Gas boiler servicing is not diy

[Steve Walker]

When I first moved in the gas supply was capped and the meter missing - as was the boiler, header tank radiators and gas fire (the house had been repossessed and either the owner or someone he owed money to had stripped it ... luckily the hot water tank was too difficult for them to get out).

I fitted a fire and enquired about getting the meter put back in and the gas connected. They turned up the next day, did the work and then did a drop test. The result was fine, despite the cap on the (temporarily) unused boiler connection sitting loosely on the pipe and not being tightened at all.

SteveW

[John Rumm]

There are some crimped (aka "Press fit") copper fittings that are supposedly ok for gas use, e.g.

(note the water and gas versions are different)

Then there are the flexible systems based on stainless corrugated pipe like tracpipe... that uses compression fittings rather than pushfit IIUC.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Which company do you work for, so we can all avoid it?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My Neff came with a flexible hose...

[John]

"Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)" [e-mail]> wrote in news:qq9of4$jor$1 @dont-email.me:

I find many gas fitters do not understand the control logic of a modern boiler.

[ARW]

Some of the fittings that look like they are push fit are actually crimped/pressed on.

I also thought they were push fit the first time I saw them. Maybe that is what you have seen.

an example of them here

You can get push fit connectors for compressed air and I presume that they would work with natural gas but are not allowed because of the fire risks.

Cheers

[Terry Casey]

I passed that link on to my daughter as I thought it might be of interest and she has replied with a question:

"Could you ask if it makes a difference if the oven is electric?

When this came up last year, I did double check with a gas fitter I know and trust, and he confirmed that it shouldn't be a flexible hose. I have a feeling either he, or John (who did the safety check as Rob is always extremely busy) said it was because the oven is electric, not gas."

I've replied that I can't see that it would make a blind bit of difference but I am not an expert in these matters so I'd better do as I've been told and post it here!

[S Viemeister]

We recently installed a Smeg dual-fuel cooker (gas hob, electric oven). The installation instructions called for a flexible hose.

[Roger Hayter]

It is true that a gas cooker (oven + hob) probably needs a flexible hose so you can level it (and perhaps even clean behind it). But that in itself is not reason why a fixed hob should not have one. Just a reason why it is not useful in service.

[John Rumm]

The second link hopefully - that one is no use.

Well if the oven is electric, it does not need gas at all!

The hob may be quite remote from the oven, so how that is connected does not seem relevant.

(and multi fuel free standing cookers with electric ovens are still connected via a flexible hose).

Well indeed. I don't claim any particular insight here other than having read the relevant BS docs, and they make no mention of an electric oven or it having any influence on the choice of connection method.

Possibly worth noting that Tolly's Domestic gas installation practice guide still paraphrases the wording of the 1982 version of BS 6172 - i.e. claiming that flexible connections are not suitable for fixed appliances not intended to be moved by the end user, rather than the current version that was used from the 2004 version onward.

(I have the 4th edition from 2006, but a quick look at the text of the

5th edition which Amazon have helpfully included the first 295 pages in their "look inside" feature, suggests that has not changed).

[Terry Casey]

Yes - I've just checked what I sent her and it is the correct link.

Thankyou for that, John.

[John Rumm]

Should also have said, that you would need to dig out the installation instructions for the cooker/hob etc. Since it they proscribe a flexible connection, then that will override the general advice in the BS docs.