI are unsurprisingly keen to stress that gas work should be done by competent people. It is my belief that the law is really aimed at eradicating the unregistered professionals whose motivation is their pocket and for whom public safety and customer satisfaction are at best secondary. Incompetent DIY gas fitting is inevitably unstoppable (for instance, I once saw a photo of a home made boiler). The HSE state that the majority of fatal gas incidents occur to the old, the poor, students, and those in rented housing. The regulations specifically try to address this situation.
Whilst gas fitting is potentially the most dangerous of all DIY activities, the public perception of the dangers of gas are often over-estimated, perhaps because when occasionally a gas explosion occurs it is reported as a national news item. To put it bluntly, you are at least 50 times more likely to be killed on the road than by a faulty gas installation.
Most DIYers would agree that at least some work on a gas appliance is permitted, and hardly any would say you should not even change a thermocouple. At the other extreme, replacing a multi-function gas control in a boiler would be beyond most DIYers. There are shops and mail order companies that sell spare parts for gas appliances, in fact obtaining the correct spare part for a gas appliance seems easier than for most other type of appliance. However some shops may refuse to sell ‘gas carrying parts’ to someone who is not CORGI registered, but will sell thermocouples, pressure switches, fans, etc.
You may have seen notices in some of the big DIY chains saying they “don’t give advice about gas fitting, and are thus complying with the law”. I don’t think there is anything in the regulations that forbids them, but perhaps their legal department fear that giving advice might be thought of as aiding and abetting incompetent, and therefore illegal gas fitting.
A word of warning:
Some jobs that look straightforward, for example, fitting an inset gas hob consists essentially of "cut hole, drop in hob, secure, and connect up to gas supply". However, this hides the fact that there is often a stack of standards of be complied with which the installation instructions may or may not tell you about. For instance, in the case of a gas hob the room in question must have a door, window or other vent that can be opened directly to outside air and the room must have a volume of at least 10 cubic metres.
Professionals should do many checks on their work, some of which may seem unnecessary at first. Before doing your own gas fitting, you should know and understand the relevant regulations and standards relative to every aspect of the task in hand, and your level of experience must be appropriate. For instance, if you are not confident that you can make a good soldered joint for a water pipe then do not even think about doing gas pipework.
A compromise that many DIYers arrive at is to find a registered fitter and work together so that the fitter advises of the finer points of the regulations and approves the plan for the work, and then checks everything over at the end. Some have found that it can be difficult to find someone prepared to work this way and, no doubt, there are some registered fitters who will not do this, but some certainly will.
I would suggest that for larger jobs, such as fitting a boiler, you pay for a consultation at the outset and discuss the work in detail. Do the work, and then get the professional in at the end to check things over and commission the appliance. For smaller jobs, e.g. boiler repairs, it can save a lot of time and expense if you can narrow down the fault even if you are not up to making the repair yourself. For instance, if you can say to the fitter "I’m not sure if the problem is the gas valve, but there is gas on the pilot flame, and 230V on the gas valve, but there is no click and no main flame, it is a Baxi Bermuda with serial number nnnnnn and GCN nn nnn nn", then the fitter can arrive with the correct spare part and this will save you both time and money.
This is never so true as with intermittent faults, which can be difficult to track down quickly, and may not even show when the fitter turns up.
Note that LPG is significantly more hazardous than natural gas (NG), because being heavier than air it collects in low lying places just waiting to be ignited. LPG appliances are forbidden below ground level for this reason. Of course, people might move a LPG cabinet heater into a cellar but I would reckon on the instructions forbidding it.
b) How can I check fitters' qualifications?
All registered professionals should carry a photo identity card form CORGI. The slogan is “If they don’t show you the card, show them the door!”
You can check someone’s registration by phoning
CORGI on 01256 372300 or on the web at www.corgi-gas.com
which can also be used to find registered gas installers in your
area.
On the back of the identity card is a list of gas fitting skills that cover both domestic and commercial work, and columns for NG and LPG. There are ticks in the relevant places for the skills that the cardholder has.
