Calling all pipe fitters.

boatmike

boatmike

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Please pretend this is on a boat (but between us it's me house)
I have a very old circuit of steel gas pipe. It is joined by screw fittings which I assume to be BSP (?). I want to remove a bit which is redundant and in the way, back to a female threaded fitting, so that I can just unscrew the pipe and screw in a blanking plug. I bet it won't unscrew very easily but that's the plan.
The question is this. The pipe OD is a spooky 0.8325 inches OD.... What is the thread? And in the Solent area where do I get a plug to bung in the 'ole?
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If the gas system is live, I'd reccommend that you get a qualified CORGI fitter in to do the job. It is necessary to test the gas tightness of the system before and after the work.

Do you have a manometer and the skills to use it?
 
Dont do this..
Any good plumbers merchants will sell you the correct plug.And some sealant for the threads.If the joint is downline of the gas meter then obviously turn it off there first and then 'burn off' any gas in the pipe by lighting the stove and opening relevant door and windows....Upstream is really for the Corgi guy,it is your house and your insurance at stake.
To disassemble:2 Pairs of Stilson type wrenches will do very nicely,you need to support the bit of pipe that you do not wish to rotate otherwise you will be disturbing other sound joints.Test your new joint by dripping washing up liquid liberally over it and,with the gas turned on again,after 5 minutes any leak will reveal itself as bubbles(use a torch and small mirror to examine all round the joint.)Natural gas is lighter than air so ventilating the room by opening windows is good if you have a problem and have to redo it.
Another way to test system for leaks:Turn off the gas and leave for a dauy and then try to light the stove,either the pipes are full of gas or they have discharged somewhere...
There was a time when a 'competent person' could install gas boilers!
 
Another way of testing the joint, commonly used by gas fitters, is to put a load of washing up liquid into a large bowl with a cup of water.
Whisk furiously, scoop up the frothy bubbles in your hand and build up around the completed joint.
Any leak will instantly show by blowing a larger bubble.
No waiting for 5 mins.
Good luck
 
Blueboatman, your advice is not good. I am a CORGI fitter.

All work upstream of the meter must be carried out by Transco or their contractors.

Before any work is carried out the system must be tested for gas tightness. The only practical way this can be done is with the use of a manometer/u-guage.

Do not purge gas from the pipework with a naked flame. You can get burn back and the cubic foot of gas in the meter makes a rather good bomb.

The meter must be disconnected and the broken equipotential earth bond bridged.

Washing up liquid is not used for leak detection as the ammonia can attack the pipework.

Your reccomended method of testing and purging after the work has finished is dangerous and irresponsible.

The only part of your advice that makes any sense is the use of two stilsons.
 
hi there,

nominal outside dia of 1/2 inch bsp is 0.8250 ins. BSP thread size is the size of the bore on water pipes, roughly Size PLus 1/4 inches is the Outside dia of the thread. Hope this helps
 
I remember years ago at school watching a gas board fitter testing his handiwork in the chemistry lab by moving a lighted match around the new joint. A small whispy flame betrayed the leak.
 
Yes that's what I thought Dave, thanks. I do believe it is 1/2" BSP and therefore fairly easy to find a plug. It's just that I wondered if old steel pipe gas fittings were any different thread from any other "plumbing". I don't think so.
As far as Mr Corgi is concerned I can only say that I installed my own boiler and central heating long before it became illegal to do so and I am not going to call him out to do a simple mod like this. All I wanted is confirmation of the thread size which I note he is reluctant to comment on.

In fact I deplore the nanny state attitude that says unless you have a certificate that any numb brain can get after a 3 day course you can't do diddly squat yourself. All the legislation that says you have to use a qualified electrician, plumber, gas fitter, et al for the simplest job well within the capability of any practical handyman is just OTT. Bollix to it I say! Long live freedom!
 
You think we\'re nannied?

When a friend moved to Amsterdam from the UK he had to take all his appliances to an electrical shop to have new euro plugs fitted as it was then illegal for a private citizen to fit a replacement plug.

Re-wiring a 13 amp plug used to be part of school craft lessons but it's been dropped now due to "H&S" concerns.

Does anyone know or even live with a local authority H&S imspector? Do they lead normal lives? Do they follow every rule invented to the letter? I've often wondered.

Steve Cronin
 
Re: You think we\'re nannied?

Very soon there will be a special certificate for cleaning windows (very dangerous job that) cutting your grass ( lawnmowers are potentially lethal in the wrong hands) and just about everything else we used to do ourselves. How else will we employ all the semi-literate drug-crazed products of our state schools? There aren't any manufacturing jobs anymore.......
 
There is nothing in the Gas Regulations to say that you cannot work on your own gas pipework. You just have to be "competent" to do so. You are at complete liberty to blow yourself up, but you musn't blow up any one else.

If you charge or work on anyone else's system then you must prove competency. At present the only body that is approved by the HSE is CORGI. Believe you me, CORGI can be a right pain to deal with. I've had a fair few "discussions" with them. Especialy annoying is their complete aquiecence to the new building regs without a murmur.

This has resuted in me having to spend a considerable sum to get an electrical qualification so I can wire central heating systems. Something I've been doing for years. Most sparkies who look at a 10 way junction box will be horrified to see that the colours of the cables don't mean anything. A common one is using a blue wire as a switch live.

Becoming a skilled gas fitter/heating engineer is not a five minute business.

Incidentally, it sounds like you've got 1/2' steel barrel there.

Part of the decline in manufacturing jobs can be attributed to the attitude that if it is foreign made then it must be superior. Which 'aint necessarily so.
 
michael you are right in what you are saying, and if you test
barrel with washing up liquid can cause rust that is why you are not supposed to use buy a tin of leak detector
 
There are two different types of BSP thread.
Go to a plumbers merchant and buy :

1/2 " bsp parallel plug and a
1/2" bsp taper plug just in case

they will cost peanuts ( being cast iron) however until you have undone the joint you not know which is what - this will save you a lot of time and agro........
Use PTFE tape to seal.... then check the join......

BSP ( British Standard Pipe) threads are now an international standard. They are a close variant on Whitworth and I am sure (from past experience )that your old pipe will match.
 
Yes I have always known there are two types but as they are both PTFE what happens if you use the wrong one? Just curious, anyone know?
 
Lawnmowers?

they have already been denounced by the thought police as nasty litle polluting beasties. Hadn't you heard?

Problem is, someone invented the expression "Risk Assessment" and it all went down hill from there - common sense that is.

Quite right, what you say about the products of modern education; the "college" (it's a 'ing SCHOOL for God's sake!) up the road from here has produced one of the finalists in the TV "Worst Teenager in the Country" show. Jeeze! They're glorifying bad behaviour and delinquency now!

Steve Cronin
 
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