Gas on boats

[Steve Clayton]

I met a friend in the gas/plumbing business last night. He had the March 2004 issue of the magazine “Gas Installer”. Two articles therein with regard to Gas on Boats.

One was “Room-sealed gas appliances used in boats” which looks at gas warm air heaters and hot water heaters used in the marine environment and the second was with respect to gas detectors in non-domestic and LPG installations.

Tells you what BS references apply to boats under 24 metres- these are BS EN ISO 10239:2000 and a “National Annex” and BS 5482-3:1999. The general consensus (quote) is that 10239 is used for new installations and 5482 is used for maintenance and installations that were installed in 1999 and prior (ie pre 10239 coming into force)

Gives information on what to do if an alarm sounds and if you’re in the Isle of Man, Guernsey or Jersey the contact numbers in the event of a serious incident.

Incidentally and I’ll quote:

“Not all work carried out on boats falls under the scope of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (GSIUR); eg boats privately owned, boats NOT hired out to members of the public as a course of business and boats which are NOT used primarily for residential purposes. However, any person undertaking work on a boat should be competent. The waterways authorities recommend the use of CORGI registered installers”.

A future article for P.B.O. possibly??


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[Evadne]

That last quote was pretty well what my surveyor said last time around (we were discussing why I ought to have a gas-tight storage area for the gas bottles when most leaks occur at the cooker). He also added that Inland Waterways do have more stringent requirements, even for privately owned non-commercial boats.

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[Chris_Rose]

Heres my thought s from a sparkys point of view "if in doubt dont F**K about, get a corgi on to it!!!!

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[steel_slug]

Hi all

as someone who looks at (mainly inland) boats in the course of the day job, I offer the following.

IMHO BS EN 10239 is flawed, and I believe that BSI know this , and this is why BS 5482 pt3 has not been declared obsolete, but obsolescent.

The GSIUR's will be up for review soon, it is in everybodys interest to keep an eye on this as last time around private boats only just escaped from being brought into the scope of the regs. If you think this wont effect you, then your boat would require , by law , to have an annual gas safety check by a CORGI engineer and your insurance Co would take close interest in that.

BTW please do make sure your CORGI man has LPG Boats on the back of his ID card, as I see quite a few installations/repairs by non boat CORGI's (woof woof!) that are incorrect.

Dave, please please get some gas tight storage for your bottles, major leaks occur from regulator failures and the consequences can be disasterous, see the accident to the RAF yacht (Lord Portal? or was it Trenchard?) in Poole a couple of years? ago, a leak within the non gas tight gas locker allowed gas into the bilges, the resulting explosion destroyed the boat and the skipper lost a leg.

Paul M

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[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

A possible example of a potential problem in the locker.

I bought a new bottle from a garage in Tremadog and headed back to Porthmadog with it in the boot. Did not check the bottle, just lifted out the cage and dropped in the boot. After a few minutes of driving down windy roads the bottle had tipped on its side and the valve had opened slightly.

You know how it is, is that gas I smell, strange, could be exhaust, until finally pulling off road and running to boot to see what is going on, Had only lost a tiny amount I think, but the car was rancid. The moral, well the spare bottle in your gas locker is going to take a lot more pounding than that in my car. The valve as you know on a calor bottle is protected so it must have worked loose from vibration.

Always check the valve on purchase of a new bottle, and do seal your locker, as I found it does not have to open by very much to start filling a small space with gas.



<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

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[MainlySteam]

Interesting experience.

A friend and I both worked, many years ago, in the bulk LPG distribution business (sea tankers, trucking and bulk storage, not the small end distribution). Quite recently we were talking about carrying LPG bottles in cars and we both found we did exactly the same things:

1. Check for leakage before putting in the car.
2. Put it in the passenger compartment of the car or fold down rear seat or whatever so the luggage compartment has air flow to the passenger compartment (so any leakage can be quickly smelt).
3. Collect the gas refill from a source as close to the point of use as possible (we live 65 km from the boat, so I always get LPG from the supplier down the road from the boat, never from our normal fuel supplier close to our home even though that would be much more convenient).

Don't know how that stacks up with the advice of people in the industry, but we both had come to exactly the same practice.

John


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[colin_jones]

In February, I arranged a 1000 appointment with Mr Corgi to inspect a single appliance (cooker) gas installation. He arrived at 1030, after I had phoned to ask where he was. Having found a small (as we suspected) leak on a tap, he did not have the tool to fix it, so used one of mine. He then spent 30 minutes trying to force a length of high pressure hose onto a low pressure fitting, because he had no low pressure pipe in the van. At 1215, he disappeared to 'buy half a metre of low pressure pipe,' but did not return until 1430. He had not told us that the 2 mile journey would take so long. We were stuck on the boat, unable to do anything.

On his return, with the hose, Mr Corgi did not have a jubilee clip tp fix it. He used one of mine.

Like Mr Corgi, I am self employed. His attitude and practices cost me a day's earnings.

When the bill arrived, it was for £222 50.

Going rate on the Hamble is £85 for a multi appliance lay out and issue of a safety certificate. Several other places quoted similar sums.

I would not wish to tar all corgis with the same brush and somebody is sure to leap to the defence of a national system, of which I approve. But the experience does indicate that having 'on paper' regulations and training does not make lif perfect. It should also warn users of services to ask about prices before they make an appointment and to check the estimate with several local and regional operators before making a rendezvous.

PBO keeps an eye on such things and has a qualified gas engineer as a contributor.

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[RJD]

Whilst moored up on our annual holiday a few years ago, we returned to the boat (aCentaur) to be greeted by the slight smell of gas on entering the cabin... Safety procedure was adopted and a thorough check of the installed gas system failed to reveal any leaks. After some serious thought I checked the gas torch cylinder in the tool box in the aft locker and found that the cartridge had been attacked by corrosion and a small pin prick hole was allowing the contents to leak. Said item was despatched ashore and discharged well away from boat and civilisation.
I no longer carry a portable gas torch onboard!
TonyP

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