From time to time one hears about the work of some of the less thorough gas fitters that are around. Hopefully as time goes on they will be weeded out by the more stringent entry requirements that started in 1999, or because their work has been inspected, found wanting, and having failed to put it right (at their own expense) were struck off.
If you think that gas work has been done incorrectly, firstly tactfully ask the fitter about it. If that does not bring a good outcome, contact CORGI who will inspect the work and decide if it was done safely and correctly, but they will not resolve money disputes.
Previously CORGI was a trade organisation, but now it is the official regulator and is there to enforce the law and uphold standards.
c) What about warning labels and notices?
A registered fitter may fix LABELS to appliances or
meters (Transco use triangular labels), and draw up a NOTICE (form
GA02) on which the details and reasons are stated. If anything
untoward happens when you operate an appliance that has been labelled,
it is you and not the fitter who will be held liable.
The fitter fixes a label or issues a notice according to the following circumstances:
(i) Sub-standard
The mildest type of problem is known as “Not to current
standards” or “Sub-standard”. This is something that when the original
installation was done was acceptable, but nowadays would not be done.
There is no substantial risk to anyone of anything, but it falls short
of modern safety standards and best practice.
Example: A pre-1970s cooker in good order but the oven has no flame failure device. This means that, if unlit, it could fill the oven with unburnt gas at the full rate.
If the fitter finds such a condition, he should draw the owner's attention to the risk, but he is not allowed to disconnect it, or put a notice on it.
(ii) At Risk (AR)
At Risk is when there is a risk of an appliances
becoming Immediately Dangerous at a later date, i.e. no one is about
to be hurt and nothing is about to be damaged but there could come a
time when the situation changes.
Example: A back boiler and gas fire is fitted in a room with no additional purpose-provided ventilation. However, the operation of both fire and boiler are fine as confirmed by closing all doors and windows and using smoke matches to check for spillage of flue gases into the room. Perhaps the room has single glazed windows and is quite draughty at present, but what might happen if someone changed them to double glazed units, or even just draught proofed them?
Ideally, when a fault is found it is best to put it right there and then, but for many reasons this may not be possible. In this situation, the fitter makes out an ‘At Risk’ notice. This is done on the same form as the ‘Immediately Dangerous’ category described below, which makes the situation look a lot more serious that it actually is. The fitter will then requwest to disconnect the appliance, but has absolutely no power to insist on it being disconnected. He may also label the appliance with either stickers or tie-on notices.
You should consider what has been identified as at risk, and evaluate the risk carefully, the matter rests with you, on your own head be it should anything nasty happen.
(iii) Immediately Dangerous (ID)
Immediately Dangerous is the most serious sort of
labelling when a registered fitter has reason to believe that
continued use of an appliance or installation would endanger life or
property. You should consider this a very serious matter indeed.
Here are some of the things that would make for an ID label:
The fitter should ask permission before disconnecting
the appliance, fill in the notice, and label the appliance or
installation. If permission is not given to disconnect, and there is
reason to believe a danger to people or property will persist then
Transco may be called, who have powers of forcible entry.
There is of course some room for subjective judgement in these matters but it is the fitter's opinion that counts. I have noticed a tendency for some heating repair companies (both very large and otherwise) to condemn appliances more often than is justified on safety grounds (i.e. the appliance is just plain broken) and all that is needed is a repair, but they are hoping to win a replacement job.
In summary, treat ID notices issued with great
respect, it’s the law and however inconvenient it’s there to protect
you.
3 Working on Gas Pipework
a) What size pipes should be used for gas?
The pipework must be sized adequately to give sufficient gas pressure at the appliance, regardless of whether any or all other appliances are on or not.
The pressure of the gas in the service main buried in the road and arriving at your gas meter will be somewhere between 22 mbar and 30 mbar or more (if I recall correctly the maximum is 75 mbar). It might be less than 22 mbar at certain times of the day but if so you can expect Transco to be digging the road up within the medium term to upgrade the main. There is a pressure regulator, known as the main governor, fitted above the inlet (left hand) side of the gas meter.
