As part of sorting out the gas connections on our boat I'm considering adding an Alde gas leak detector. Does anyone have any experience of these? Are they any good? Are there better/cheaper ways of doing the same thing (the Alde detectors cost more tha £40)?
Would a simple pressure guage be a better check - if the pressure stays up with the gas turned off all is well! How long is long enough for the pressure to stay up?
There is a permissible pressure drop on gas installations in houses, but = it only applies to existing installations that are being tested for gas tig= htness. A new installation should have no leaks and no pressure drops; sold= ering copper gas pipes is a doddle and there's no reason or excuse for leak= s. This would apply all the more on a boat.
What are the Gas-Safe-type qualifications that would usually be expected = for a gas installer working on a boat? Does anyone check (or care) whether = the installation is inspected and certified?=20
The standard gas soundness test lasts for 2 minutes, any longer and the c= hanges in ambient air temperature will affect the gas pressure.
I'm not sure they are particularly worthwhile. They should be fitted inside the gas locker so only test when the gas is first turned on and although favoured by some as being simple and reliable they are quite limited. If the boat is used infrequently they tend to produce warning indications when there isn't really a problem. They therefore get ignored. They also don't alert you to problems when the boat is in use.
When working on the gas system a pressure test (manometer) and checks of joints with leak detector fluid (washing up liquid) is more than adequate. With competently fitted pipework the chance of a leak are small. The system should include a pressure test point (sometimes already built in to some appliances such as cookers) to allow periodic pressure testing and I would prefer this rather than a bubbler.
Many boat incidents involve problems with appliances in use so I'd put a bilge gas alarm as a higher priority. (although such an alarm should be mounted not in the bilges (they don't survive getting wet) but just above the cabin sole plate and where stuff can't drip on them).
only applies to existing installations that are being tested for gas tightness. A new installation should have no leaks and no pressure drops; soldering copper gas pipes is a doddle and there's no reason or excuse for leaks. This would apply all the more on a boat.
For some reason I don't think soldered joints are approved/allowed on boat installations, otherwise I'd quite agree.
any gas leakage to go over the side. There's also a risk of asphyxiation due to the gas accumulating within the hull; there have been lots of gas explosions on boats. I'd assumed the OP knew more about applied gas fitting on boats.
Yes, as I said further up the thread our gas cylinders live 'outside' on the bathing platform, any leakage from the high pressure side of things just goes out into open air.
Very little if you make one. Suitable plastic tube can be found in DIY places or aquarium suppliers. Make sure you get a piece which will fit your test point and is long enough to reach it.
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24" (60mb) would be fine, the 12" only goes to 30mb. Butane regulators usually work at about 28mb, Propane at about 37mb.
I tend to use just a long length of thin flexible plastic tube nailed in a 24" "U" shape to a board with some fencing staples similar to
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some water in, pressurise the system and mark the highest level. Turn off the gas cylinder and watch the level for 2 minutes (you can do it for longer but variations in temperature may cause small movements). The beauty of manometers is that they are simply and utterly reliable.
The home made version can be stowed somewhere on the boat so it is available if you ever feel the need to test again (for example the gas alarm sounding). Because it measures not only pressure but shows the rate of change of pressure it can be used to differentiate between slow and faster leaks which can be useful when fault finding.
That sounds a very sensible proposition! Inches of water is very easy to measure! :-) I can put it somewhere nice and accessible which would allow me o check in the warm and dry.
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Yes, I realise the 24" is needed, we have propane at 3mmbar.
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Brilliant, thank you Peter, I can see a "Piece of wood with a U-tube of plastic" manometer being made in the next few days.
A pressure gauge will not detect the tiny leaks that a bubble tester will. It's not worth cutting corners on your budget here. You can save money by f itting it yourself, I made a video here
Found the diy wiki gas fitting section where in a previous incarnation I co ntributed the soundness test for natural gas. Similar underlying principles will apply to propane at the higher pressure. If I come across my old manu als for lpg I'll try to add the appropriate procedure.
Found the diy wiki gas fitting section where in a previous incarnation I co ntributed the soundness test for natural gas. Similar underlying principles will apply to propane at the higher pressure. If I come across my old manu als for lpg I'll try to add the appropriate procedure.
t it only applies to existing installations that are being tested for gas t ightness. A new installation should have no leaks and no pressure drops; so ldering copper gas pipes is a doddle and there's no reason or excuse for le aks. This would apply all the more on a boat.
d for a gas installer working on a boat? Does anyone check (or care) whethe r the installation is inspected and certified?
changes in ambient air temperature will affect the gas pressure.
I wonder how small a leak these Alde detectors will detect?
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