Gas question

Yes the bayonet connectors are self-sealing and OK to be left unplugged temporarily ...

Not sure about it being a temporary thing.

Many council houses have both a gas bayonet and an electrical cooker connection unit.

And to Mike, you sometimes need gorilla strength hands to get the bayonet off. That is normal.

I always put a bit of water with washing up liquid in it around the seal after removing the cooker to check the seal has worked.

Plenty of plumbers have arguments whether a bayonet is *only* for temporary disconnect, or whether it is also allowed for permanent disconnection without capping-off ... I can't argue either way, but it's fine for the O/P's purpose.

I only need it disconnected for a few days whilst the tiles are lifted and a new floor laid.

Mike

I have disconnected a few times over the years when replacing cookers / tiling etc. Yes they can be a bit stubborn. I always check with soapy water that the pipe doesnt leak, both at disconnection and reconnection.

In our last house there was one by the fireplace to use with the gas poker.

Yup, it should be a self sealing bayonet connection.

That's just a link to a windows shortcut!

Kind of reminds me of the antics they had on the ISS when removing similarly supposedly self sealing connections for ammonia. Sometimes they worked, ahem. Brian

Indeed. Neither link worked for me - but I agree with all the comments about being self-sealing.

The links did not work for me. Muddymike is a cyclist, cyclists are not too bright. And yes, the bayonet will seal fine.

It isn't unknown for them to not seal correctly. If this happens, just push the centre firmly, briefly. That usually does the trick.

I admit to calling the gas company for a suspected leak to discover it was one of these beasts we'd never used. The chap showed me the trick and explained it wasn't uncommon.

But tape a plastic bag around it to keep it clean.

Cheers

It seems I copied the wrong link. This one works for me.

Mike

I did once cycle, probably not since 1988 though!

Mike

Good idea, I'll do that.

Mike

Seems a bit lower down than most I've seen, usually a couple of feet up the wall, has the flexible pipe suffered at all from being curled upwards?

The Flexible pipe drops down from near the top of the cooker and gently curves back up to the bayonet connection. I've not studied it in detail but it seemed okay. I'll look more closely this weekend when I disconnect it.

Mike

It's just occurred to me that if you can get a reasonably tight seal, a sandwich bag will inflate if there's any leakage from the self sealing connector which will not only provide dust protection but also allow you to detect any non-trivial leakage at a glance making it a doubly good idea. :-)