Larger consumption or more complex domestic gas appliances usually have their own pressure regulator in the appliance, whilst smaller or simpler appliances rely on the main governor to supply gas at the correct pressure which is 20 mbar +/-1 mbar. Even though an appliance has its own regulator, it is still important that the gas reaches it at the correct pressure. For instance, a boiler’s main burner may only need 10 mbar, but the permanent pilot will work best if it is operated at 20 mbar. In practice, most appliances are tolerant of being supplied at slightly the wrong pressure, this is so they will work safely even when the gas supply is very poor (down to 15 mbar). However this feature is for safety and not an excuse to have inadequate pipe work.
If the pressure is too low then the appliance will not work as powerfully as it should, and secondly the burner will not mix the gas with enough air and so some highly toxic carbon monoxide may be produced. This is especially serious with grills because they are deliberately designed to produce floating slightly under-aired flames, and the products of combustion go straight into the room. If the gas pressure is too high then too much heat may be produced, and the flames may lift off from the burner, burn noisily, or even blow out.
If you connect a U-gauge (a manometer) to the test point on the outlet of the meter you will probably find that the pressure reads anything from 20 to 30 mbar when no gas appliances are in use. This is known as the standing pressure (as compared to the working pressure) and it simply tells you that there is gas present at the meter. When the gas is being consumed, the working pressure at the meter outlet should be in the 20 to 22 mbar range. If the pressure is much outside of this, varies or jumps erratically, or varies widely with the rate of gas being consumed, then the emergency service provider (Transco 0800 111 999) should be called to rectify the fault. You should not attempt to adjust the governor yourself as it is sealed. It is not unknown for governors to be damaged by some fitters who like to ‘tweak’ them up a bit (and then some).
The pipework up to and including the meter is Transco property and must not be tampered with. Between the meter and the appliances is your installation pipework through which a maximum drop in pressure of 1 mbar is allowed no matter how many appliances are operating and at whatever settings. The actual pressure drop will depend on the gas flow rate, the bore of the pipe, the length of the pipe and the number of bends, tees, elbows, and couplers in the pipework. It is beyond the scope of this FAQ to go into the details of pipe sizing calculations. Most domestic installations of a typical size and layout are usually satisfied with 22 mm (3/4") pipe from the meter to the boiler or water heater, and with 15 mm (1/2") branches as needed for hobs, gas fires, etc. This is true even though a 33 kW water heater may only have a 15 mm gas inlet connection, as it will still need a 22 mm pipe from the meter to keep the pressure drop within 1 mbar. The rule of thumb “22 mm to within 1 m of the boiler” is widely held as a quick, easy and fairly reliable guide for domestic gas pipe sizing, but if your house is larger than average then it might not be adequate, or conversely if the meter is right next to the boiler then 15 mm might be sufficient. In general, an appliance should never be supplied through a pipe smaller than the appliance inlet connection.
Pipework that is adequate for natural gas will always be adequate for LPG since the latter has a higher calorific value (i.e. is more ‘concentrated’) and hence needs a lower flow rate than NG. LPG appliances are supplied at 28 mbar for butane or 37 mbar for propane LPG. LPG appliances often do not contain their own pressure regulators.
b) Installing new gas pipework
All of the following applies to above ground pipework only, and for DIY work this would normally be copper. This document should not be considered a primer for gas pipework fitting.
It is assumed that the reader is already proficient
at installing copper water pipes, and that the gas pipework is not
currently connected to the gas supply. Refer also to the chapters on
testing the pipework for soundness, and purging of air.
There is a stack of rules governing pipes buried in
floors, walls, ducts, passing between buildings, and between floors of
flats.
There are additional points to watch for when
working on existing pipework:
Note that a different jointing compound is used on LPG
pipework.
c) Connecting to the gas supply
(i) Connecting the new pipework.
Having installed the new pipework there comes a point
when it needs to be connected to the existing gas supply. The procedure
for this is basically to isolate the supply at the main valve.
If soldering is to be undertaken then the meter outlet
should be disconnected and capped. Often a blank
plug has been left by the meter or you can obtain a thin disc which
rests in the outlet of the meter effective sealing its outlet.
