Is this a water tap, and how old?

In message snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com, at

I've lived in houses like that, and they don't concrete the pipe into the kitchen floor 100yrs ago.

Purely for my own education, why not reuse (or get a similar new) the presumed female BSP steel cap in the picture directly on the pipe? Is there an acceptable thread sealant for gas nowadays?

Petrogas was in use long before then. Blow air through petrol and you have petrogas. Add flame arrestors if sensible.

the modern meter maybe, there may have been a previous one somewhere else.

Petrogas wasn't metered, it was owner produced - it wasn't hugely popular though.

NT

Could it have been from an old 'Town Gas' supply. Perhaps, either at some point the house was changed around or even when they converted to Natural gas, the old Town Gas pipe was capped off for some reason.

The big switch over from town gas to natural gas didn't normally involve any replacement of supply pipework.

Where?s your sense of adventure? ;-) Domestic gas systems are very low pressure and any leaks from the tap would be pretty minimal. I?d definitely just go for it. ((Says the man who took the power supply out from three flats by drilling into what I thought was a redundant copper pipe, that turned out to be armoured cable).

Tim

That type of gas tap has a conical barrel inside the body, should you find there is a leak after disturbing it there is usually a nut on the back end which should allow you to tighten up the valve and make it gas tight again.

Richard

Apparently my school science block had it until comparatively recently to run the Bunsen burners.

(The "New Block" was built in about 1920... sockets on the benches were 2 pin 5 amp Click pattern)

Owain

In message <r4ja6f$1jro$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org>, at 19:10:08 on Sat, 14 Mar

The old pipe is in the original kitchen location.

Natural Gas conversions also requires laying a pipe from the North Sea to the village (via various places in between).

The natural gas installation on the other side of the house has all the hallmarks of a new-dig natural gas supply. What I need to find out is when the local town gas plant closed down.

Looks like an old gas pipe to me.

In which case, easier to leave it alone unless you are worried it leaks. You could spray it with some leak detector spray to be sure. Chances are its disconnected anyway.

If it does show signs of leakage and you are sure its not controlled from the main gas tap, then phone national grid and report a leak, let them fix it since its not then on your side of the installation.

In which case, stick the cap back on :-)

In message <Teadnd snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk>, at

I'd rather get rid of it, because there's a new appliance due to go in that corner, and the pipe's in the way (unlike cupboard units which sit on legs, like what was there before, appliances sit on the floor).

The reason for asking here is to determine what agency to get involved.

(I'd also still like an idea of how old it is, just out of curiosity; nearest 20yrs would be plenty).

It is your side of the meter so it is a question of the qualifications of who tackles it, rather than any agency.

A plumber who is also gas qualified would be my suggestion.

I assume you want it ?gone? ie capped below the floor or disconnected at the other end. The latter would be the best option, if he can trace it. I?m not sure about the rules on capping gas under the floor in case of leaks.

In message <r4knuq$1ur8$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org>, at 08:11:06 on Sun, 15 Mar

What if there isn't "a meter"? Or, as is more likely the case, the modern meter which is currently extant [on the diametrically opposite corner of the house] post-dates that piping by at least 50yrs?

I'm hoping an "agency" can say that there's nothing upstream of that tap, connected to a "main". (Especially in the absence of a meter).

It'd be under an appliance rather than the floor.

Is it a tap with flat twisty bit? If yes then it was probably the gas isolator for what my grandma used to call the copper in the kitchen or scullery. Hopefully, by now its been isolated, and may be of use as a collectors item and or as a prop for film work. I also noticed the last time my hot water cylinder had to be changed that the pipes to the back boiler behind the coal fire grate were cut but first, a tap was located behind a wooden panel in the sitting room below, and a hose attached to drain the back boiler. I never even knew it was there, let alone full of old water from god knows when! There would have been a nasty mess if the plumber had not known about it. Brian

Just open it up. More than like nothing will come out. Then you can deal with it yourself.

If it *is* live, close it and call a gas safe plumber.

Fittings haven?t changed much over the years so I doubt you?d be able to date it with any accuracy.

Tim

I can tell you now that the DNO will not be interested in anything past the meter all pipe work beyond the meter is the consumers responsibility. The DNO will come out if a gas leak is reported in consumer pipe work but will not carry out any more than is needed to make the system safe which usually involves putting a blank disk in the input to the meter to block the pipe, turning off the main gas c*ck and sticking a red ?do not use label ? on the gas c*ck.

You really need to trace any piping that was originally in the house and se e if was reconnected when the meter was replaced. In our last house they re placed the mains in the street and up to each house. We opted for an exteri or meter which they simply piped back to the original connection to the pre vious meter under the stairs. You need to bite the bullet and find out if t hat valve is live, once you have done that you will know what to do next.

Richard