lw395
Well-Known Member
I read or at least skimmed the Lord Trenchard report. Summarise as connection to bottle not done up properly, gas locker not gas tight. Gas alarm didn't go off.
The gas locker is your primary defence against failure of the bottle connection. The bottle connection is possibly the weakest link in the system, as it is the only connection that should be broken and remade in normal use, i.e. by anyone who happens to be using the boat. Any 'safety devices' downstream won't help wth this connection.
The gas locker needs to be properly sealed from the interior spaces of the boat, and properly vented to the great outdoors. This makes it a challenging environment for electromechanical devices such as solenoid valves, so any feeling of enhanced safety from a solenoid valve is quite likely false imho.
Also note the other thread on here re gas alarms, false alarms and unreliability seem to be commonplace. The maib report noted that the Lord Trendchard's gas detector had a self test function, which tested the electrics of the device, which was relied on rather than testing the whole device by exposing it to gas. This seems like a classic example of complication of safety arrangements missing the point. I don't own a gas sensor, but when I do I shall make arrangements to test it easily using a butane lighter. I don't know about the tendency to false alarms reported elsewhere, that could negate the whole point if the alarm gets ignored.
The gas locker is your primary defence against failure of the bottle connection. The bottle connection is possibly the weakest link in the system, as it is the only connection that should be broken and remade in normal use, i.e. by anyone who happens to be using the boat. Any 'safety devices' downstream won't help wth this connection.
The gas locker needs to be properly sealed from the interior spaces of the boat, and properly vented to the great outdoors. This makes it a challenging environment for electromechanical devices such as solenoid valves, so any feeling of enhanced safety from a solenoid valve is quite likely false imho.
Also note the other thread on here re gas alarms, false alarms and unreliability seem to be commonplace. The maib report noted that the Lord Trendchard's gas detector had a self test function, which tested the electrics of the device, which was relied on rather than testing the whole device by exposing it to gas. This seems like a classic example of complication of safety arrangements missing the point. I don't own a gas sensor, but when I do I shall make arrangements to test it easily using a butane lighter. I don't know about the tendency to false alarms reported elsewhere, that could negate the whole point if the alarm gets ignored.
