Replacing like for like gas hob technically illegal?

[Housemartin]

I was wondering if it is technically illegal to replace a like for like gas hob if the bayonate fittings are in the right position and is just a case of pushing a new one in?

[Tim S]

Housemartin coughed up some electrons that declared:

No - why did you think it would be? Bayonet fittings are designed for end user operation.

But... you said "hob", not "cooker".

I saw something in Ed's Gas FAQ (IIRC) about fitted hobs and hoses, to the effect of using hoses is no longer allowed and they should be fully plumbed in.

Free standing cookers of course use hose and a bayonet connector.

Which one are you referring to?

Cheers

Tim

[Heliotrope Smith]

Check the manufactures installation instructions.

Unless stated otherwise a flexible connector may be used.

[Martin Bonner]

Actually, John Stumbles has been commenting on a similar discussion in uk.legal.moderated. It appears that a new gas cooker does /not/ come with a bayonet and hose - that has to be fitted by the competent person that installs the cooker (and checks for adequate ventilation etc). The bayonet allows the end user to remove the cooker for (eg) cleaning.

As this was uk.legal.moderated, he quoted chapter and verse for it too.

[Tim Downie]

Could do with clarifying if it's a hob or a cooker we're talking about though. AFAIK, modern hobs don't use flexible bayonet connectors.

Tim

[Rod]

But OP did not state that the replacement is new. So it just *might* be a second-hand one with a bayonet and hose already fitted.

(However, someone has to take responsibility for adhering to other installation requirements - for example, the ventilation needs might not be met even if it is nearly identical.)

[YAPH]

With a hob it would be the other way round: unless the manufacturer's instructions say a flexible hose is OK, then it's not. Hoses are generally for appliances that need to be moved, either by the user for cleaning etc (in which case they usually have a bayonet connection the user can disconnect) or because installation's virtually impossible otherwise (e.g. built-in gas ovens which need to be connected to gas & electricity supplies while pulled out of their kitchen unit, then pushed into place).

And removing an appliance, such as a slot-in cooker, for cleaning and putting the same one back is OK, but fitting a new (nouveau, even if not neuf) one is installation, and comes under the Gas Safety and Building regs.

[Ed Sirett]

Quite so. Unless the makers say DO use a bayonet connector you should not use one on a hob.

[Heliotrope Smith]

It could be that the regs that I use are out of date.

BS 6172:2004 11.1.1 A gas hob shall be connected to the termination point by means of rigid pipework or, unless stated otherwise in the manufacture's instructions , a flexible connector and self sealing plug device conforming to BS 669.1.

Perhaps someone can point me to the correct regulation. Thanks in anticipation.

[YAPH]

11 Gas Connections 11.1 General 11.1.1 Only gas installation pipes and connectors of sufficient size to maintain the maximum heat input of a cooking appliance, as specified by the appliance manufacturer, shall be used. 11.1.2 A cooking range shall be connected to the termination point with rigid pipework. 11.1.3 Unless stated otherwise in the manufacturer?s instructions, a gas hob shall be connected to the termination point by a rigid fixed connection.

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[Heliotrope Smith]

manufacture's

Interesting.

I did quote the reg number wrongly. Should have read 11.1.3 and not

11.1.1

What amendment number do you have?

Mine is 16116 5 January 2006.

It would seem that of our copies has been superseded.

[YAPH]

Yes. mine. You're looking at the amended version (which coincidentally would seem to be the version floating around as a bootleg in torrentspace :-)). I was looking at the un-amended 2004 version. The newer version has the para of interes flagged a having been changed by the amendment:

[A1> 11.1.3 A gas hob shall be connected to the termination point by means of rigid pipework or, unless stated otherwise in the manufacturer?s instructions, a flexible connector and self-sealing plug device conforming to BS 669-1.

[Ed Sirett]

That is quite some ammendment. We have gone from don't unless the manufacturers say you must to do what you like unless the manufacturers say what you must do.

[Pete Verdon]

While both texts are unambiguous when read carefully, they're not exactly a model of lucidity. Quite possibly the sense of the original one was accidentally reversed - I've certainly seen that happen when there's too long a chain between programmers and technical writers and a complex concept to be defined.

Pete

[Ed Sirett]

This is made worse by many of the regs forming the law. Many of the laws are framed in negative terms. I.e. No person shall not... rather than everyone should.