The new pipework is connected to the old and the meter
reconnected. The pipework is then tested for leaks as described below.
Lastly the air or gas/air mixture is purged out of the pipes.
(ii) Check for soundness against leakage
Original text by "The Boilerdoctor" posted to
uk.d-i-y on 15/12/1998, revised 29/1/2002.
This test only applies to a U6 domestic meter; other sizes of meter require different figures for allowable pressure drop. The gas under test is Natural Gas. LPG requires a different treatment; longer test periods, higher test pressures, and no drop at all is permitted. A standard manometer capable of reading 0 to 12" WG or 0 to 30 mbar, and a length (approximately 18") of 1/4" rubber hose is required, and also a supply of leak detect solution.
During the test, DO NOT SMOKE or allow any sources of ignition near.
1. Check that all outlets and appliance taps are off and pilot lights extinguished. If the installation includes a cooker with a drop down lid which automatically extinguishes the rings when closed make sure that this lid is raised but the taps are off - this is to ensure that as far as possible the cooker internal connections are included in the test.
2. Turn off the gas service valve at the live side of the meter, remove the test point screw on the discharge branch of the meter and connect the manometer to the test point using the flexible hose.
Open the gas valve SLOWLY until a reading of
approximately 8" WG or 20 mbar is obtained in the system, then close
the valve. Allow to stand for two minutes to stabilise. The pressure
should remain close to the initial pressure, though thermal effects may
cause a slight rise or fall. If the pressure has risen at all, bleed a
little off to ensure that the system pressure is not exceeding 8" WG or
20 mbar. If the pressure is above this level, a condition known as
Governor Lock-Up may have occurred causing a misleading reading.
Governor lock up occurs when the pressure downstream of
the governor is at or above the set pressure, and hence the governor
internal valve is closed. This traps the high pressure gas upstream and
if the supply valve is then closed a quantity of high pressure gas
remains trapped between the supply valve and the governor. This is a
resevoir of high pressure gas and a small drop downstream of the
governor will result in the governor valve passing some of this gas. A
small loss will thus be masked by this replenishment of the governed
side by the high pressure side. Testing at just below the set pressure
means the governor valve will be open and thus the test is valid all
the way back to the supply valve.
3. If this happens, repeat the procedure ensuring the
gas valve is opened very slowly.
4. Take an initial reading of the manometer. Wait two minutes. Take a final reading of the manometer. Subtract the final reading from the initial reading and record any loss of pressure.
5. If the system pressure has risen during the test, the most likely cause is "let by" of the gas valve, in which case the test is invalid and you must seek help from Transco to repair the fault on the Meter Control Valve (MCV). If no detectable pressure rise has occurred, bleed off the pressure until the gauge reads about half of the test pressure. Observe the pressure again to ensure that the pressure does not rise from this reduced level. This is to check that the gas valve is not letting a small amount of gas by, which just might match a loss rate at full test pressure.
6. If all appliances are still connected to the system, a permissible pressure loss of 1.6" WG or 4 mbar is allowed provided there is no smell of gas! If the appliances are isolated from the system under test or, in other words, the test is on pipework only, then no drop is permitted. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the leak must be traced and rectified, and the system re-tested in its entirety. This is because of the possibility of more than one leak.
7. If the test is satisfactory, remove the gauge, replace the test point screw, and restore the gas supply. Then test the test point for leakage with leak detection solution.
This is not to encourage amateur gas work but to illustrate how a professional, who will not leave home without test equipment, should do it. Some operatives carry out the let-by test before raising the pressure for the pressure drop test, but as this involves moving the gas valve again it does not assure that the pressure test is without let-by, particularly if the valve is old and possibly worn. If you employ anyone to do gas work, expect to see this test carried out, and if not ask why! I have assumed that you have already satisfied yourself that he/she holds a current CORGI identity card showing that they are approved to carry out the class of work you have engaged him/her to do.
As well as the soundness test, other important areas of concern are Workmanship, Flueing, Ventilation, Methods of construction and installation, Positioning of appliances, Stability, Hearths and fire surrounds, Pipe-sizing, and Equipotential earth bonding. A study of BS5440 parts 1 & 2 is often useful if you have access to a copy at your library.
