Boiler replacement and removal of old pipework.

I am in the process of partly renovating a property that belonged to my mother - in - law, deceassed earlier this year.

The time is approaching when the old Baxi back boiler central heating system will be replaced. I will engage a Corgi Registered installer to fit the new boiler/ rads etc. and to fit new gas supply to the kitchen.

In preparation I would like to remove the currently fitted CH system myself. I see no point in paying skilled CORGI rates for a wrecking job on water pipework, rads and HW cylinder. I have already drained down, removed all the water pipework, rads, pump and HW cylinder.

The in place Baxi boiler needs to be removed. The heating hasn't been used for months and the gas supply has been turned off at the meter since June. The on/off lever at the gas meter is held securely in the OFF position by strong binding wire to prevent accidental turning ON when doing other work nearby.

This was essential ( see * later ).

The output pipe from the gas meter is 22mm and runs in a ground floor void under the floorboards to a point near the Baxi where it splits to feed a

15mm pipe for the kitchen feed. New gas pipework for the kitchen will need to be fitted due to alterations in the kitchen, this will be done at the time of CH installation by the CORGI fitter.

Before removing the old boiler I need to isolate the gas feed to it.

It is my intention ( subject to not being advised otherwise ) to cut the

22mm pipe using a pipe cutter ( not by hacksaw so will be a 90 degree cut for the end stop ) under the floorboards before it splits for the kitchen supply.

I know of the practice to earth bond locally each side of the cut before cutting the gas pipe even though it's likely there is no gas in the pipe.

And by the way the underfloor void is VERY well ventilated. There is almost always an updraught ( gale actually ) when I lift a floorboard. I would then fit a 22mm end stop using gas PTFE tape.

I have been reading the post 'A Really bad piece of work' by Ed Sirett from

5/12/2008 on this newsgroup. I then looked at the RIDDOR requirements for reporting unsafe gas installations and realised that the CORGI registered fitter I use to fit the new boiler has a duty to make a report if he considers an installation he encounters unsafe.

Do my intentions sound as though they would be unsafe and thus prompt a RIDDOR report.

  • ( this is the see later bit )

I couldn't believe it when I removed the M-I-L's gas cooker.

She has been SO lucky.

The gas bayonet fitting for her cooker was attached by an elbow to a 15mm copper pipe that went horizontally about 2 feet to a point where the feed emerged from a 15mm pipe in the concrete floor in the kitchen. The gas joint at this elbow fitting was bad. There was verdigree ( sp ) all round the joint. When I pulled her cooker forward the elbow joint actually rotated on the vertical 15mm pipe that emerged from the floor. The soldered joint hadn't taken properly.

She had had no new gas work done in her approx 20yr occupation and the house is ex-council. Guess the local council must have accepted almost any Tom, Dick or Harry to do their gas fitting 20 or more years ago.

Anyway - what about my intentions for the removal of the old boiler.

TTFN

Reply to
JDT2Q
Loading thread data ...

No need for the gas PTFE in this case as you are not making a gas tight seal on the threads of the compression fitting. (you don't actually need PTFE at all in this circumstance, although some like a little to help lubricate the thread of the fitting to make tightening easier rather than as a sealing aid).

Reply to
John Rumm

22mm compression stop end on the pipe is fine - no PTFE: that's for sealing threaded joints, not compression.

If you're nervous about the work call the Gas Emergency Service (formerly TRANSCO) on 0800 111 999 and tell them you've got a leaking gas pipe in the kitchen (the one to your MIL's cooker you told us about) and they'll come out to make safe. Tell the bod you just want it isolated and he'll put a sealing disk in the meter. Then you can cut away the pipework (still strictly speaking subject to the GSIUR but IANAL) to your heart's content.

Reply to
YAPH

Compression fittings are only permmited where they are readily accessible.

Under floorboards is not considdered readily accessible.

It would be far easier for you to cut and cap the gas pipe with the compression cap just after the meter where it can be seen and checked.

Do not use any ptfe or other kind of tape on a compression joint. You can if you wish use a gas approved joint compound to lubricate the olive.

Reply to
Heliotrope Smith

....It is my intention ( subject to not being advised otherwise ) to cut the

22mm pipe using a pipe cutter ( not by hacksaw so will be a 90 degree cut for the end stop ) under the floorboards before it splits for the kitchen supply.

Surely you need to be Corgi to start cutting gas pipes even if the supply is turned off at the meter, don't you?

Robert

Reply to
RobertL

not if you know what you are doing, and you are not doing it for profit or reward. The only requirement is that you are competent.

Reply to
John Rumm

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.