Gas Safe Certification For Your Boat... (Requested by Nav & Gen Insurers)

[maxi77]

I have been using the braided type ever since I had a van with a bulkhead regulator (10 years), to avoid the problems described in the link and in many magazines. In 40 years of motorhome ownership I have never had a habitation service.

I only said most. Whilst I am happy doing my own work too I like to have a second opinion from time to time. The only time I did it every years was on a van we bought new to keep the warranty valid, which was just as well as we did find a fault in one of the mouldings.

 

[Seajet]

Tranona,

I do indeed retract my OTT comments and happily apologise; I'm sorry I have a lot on my mind at the moment and got too hot under the collar.

Andy

 

[RogerMayne]

I agree. I am not suggesting that it be used for a cooker, simply informing that braided stainless steel hose is perfectly capable of retaining gas without the intervention of a rubber lining. Although it has to be said that there is plenty of movement of the hose in a moving vehicle.

Edit: I just looked up Tracpipe, and it is nothing like these stainless flexible hoses. I have two of them on my motorhome and it is indistinguishable by eye from the type used for stove connections.

If you look at the part of the photo that says "flexible stainless steel inner" here http://www.southdownsmotorcaravans.co.uk/pdf/southdowns-gaslow-stainless-steel-brochure.pdf and compare it with 34 seconds into here http://www.tracpipe.co.uk/ they look very similar

 

[catlotion]

I can see how you had that scary problem Andy. Our boat had armoured hose to the cooker and as the other unarmoured hoses (to bottle) were showing date stamps of over 15 years old I thought I'd rip it out. When I cut the braiding off there was significant perishing of the rubber inner. No external date stamp either.

Presumably newer hoses have a stamp (or you could make your own for fitting date anyway)... I'm replacing with unarmoured because we're having trouble finding an armoured hose that is made up long enough (1.5m from cooker to isolation valve).

 

[VicS]

I can see how you had that scary problem Andy. Our boat had armoured hose to the cooker and as the other unarmoured hoses (to bottle) were showing date stamps of over 15 years old I thought I'd rip it out. When I cut the braiding off there was significant perishing of the rubber inner. No external date stamp either.

Presumably newer hoses have a stamp (or you could make your own for fitting date anyway)... I'm replacing with unarmoured because we're having trouble finding an armoured hose that is made up long enough (1.5m from cooker to isolation valve).

It is recommended that hoses do not exceed 1 m. Can you not reposition your local isolating valve and extend the rigid pipework to it ? If your cooker is the only appliance its not even necessary to have a local isolating valve.

 

[Pete7]

Presumably newer hoses have a stamp (or you could make your own for fitting date anyway)... .

Yep, the one I bought last week has a little tag on it rapped around the hose, oh and I fitted it myself.

Pete

 

[vyv_cox]

If you look at the part of the photo that says "flexible stainless steel inner" here http://www.southdownsmotorcaravans.co.uk/pdf/southdowns-gaslow-stainless-steel-brochure.pdf and compare it with 34 seconds into here http://www.tracpipe.co.uk/ they look very similar

Yes, looks similar. I used to use braided stainless hose that looks like the same stuff for connecting bottles at 140 bar to our test rig. We had a failure in one that was simply the corrugated inner with no external braiding and after the massive enquiry that resulted the replacement was the same stuff with external braiding.

 

[KellysEye]

>Braided reinforced hose is approved and perfectly acceptable and was fitted by a qualified gas fitter

Agree I found the orange hose was chafed and a gas fitter fitted a braided hose.

I can't believe that people are recommending changing insurer if they want a gas safe certificate or that one is not needed. Gas is potentially dangerous and a gas safe certificate brings peace of mind, it's stupid not to have one.

 

[Nicholas123]

I can't believe that people are recommending changing insurer if they want a gas safe certificate or that one is not needed. Gas is potentially dangerous and a gas safe certificate brings peace of mind, it's stupid not to have one.

Working with gas is no more risky than a lot of the other risks we take,if you do not feel competent maybe you should'nt take to the water?
The way things are going with 'experts' jumping on the health & safety bandwagon it is only a matter of time before some jobsworth suggests a certificate for deck shoes because people have been known to slip & fall overboard

 

[charles_reed]

What tests did you have done on it to establish that?

A year or so ago I tried to use a piece of hose which must have been left over from a previous hose change. Unused any way and on the shelf in the garage away from extremes of temperature and UV light.

It looked as good as the day it was bought. ........... It split as I pushed it onto the nozzle!!!






It may last longer that 5 years but 30 years is seriously pushing your luck, your safety , your crew's/ family's safety and that of others in your vicinity.

Your post does you no credit whatsoever

I agree - one of the few things for which my boat "failed" its 20 year survey, was out-of date gas piping.
In fact the only leak I've ever had was on the nipple of the cooker - 40 hours without tea - from the Raz de Sein to Fishguard.

If the manufacture date does not give you a full 5 years, why not suggest an appropriate discount - I soon got some up-to-date hose from Calor Southampton when I suggested that.

 

[Searush]

>Braided reinforced hose is approved and perfectly acceptable and was fitted by a qualified gas fitter

Agree I found the orange hose was chafed and a gas fitter fitted a braided hose.

I can't believe that people are recommending changing insurer if they want a gas safe certificate or that one is not needed. Gas is potentially dangerous and a gas safe certificate brings peace of mind, it's stupid not to have one.

If a piece of paper means that much to you, fine. I prefer to make my own mind up about safety & level of risks.

 

[jerrytug]

If a piece of paper means that much to you, fine. I prefer to make my own mind up about safety & level of risks.

Me too, and I don't understand how someone could feel unable to make a decision about a simple bit of plumbing, yet somehow feel competent and confident to take passage planning decisions about crew, weather, sea state and everything else that goes with being a yacht skipper. I genuinely don't get it.

 

[RogerMayne]

Me too, and I don't understand how someone could feel unable to make a decision about a simple bit of plumbing, yet somehow feel competent and confident to take passage planning decisions about crew, weather, sea state and everything else that goes with being a yacht skipper. I genuinely don't get it.

You don't need to be a plumber to be a competent or confident sailor.
I'd say a man who knows his limitations is more likely to be a competent sailor than one who does not.

 

[Searush]

You don't need to be a plumber to be a competent or confident sailor.
I'd say a man who knows his limitations is more likely to be a competent sailor than one who does not.

That assumes you are too limited to deal with gas tight mechanical pipe joints. It isn't exactly rocket science. There are millions of boats, caravan & motorhomes out there & only a small percentage of them are gas safety checked yet very few blow up. And of those that do blow up a fair proportion will have a valid safety certificate.

So, as I said, if that bit of paper issued by an oily oick in overalls who went to night school is enough to make you feel safe without making your own checks, that's fine. But I will continue to check my own thank you, because being "qualified" to sign off the paper doesn't necessarily mean it IS done right, altho I am sure most will be.