(iii) Purge the air from the pipework
Original text by "The Boilerdoctor" posted to
uk.d-i-y on 26/2/2001.
This is based on the procedure laid down in the
Viper "Gas Point" training booklet that is used for the ACS assessments.
For clarity, a single pipe system is considered, but
where branch pipes are present, these will also require purging. Large
systems will require an allowance for the increased pipe volume.
Pre-conditions
Whenever a gas supply is made available to an
installation the person making it available must ensure that all air
and gas, other than the gas to be supplied, is purged from the
installation. New installations, and existing installations that are
being commissioned, must be purged of all air and gas/air mixtures.
The following pre-conditions must be satisfied:
To enable the correct purge volume to be calculated the
capacity of the meter is required, and this is shown on the meter badge
plate. This can commonly be found on the panel that houses the
registration dials, or alternatively, stamped on the front of the
meter. A typical example is given where a U6 meter has a volume of
0.071 ft^3 per revolution (of the inner measuring device not the test
dial). U6 meters commonly measure in cubic feet.
NB 1 cu.ft. = 0.0283 cu.m.
The purge volume is taken as five times the badge capacity. This is based on four times the capacity for clearing the meter and it has been found that with very few exceptions the fifth volume is adequate to ensure clearance of the pipework in a domestic premises.
Purge Procedure
1. Tell everyone present that purging of the gas supply is being undertaken and draw attention to the no smoking/ignition sources requirement.
2. Calculate the purge volume (5 x badge capacity). In the case of the example this will be 5 x 0.071 = 0.355 ft^3. This figure is the minimum amount of gas that should be passed through the meter to purge the meter and installation.
3. Ventilate the area by opening doors and windows.
4. Ensure the emergency control at the meter (i.e. the main gas valve), and any appliances, including pilot lights are turned OFF.
5. Open the gas point furthest from the meter.
6. Turn ON the gas and allow the correct amount of gas to pass through the meter as indicated by the index reading on the meter. On reaching the correct quantity, turn OFF the gas.
7. On completion of the purge, seal and test the
purge point for gas soundness with leak detection fluid. (See section
on checking for soundness).
The official test fluid is basically soapy water but
the detergent used is manufactured to a closely controlled spec and is
non-corrosive to all the commonly used materials for gas systems,
including the very thin stainless steel "Anaconda" tube which Transco
use to connect to the governor. Ordinary soaps and Fairy liquid type
detergents contain chlorides (I think) which have been known to corrode
through Anacondas in a few months.
8. Relight all appliances, if any, ensuring they burn
correctly. Allow any gas to clear the property via the ventilation
before doing this. If when relighting an appliance, an obvious defect
is found, the appropriate action must be taken for an unsafe situation.
Purging a U6 electronic meter
The usual standard gas meter is a displacement meter, but the E6 is a non invasive electronic unit which measures gas flow by ultrasonic means. The "innards" of a E6 consist basically of a U-shaped piece of tubing with transmitter at one end and receiver at the other, so very little volume of contained gas. As a result there is less volume to purge also a higher (8 mbar) permitted pressure drop for this type of meter. It would appear that the E6 is being withdrawn in favour of the U6 again as it has not been reliable enough for the suppliers.
Because of the low volume of gas actually contained in an E6 meter, it is only necessary to pass a volume of 0.010 cubic meters of gas through the meter to purge it fully. Due allowance must again be made for the volume of the pipework system.
4 Questions about specific appliances
a) How do I install a hob or cooker?
Here is a checklist of some of the things to watch out for when fitting a gas hob or free-standing cooker. This list does not include the checks for commissioning.
For cookers the zone is 20 mm side clearance on the
lower part of the cooker (oven sides) and then 150 mm each side for
the top part of the cooker (above the level of the burners and pan
supports). The upper zone extends vertically to either 610 mm above
the top of the cooker if it has an eye-level grill, or 760 mm if the
highest point is the hob burners. Note that often the pan supports on
older models of cookers are below the standard 900 mm level of the
work surfaces to the side.
