Gas detector or pump?

guydickinson

guydickinson

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I was wondering about buying a gas detector to detect calor gas collecting in the boat. However a friend said these use a massive amount of current and its better to just pump the bilges (20 times or so) before striking a match instead; or as well as. Any thoughts??
 
If you are worried about current drain then how about only running it during times when the gas bottle is open?

Or use a hand portable tester.

Oh, by the way, forget the match.
 
LPG, like all gases, diffuses through out the available space. Although it might fall initialy and you might find pockets of high concetrations at low levels it does not drain into little puddles like a liquid. Over time rather the opposite. To have any significant effect you would have pump many many more times than 20 and to be totally safe enough to completety change all the air in the boat a good few times. A bilge blower would be more effective but that would have to be safe to use in an explosive environment. However if there was a posibility of gas being present you would not be wanting to switch the electrics on!
 
I was told by electrician that fitted mine that the insurance companies like them but they are pretty useless!
As the gas is heavier than air they need to be fitted as low down in the bilges as possible - however, the instructions on mine said not to get the sensor heads wet...!
 
They don't use massive amounts of current - if I remember it ranges from 50ma to about 200ma depending on the make. I have mine wired up so the detector is on as soon as the power is on. Never had a problem yet, but I do have 2 x 110AH batteries and make sure they are always fully charged up.
I believe PBO or S*****g T***y did a test recently and gave all the consumptions etc.
 
Agree. Mine (around £12 from LIDL) draws 120mA. Certainly not insignificant if on 24/7, so I switch it off if the gas is turned off at bottle for an extended time. Have mounted it directly under the cooker at floor level, and it certainly works! ..... detected a slight leak (taps needed regreasing) which SWMBO could smell but I couldn't.

Vic
 
Re: Gas detector?

[ QUOTE ]
Mine ... detected a slight leak (taps needed regreasing) which SWMBO could smell but I couldn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mine went ape while I was spray-glueing carpet in the fo'c'sle.
Something I do every day of course . . .
 
I remember

in a lighthearted ghost story by Dunsany, a description of a totally incompetent shade "of a preparatory school headmaster, who went looking for a gas-leak with a candle".

IMHO both the suggestions are pretty inadequate.

Prevention being better than cure, ensure the stove is fitted with flame failure devices, that the flexible part of the gas supply is in armoured pipe, thoroughly inspect and test the whole system annually and replace the flexible parts 5-yearly.

I used to have a detector in the 70s, it deafened us one evening when moored as the 11th boat out from the Cob in Weymouth. After the 9th occasion I noted that it went off about 6 minutes after any of the cars, parked on the quay, started up and drove off.
Whether it was any good as a leak detector I never bothered to find out.

The one occasion I did have a leak, my nose detected it and the gas was turned off at the bottle until I could find it when moored (a crack where flexible went over the inlet at the cooker).
It was hell, from le Four to Aberdyfi without a cup of tea...
 
Since you are getting good advice elsewhere here on your question, may i digress a little.

If as it seems you are sensitive to gas perils, you might do well to address the carbon monoxide risk too.

If crew is/are asleep below whilst motoring are you sure that that the exhaust fumes are not escaping from a corroded system into the accommodation areas.

A battery operated CO detector last 5 years and cost about £25.- just a thought
 
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