replacing rigid gas pipe

[scottbott]

messing about today and I think I may have pierced the gas pipe that feeds the fridge with a screw,I will probably have to remove the hob/grill and the fridge,never done this before,what are the legal requirements about replacing the gas pipes myself,can I ? and will I have to get it checked by a gas fitter?,thanks

[Jeff J]

My research suggested that there are no legal requirements as far as working on the gas system in your own camper van is concerned, but common sense would suggest that unless you are certain that you can do it safely yourself that you you get someone who can. Having said that it is very low pressures that are involved & as long as you have a means of testing for leaks ( NOT SOAPY WATER) then you should not have a problem.

[ghost123uk]

as long as you have a means of testing for leaks (NOT SOAPY WATER)

What then?

[lloydy]

you can carry out gas work on your own property without fear of prosecution, but.... if it goes bang, you better hope you did it to the regs...
soapy water will work to test joints, or you can buy a little bottle of leak detection spray for a few quid. (which is pretty much soapy water) lpg is a creeping gas and will find any gap to creep out, so make sure your joints are done right. saying lpg is low pressure doesn't mean its safe and easy to not get a leak. Its higher pressure than the gas in your house, and is many more times dangerous when it does leak.

[scottbott]

thanks for the replies,a job for winter I think

[Jeff J]

as long as you have a means of testing for leaks (NOT SOAPY WATER)

What then?

Manometer of some description !!!

[Jeff J]

you can carry out gas work on your own property without fear of prosecution, but.... if it goes bang, you better hope you did it to the regs...
soapy water will work to test joints, or you can buy a little bottle of leak detection spray for a few quid. (which is pretty much soapy water) lpg is a creeping gas and will find any gap to creep out, so make sure your joints are done right. saying lpg is low pressure doesn't mean its safe and easy to not get a leak. Its higher pressure than the gas in your house, and is many more times dangerous when it does leak.

Sorry to disagree with you but sprays & soapy water will only show up large leaks & then only in the places you put it, not slow or slight leaks . Some form of manometer should be used to test the whole system preferably, but not necasarily at the source/input of the gas supply.

[lloydy]

You can disagree all you like, I don't mind
It's pretty obvious leak detection spray won't detect a leak elsewhere... I fact, incredibly obvious...

I would also say a manometer would'nt be practical, as they are very expensive and need to be calibrated. A U gauge for a few quid would be a much better option. He would then need cap ends, a test point ect ect
Not really worth it for a length of pipe 1/2m long with a joint either end

[Jeff J]

You can disagree all you like, I don't mind
It's pretty obvious leak detection spray won't detect a leak elsewhere... I fact, incredibly obvious...

I would also say a manometer would'nt be practical, as they are very expensive and need to be calibrated. A U gauge for a few quid would be a much better option. He would then need cap ends, a test point ect ect
Not really worth it for a length of pipe 1/2m long with a joint either end

Glad I haven't upset you. A u gauge is a form of manometer & is what I would use, but there are other different ones the op may prefer. You don't really need end caps as all the appliances should have isolators & you can break into the system at any point without the need for a specific test point. There is quite a good vid on u tube explaining the procedure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRubt1b6-cA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; But I would suggest it would be wise to test the whole system no matter what alterations were made (1/2m pipe)

[lloydy]

yeah i kinda do it every day for a living, could be handy for the OP. but i reckon most on here would be happy using the fluid.

[marlinowner]

My regulator has a pressure gauge on it, if you close the valve on the cylinder and the pressure drops with time you know you have a leak somewhere.

[Jeff J]

yeah i kinda do it every day for a living, could be handy for the OP. but i reckon most on here would be happy using the fluid.

So that gives me the impression you are a gas or heating engineer or similar. I was told that any domestic gas work ALWAYS required a leak test at the meter in order to test the whole system. I have always thought it sensible to apply this to my camper. Have I been misinformed?

[lloydy]

Ah, so your not a gas engineer? You should let that be known when your giving out information.
Maybe you should go check if your hob or propex in your camperhas a isolation valve. You'll find it hasn't. I'm not really going to get into how or when to drop test systems as you do seem to just want to disagree with what I say. What I will say is yes, if you break into a gas line then you should test before and after as certain leak rates are permitable in certain circumstances. Sometimes though, common sense prevails.. 1//2metre to a metre of 8mm pipe is a very small carcass to test. Lpg also fluctuates in pressure with ambient temperature. On a gas volume that small, you could pretty much guarantee a different test result every time you tested it. Of course you then have to test the valve on the bottle and make sure that isn't letting by and masking a leak.

[Jeff J]

Ah, so your not a gas engineer? You should let that be known when your giving out information.
Maybe you should go check if your hob or propex in your camperhas a isolation valve. You'll find it hasn't. I'm not really going to get into how or when to drop test systems as you do seem to just want to disagree with what I say. What I will say is yes, if you break into a gas line then you should test before and after as certain leak rates are permitable in certain circumstances. Sometimes though, common sense prevails.. 1//2metre to a metre of 8mm pipe is a very small carcass to test. Lpg also fluctuates in pressure with ambient temperature. On a gas volume that small, you could pretty much guarantee a different test result every time you tested it. Of course you then have to test the valve on the bottle and make sure that isn't letting by and masking a leak.

I thought when I said " my research suggested" would show I was trying to say I was not a gas safe engineer but had done enough research before adding to my own camper gas system, to make suggestions for the op., all of which I think were safe & correct . You didn't say you were either so I had no idea I was discussing it with someone eminently more qualified. My hob has isolators for each burner & the fridge has it's own isolator but I don't have a propex heater so I don't know about those, surely they are adequate when it comes to testing. Sorry but I still think soapy water is not a safe means of testing for the amateur, me included.

[lloydy]

Would be interested to see a few pics of your hob (genuinely) as I don't think I have seen one with individual isolation valves.
Leak detection fluid is fine to use to test for leaks, soapy water would do at a push but as I said leak detection fluid is available and it's what I use as well as a U gauge (It really isn't far off soapy water)
My personal opinion is no one unqualified should be fitting gas stuff, but I'd rather see a unqualified person use leak detection fluid, than get in a right mix up trying to do it with a U gauge. Leak detection fluid will pick up any leak, no matter how small