Connecting imperial and metric pipes

[Steve]

CORGI are NOT the final arbiters in this - for the "Horse's mouth" you should get an official statement from the HSE. CORGI are ONLY THERE to protect their members' interests.

Steve

[Ed Sirett]

The full details are below.

[Ed Sirett]

No, a compression fitting may be used and often is. Indeed some boiler manufactruers may make the inlet connection to their appliance a compression fitting.

However compression fittings are not permitted in inaccessible places.

[Ed Sirett]

Fairly sure the labels are going beyond the precise interpretation of the law. BTW if any thing does go wrong when you are doing your own gas fitting probably the only proof of competency that would sand up at law would be to have ACS exam passes.

[Ed Sirett]

Well they ride two horses these days. They are the only body which the HSE endorses to regulate and licence profession gas fitters.

[geoff]

If they are asked a direct question about the legality of something, it would be exceedingly stupid of them to tell a blatant lie

I suppose I could ask the HSE as well

[Dave Plowman]

No - it's prbably me. I didn't mean it to refer solely to gas, though, as the vast majority of plumbing will be done on water. And it's water soluble. ;-) I think.

FWIW, I've used it on copper gas pipes in my own house which I installed over 20 years ago, and they ain't corroded through yet. Do CORGI give a twenty year guarantee?

[Lee Blaver]

I have used it for water for quite a while and personally have no problems with it either, since as you point out, it's water soluble so it dosen't hang around inside the (water) pipes anyway :-)

Interesting point about Corgi and guarantees though, how long would a Corgi be responsible for a specific installation after doing some work and would this be longer than the yearly inspections that are reccomended?

Lee

[Steve Firth]

Yes, one of the parts of the regulations that gets me into a spin. On a boat, the tube is supposed to be jointed into a bulkhead fitting at every bulkhead. The fittings are compression only. On even a small boat this would mean about four to five such fittings on the average run from the gas locker to the hob which rather goes against the concept of keeping joints to a minimum.

[NJF]

Hummm, and does it mention putting anti stress loops in every section to stop damage due to flex in the structure??? Not an uncommon failure mode in any vessel with pipework.

Niel, certified for toxic (fluorine and chlorine) and explosive (hydrogen) gases, but not for natural gas....

[NJF]

Basically yes, we enquired about getting corgi registration a couple of years ago and for commercial installations (thats how we're classified) I needed to do several courses with min 6 months practice (doing 5 days a week) on domestic systems before the commercial course....I do however have to work on the equipment end of the systems as no corgi registered person locally is qualified to work on the kit as it includes H2, O2 and a number of toxic volatiles. As one commercial corgi guy pointed out most domestic corgi card holders are little more than plumbers, and working at low pressure (12 inches of water IIRC) isn't difficult, higher pressures (we work at over 200 Bar here) is a different matter altogether. That said I am aware of a parent installing a dish-washer for his student daughter in a private block of flats turning off the water and unsoldering a

15mm copper pipe joint with a blow torch thinking it was the cold water line, the block was burnt out...

Niel.

[David W.E. Roberts]

O.K. I am a BAD person. Written in haste :-( What I meant to say was that it is illegal for a non-Corgi fitter to do it and if you do it yourself and it blows you (or a subsequent purchaser) up then you may find yourself liable. Not sure the insurance company would take kindly to DIY gas fitting, although I doubt they ask too many detailed questions if you have a water leak. I would have expected any purchaser to require a Corgi certificate, but from other posts it seems this is not always so. However UK DIYers will no doubt have this checked on their purchases :-)

Ouch! Stop hitting me.

Dave R

P.S. we had a stiff exchange of notes with one plumber (who had a generally good reputation) because when he re-fitted out hot water tank after installing a power shower he didn't fully tighten one of the fittings. It leaked and damaged a part of the downstairs ceiling. We deducted a sum from his bill because of this, and he was very huffy. Said these things happen - joints can loosen off after a few heating/cooling cycles and we should just claim on our insurance and this was 'not the way to do things'. I read it twice but couldn't find any suggestion of an apology.

So - pro, semi-pro, and rank amateur plumbers - is this 'par for the course' or would you expect the fittings not to leak?

What about the 'not my problem - claim on your insurance' approach?

[Lee Blaver]

Er..what about *his* insurance? Or doesn't he have any... What would have happened if the damage was more than the cost of his bill? Small Claims and all that malarky no doubt :-(

Ok you might take the risk if you were paying much less than the going rate...

Lee

[Fishter]

Shame if he did it in a block of flats and several people (not the client) claimed off his insurance...

[Ed Sirett]

Firstly IME fittings that have been checked don't start leaking of their own accord unless they are subsequently disturbed or the conditions of service change.

He will/ought to have liability insurance [1] but there is likely a large excess on the policy and so he would probably have had to fork out himself anyway. =

If there cliam were larger no doubt loss adjusters would be involved and a claim on your house policy might well end up on his insurance. =

[1] Typical libility premium for a one man band is now =A3400/year. That'= s nearly double on last year. I'm getting a deal through CORGI for =A3283 which is +35% on last year. The reasons is all the specialist accident claim law firms have won a lot of payouts. What comes out must go in. =

[geoff]

I can stop it in it's tracks, straight from the CORGI's muzzle

NO IT'S NOT

[Steve Firth]

Indeed it does, and sensible installers appear to ignore the requirement to install all those bulkhead fittings and instead run the tube through a plastic sleeve at bulkheads, with the exception of those bulkheads where it is essential to seal the bulkhead. i.e. gas locker and the final bulkhead before the appliance.