The connection to a cooker is invariably 0.5" BSP
female iron. Hob connections tend to be 0.5" BSP male iron, 8 mm
compression (like many gas fires), or 15 mm stub pipe.
b) What are the rules for siting a boiler flue?
The main standards for this are laid down in BS 5440 Part 1. You might be able to find a copy of this in a reference library.
Since this question is mostly asked in connection with “Where can I site my replacement boiler?”, I will give the data that is relevant to a room-sealed forced-draught (i.e. with a fan) flue terminal for an appliance of 14 kW to 32 kW rated input. That covers over 90% of domestic boilers that are currently being installed.
If you already have the manufacturer's instructions, they may give details. If there is disagreement with the figures below, the manufacturer's data should be used.
If the flue is less than 2 m above a place where someone can stand, i.e. a path, drive, balcony etc., then a terminal guard must be fitted over the flue terminal.
These are the minimum distances from the flue to the
feature described:
600 mm below an opening, open-able window, vent (but see * below)
75 mm from gutters, soil pipe, down pipes and stacks
200 mm below the eaves
200 mm below the underside of a balcony or a carport roof
300 mm from a corner of a building (internal or external)
300 mm above the ground, a balcony floor, or a flat roof
600 mm from any surface, structure, fence or boundary facing the terminal
1200 mm from another terminal facing directly opposite
1200 mm from any opening or door in a car port area
1500 mm from another terminal above it or below it
300 mm from another terminal on the same wall
*Note that building regulations now require a minimum
600 mm separation to any gas flue terminal in any direction from any
opening into the building.
5 Commissioning
General
Most DIYers choose to leave this matter to a
professional as much for peace of mind about what has been done as any
other reason. Commissioning is a procedure for checking that everything
has been installed correctly, that everything is working safely and in
the right way.
It also gives an opportunity to check over all the
other gas appliances in an installation at the same time.
Many manufacturers will explicitly list out the required checks and adjustments in the installation manual for the appliance. These should be followed precisely, of course. In the absence of specific instructions at least the following checks should be made:
Flues
Supply of air for combustion and appliance cooling
Gas soundness
Gas pipe purging
Flame picture.
Supply inlet working pressure
Burner pressure(s).
Rate of gas consumption.
Operation of normal controls.
Operation of safety controls.
Handing over to the user.
Flues and airways
In cases where the installer and the commissioner are
the same fitter then these checks will probably have been done at the
time of installation. Flues needs to be visually checked for blockages
and incorrect installation. Chimneys need to be checked with smoke
pellets to ensure that they draw adequately (after warming if
necessary) and that they do not leak into the building, other chimneys
or a loft space. Likewise airways and vents are checked that they meet
the regulations and are free of blockages. Test for flues are performed
under worst case conditions i.e. shut all doors and windows and operate
any extractor fans (on full) in the room or an adjoining one.
Gas soundness and purging
See earlier sections under gas pipework.
Flame picture
A simple check that can instantly tell you everything
about the combustion process is to look at the flames. You may remember
school chemistry lessons about Bunsen burners, how you could change the
flame from yellow through blue to turquoise by adjusting the air inlet
collar. All domestic gas burners (except large sand-box type display
gas fires) work in just the same way. The gas is squirted out of a
small nozzle (called the injector or jet) and mixes with air in a tube.
The mix burns as it emerges from holes at the end of the tube. When all
is well the gas burns in neat sharply defined light blue or turquoise
coloured cones which are surrounded by a sky blue or slightly lilac
outer flame.
There are four exceptions to this (that I can think of).
Gas inlet pressure and burner pressure.
A check should be made that the pressure of the gas
supplied to an appliance meets the manufacturers requirements or
otherwise 19-21 mbar. Appliances like boilers often have two test
points, one for the inlet pressure and one for the regulated burner
pressure. Less sophisticated appliances where the burner pressure is
simply the supply pressure will have just one test point. A gas hob may
have no test point (you attach the manometer to one of the burner jets)
or it may be hidden away underneath or inside. The appliance should
have its burner pressure data marked on it somewhere; you may find that
a range of pressures are specified. If a range is given then you should
set the burner pressure to a specific value and mark it on the data
plate. What setting you choose would be according to what rating you
need from the appliance.
