Hiya,
I'm replacing my gas cooker for an electric one. The gas cooker has a brass pipe exiting the wall and then onto that is a flexible rubber hose that connects to the cooker.
How do I remove this safely and close the pipe?
Peter
Found out now.
Call out a corgi registered gas engineer to do it! Apperently there are laws for this type of thing!!
Peter
Before doing anything else, turn on one burner of the cooker and go to the mains valve at the meter and turn it off. It should be in the same line as the pipe when it's on and lie at a right angle to the pipe when it's off.
After you've done this, the gas left in the pipe is burned off at the burner on the cooker and very little is left in the pipes. It's called "Flaring Off" and helps to the smell to a minimum.
The existing fitting on the supply pipe is a bayonet connector and the hose is disconnected by pushing it in toward the fitting and giving it a quarter turn anti-clockwise. Like taking a bulb out. The bayonet fitting is self sealing but, if it hasn't been used for a while, it may be a bit sticky, so you shouldn't rely on it being totally sealed.
Go back to the mains valve and turn it on, then listen at the fitting for any hissing sounds, or after five minutes or so, any smells that be become apparent.
The pipe itself should have the bayonet connector removed and have a soldered end cap fitted to make it completely safe, and if it isn't going to be used again while you live in the house, but I think you'd need someone else to do that for you.
Good Luck with it.
You getting an electric hob as well? Wouldn't be my choice. I'm thinking about replacing the existing gas free standing cooker with either a better (newer) gas cooker, or gas hob / electric single oven cooker (though that would mean chopping up some worktops as for some reason all electric cookers are 60cm wide and gas ones are generally 55cm wide).
As far as the connector goes, I thought the bayonet type was meant to be largely idiot proof and for consumers to be able to disconnect ovens themselves. If a gas engineer has to remove the applicance now, when the new electrical regs come in, will I need an electrician to plug something into a wall socket for me?
Leigh
Apart from various unorthodox techniques for gas fitting all the above assumes that this cooker is connected with a standard modern bayonet outlet. Many older installations are fitted directly into the supply pipe work. If the fitting on the end of the hose has a knurled brass disc about 5mm thick and about 40mm diameter then it is a bayonet connector and undoes like a light bulb with attitude.
As the above suggests there is a small chance the bayonet connector might fail if there has been many years since it was last used - so when you disconnect you may have to turn off the gas at the meter and call for help. There's a good chance that you might get Transco to seal it (if it's leaking) for free but they might also Turn Off Label & F**k Off.
Cooker bayonet connectors are a known source of leakage,often low level. They sometimes just dont seal off tightly. Often the leakage cannot be detected on a water gauge and an electronic gas detector has to be used to confirm it.
joe
It is not very good practice to leave a self sealing unit in situ' if it not going to be used for a long period of time and much safer to cut and cap the pipe properly with a soldered fitting. The fibre seal rings will perish over time and that is why we are the OP to check for any leakage, even minute, if he is leaving the bayonet connector open until the pipe is correctly sealed. It's just not worth taking any chances.
I agree it is not worth leaving the bayonet socket in place for a length of time.
The rubber hose that connects to the back off the cooker will "pop-out" just like a light bulb. Simply push it in and turn. once this pipe has been dis-connect the gas supply is usually shut-off automatically by the above procedure. however for long-term disconnection it would be advisable to get a competent person to carry out the "capping off"
Regards Keith
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