Hi,
I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.
How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees and see if gas gushes out?
Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?
Thanks...
Erm! open the window near to it,turn on the valve a quarter of its travel and you should be able to smell it let alone hear it.
Fit a balloon over the pipe ..LOL
What I would like to know is why the pipe isn't capped .
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:
With the best of intentions and not intending any disrespect, yes it would be foolhardy.
The pipe should be capped anyway (you must not touch this), and assuming the valve is prior to any regulator that may or may not exist, the gas pressure in the supply pipe is much higher than you may be expecting (that's why they fit a regulator).
Despite the probably well deserved feelings of doom that the following statement will raise, it's time to ring the gas operator or supplier for your area and enquire if it's possible for you to have a gas connection and how much will it cost.
If you want to make an educated guess: do the neighbours have mains gas? If so, then whether or not your pipe is "live", it should be a straightforward matter for the supplier to reconnect it or put in a new one.
Now you're going to say you live in a little stone house 10 miles from your neighbours...
;->
Cheers
Tim
Quite possibly because it is dead would be my guess.
Not necessarily former occupants could have taken the gas meter? or at sometime someone has been fiddling the gas and used a meter that they aquired and didn't bother to replace the cap that might of been there?
straightforward
Thanks to all for the replies. From the sounds of it, the supply pipe will be capped. This is a 1980's terrace, and I guess gas supply was laid on for every house when they were built -- only it was never "activated" in this one...
There is no regulator, just a lever-valve.
I'll leave well alone and get what-ever company owns up to responsibility for un-capping gas supplies involved.
Any idea's who to contact? (North Hampshire)
Thanks again for saving me from my fool-hardiness ;-)
Only if you turned it on and went to make a cup of tea.
Turn it on a fraction and see if it hisses, then turn it off again. It's not sarin gas and you will not drop dead from it.
Not long ago people lived in houses with gas taps all over the place, particularly on the floor by fireplaces. (Some still do)
Appliances were connected by flexible pipes with tatty rubber connectors on them. They leaked all the time.
You mean you can't tell if it is capped .Is the end of the pipe not visible ? Now I am confused .?
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:
OK - sounds like it will be painless. If these are 1980's houses and there is a gas main in the road, I would expect the whole lot to have been plumbed for gas as standard, ready for a meter.
Just choose your supplier (eg
Tell them you'd like to buy gas from them, tell them you don't have a meter (they'll probably ask this anyway, or have a database that might just tell them). Take it from there - they will be able to sort everything out for you - at least as far as the meter. You'll need[1] a CORGI fitter to sort out connections from there to your appliance(s). British Gas may still do this, but it will probably be a different arm to the meter people so doesn't make much difference who you use.
Cheers
Tim
[1] Well, not strictly true, but you *must* be "competent" to do it yourself.
Exactly. You might well turn on the gas cooker before firing up a gas lighter...
responsibility
FYI, British Gas offer a free service to determine if a supply pipe is live or not. Assuming it is live, then Southern Electricity will fit a meter and regulator for free - providing we take gas from them of course. Free. Can you believe it?
Things only get expensive if it turns out the supply pipe isn't live.
After the meter is installed, the corgi man can start the new central heating install (replacing night storage heaters)
There ya go then..That's your problem sorted !!!
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:
Thanks for coming back - it's good to have a definitive answer in the google archives :)
In a sense I would hope it *would* be free, as it's in their interests to give you a way to buy their product.
I'd rather hoped it would be free even if they had to mole a pipe in (assuming the road had a pipe) for the same reason, but things don't make as much sense post privatisation as they used to...
Cheers
Tim
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.