Gas Pipe general query

[Chris B]

Had a gas man round today for an annual service of the gas boiler. When he arrived and at no extra charge he commented that:-

"I notice where your gas pipe goes into the house the coupling is badly rusted. The ends of those couplers are quite thin and if it rusts right through the repair will be very expensive (in the thousands of pound). If I were you I would buy a little tin of Hammerite and paint the rusty bit of iron making sure that you try and run some paint as far as you can inside the white sleeving without filling the gap. A small expense on a tin of Hammerite might save you a lot of money".

Well as I already had a tin of Hammerite in the garage the only expense was 10 minutes of my time, so it was a no brainer.

My question is why might repair of this innocent looking component run into thousands?

A link to the installation (post application of hammerite is below)

[Chris Hogg]

When I had my gas meter moved from inside the garage to outside so that it could be read without having to involve me, I had to have the whole length of ?black iron pipe replaced in 'plastic' right back to the main in the road, because it was 'policy'.

Perhaps that would happen in your case.

[John Rumm]

Although if the pipe is before the meter, then it is not part of your installation. I can see them wanting to charge for the work if you instigate the change by wanting the meter moved, but not sure if they could charge for it if is for maintenance required as a result of general wear and tear on the distribution network?

[Dave Plowman (News]

Is this before or after the meter? When it became the fashion to move meters outdoors, iron barrel was generally replaced at the same time. I'd say an iron barrel coupling would take a very long time to rust through.

[Jeff Layman]

From

: "Bringing gas to you:

We own the pipes which transport gas into homes across southern England and the whole of Scotland, but we don?t own the gas. We look after the pipes up to the emergency control valve (ECV), which is located before your meter and allows you to turn off gas in an emergency."

And from page 3 of that document:

"How much will it cost?

Every job is different but the majority of domestic work we carry out costs customers between £400 and £1,000."

I assume other areas are similar.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

John Rumm explained :

It's what you pay for, as part of the meter standing charge.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Chris B used his keyboard to write :

It wouldn't. The thousands might refer to if there was a leak and the leakage cuaght fire, burning your house down. Those are thick steel and will take many decades to rust through.

[Chris B]

Its my side of the meter. The meter is outside, just to the left in the photo

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Chris B explained on 03/05/2022 :

In that case, your responsibility to pay for any repairs.

[John Rumm]

Still can't see it costing thousands to re-pipe in copper from the meter to the existing copper inside... even if paying someone else to do it.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

I agree, only if it leaked and caused serious damage to the house would it cost thaousands.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Then I'd contact BG or whoever and ask why it had been fitted with materials not fit for purpose?

However, it's hardly going to cost thousands to replace a rusty coupler.

[Fredxx]

When has iron barrel become not fit for purpose?

I would be worried about the copper side suffering damage from sticking out so far with unknown support.

[Dave Plowman (News]

If it has rusted through, obviously not?

[Andrew]

Why is your pipework a mix of copper and 3/4 inch 'black' iron ?.

I would be more concerned about the gap between the 3/4 inch iron and the sleeving where it goes through the wall because that is a water trap and painting the outside won't protect what you cannot see.

I would buy a can of spray grease from a motor factor and liberally spray into that gap after a period of dry weather. Then wrap some desno tape around the bit of iron on show to completely seal the gap between gas pipe and sleeving.

[Andrew]

We don't know what is on the other side of that wall, only that copper is connected to 3/4 inch screwed iron as it traverses the wall on the outside.

If there is a matching iron->copper compression joint on the other side (so must be accessible ??) then why is there a short run of iron running through the wall ?. Easy to replace with copper.

[Andrew]

If it was galvanised then there is no problem, but unprotected

3/4 inch 'black' iron pipe should have been wrapped with denso tape or painted with bitumen paint (not Hammerite).

[Andrew]

The problem is what you cannot see, i.e. the small gap between pipe and sleeve which is a water trap, where corrosion can occur more quickly because it tends to be wet or damp for longer than exposed pipe.

In my house, the 3/4 inch iron pipe running to the meter under the garage floor and into the house (under a metre wiode path) is inside

4 inch salt glazed pipes to isolate it from contact with soil and is painted with black bitumen pipe (1976 build).

Modern installations (where iron pipe) is used, seem to use a mix of galvanised or yellow plastic coated steel.

[Fredxx]

I thought that was forbidden. While you can seal between the two pipes on the inside of a wall, any leak between the two must be allowed to escape outside.

[John Rumm]

The sleeving is a requirement if a pipe is passing through a cavity wall. Typically gap between pipe and it's sleeve is sealed at the inside interface, and the outside must be open such that leak is vented outside.