If the inlet pressure is outside the range 19-21
mbar then you should check the pressure at the meter outlet to see
whether problem lies with the meter and main governor (Transco’s
problem) or with the installation pipework (your problem).
If the burner pressure needs to be altered then the
manufacturer's instructions will tell you how.
Rate of Gas Consumption or Heat Input
Very simply how much gas the appliance consumes. This
story might illustrate the importance of this subject: I once went to
service a water heater and found that the burner pressure was much too
low and the flames looked wrong, I adjusted it to the manufacturer's
setting and found that the flames flared up nearly out of the top of
the appliance. On checking the gas rate I found the appliance was
consuming 40% too much gas! It turned out that at some time during its
lifetime the wrong sized gas jet had been fitted. The right one
(supplied free by the import agents) imperceptible different gave a
good neat flame, no pyrotechnics and burnt gas at 98% of the specified
rate.
To measure the gas rate make sure all other appliances are not in use and their pilot lights are off. Measure the time taken to consume a whole number of cubic feet or litres (0.001 cu. m), but measure for at least 60 seconds so as to minimise the effect of small errors.
For cubic feet the formula is kW of heat input =
1092 x (volume in cu. ft.) / time in seconds for measurement.
For litres the formula is kW of heat input = 38.6 x
(volume in litres) / time in seconds for measurement.
If the appliance only specifies the heat input as BTU/hr note that 3412 BTU/hr = 1kW
If the appliance specifies the heat input using the word ‘Net’ or NCV then that means the heat input is based on the lower calorific value (where the energy available by condensing the water vapour formed in combustion is not considered) the values of 1092 and 38.6 above should then be 983 and 34.7.
The appliance should burn gas at a rate between 90%
and 105% of the specified rate.
If it is outside these limits advice from the
manufacturers should be sought.
Operation of normal controls
Check that all user controls operate as you’d expect
and/or the manufacturers state. Check that any normal (as opposed to
safety) thermostats respond correctly.
Operation of safety controls
The manufacturers may specify a technique for testing a particular safety control. For instance a small flue-less water heater might have a device that detects various faults by a temperature sensor in the outer casing. The makers may say to block the vent at the top with a heat proof plate and check that the sensor cuts the pilot and the gas in under 90 seconds.
Pilot lights with thermocouples : Extinguish these by blowing them out or interrupting the gas supply and check that the gas valve closes within 60s (longer times are permitted for fires and cookers) but 60s should be enough anyway.
Lidded hobs and cookers: Many (but not all) cookers and hobs with drop down lids are interlocked to the hob rings, check this feature out.
If the manufacturer does not specify a way of testing a particular safety device and there is no way that you can test it safely (e.g. a high temperature cut-out thermostat) then you may assume it is satisfactory.
Handing over to the user
If you are not going to be the user, then explain to
the user(s) what they need to know to operate the appliance safely and
effectively. Keep all the manuals and instruction books.
6 Glossary of Abbreviations:
ACS Acreditted Certification Scheme for gas operatives.
ACS requires each operative to demonstrate his/her competence on a one
to one basis with a CITB approved examiner both on a theoretical and a
practical assessment level.
AR At Risk
CORGI Council of Registered Gas Installers
GCN Gas Council Number. This uniquely identifies a gas
appliance so that the correct spare part may be obtained.
HSE Health and Safety Executive
ID Immediately Dangerous
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas (not Low Pressure Gas),
either propane or butane
mbar A pressure measurement. A standard atmosphere is
1013.25 mbar.
MCV Meter (or Main) Control Valve
NG Natural Gas
WG Water Gauge (Same as U-gauge or manometer). But
often used to mean a pressure as in “8.5 inches WG is the same as 21
mbar “.
Credits
Main text by Ed Sirett ed@makewrite.demon.co.uk
Leak testing and purging sections by "The
Boilerdoctor"
Editing and much constructive feedback by Phil
Addison