LPG and the law.

[Thepipdoc]

I've been told by the company that runs the fuel pontoon in my local marina that unless I have my boat inspected annually and a safety certificate is issued that are not allowed by law to provide me with LPG.
Is this correct and if so what qualifications should the person carrying out the inspection have, i.e. the marine equivalent of CORGI, or Gas Safe?
Should the company be able to produce some sort of an accreditation certificate to prove that they belong to an association?
Thanks

 

[sailorman]

I've been told by the company that runs the fuel pontoon in my local marina (I'm not going to disclose which marina because they might pull the plug on my fuel!!) that unless I have my boat inspected annually and a safety certificate is issued that are not allowed by law to provide me with LPG.
Is this correct and if so what qualifications should the person carrying out the inspection have, i.e. the marine equivalent of CORGI, or Gas Safe?
Should the company be able to produce some sort of an accreditation certificate to prove that they belong to an association?
Thanks

are you talking of propulsion fuel for your engine
or gas bottles for cooking

 

[Thepipdoc]

are you talking of propulsion fuel for your engine
or gas bottles for cooking

Sorry I should have made it clear..... LPG for the engine.

 

[PilotWolf]

I would suggest your first port of call should be the local LPGA installer for road vehicles as they will check and issue certificates for cars.

http://www.lpginfo.co.uk/lpga.html

W.

 

[garstang]

i have never been asked for anything in the 7 years i have had my jeep converted to lpg. getting the system serviced is up to the individual you either do it or you dont (i have mine checked every 2 years) but i cant see why your refueler is saying that as i dont think it is compulsery to have it checked as i have just bought a brand new duel fuel proton and there was nothing in the service pack saying that it is a legal requirement to have a yearly check or any special lpg checks or service( the only check i have to have is the first 1000 miles the oil has to be changed due to the bedding in of the lpg system )

just filled my car up with gas at the local calor gas rebottler and i asked the seller if he had heard of anyone wanting to see a cert of any kind and he said that he knows of no such thing and he has been in the lpg/calor gas scene for over 20 years...

 

[PilotWolf]

I have never been asked either (I have a Jeep too!). But the small print on some insurance quotes states that a Certificate of 'Something' is required for the installation.

W.

 

[lenseman]

My work colleague of many, many years in the radiocommunications industry, Peter Burton, now runs Hamble Marine Deacons Yard Southampton.

They specialise in the installation and inspection of any and all LPG converted boats. He will tell you exactly what the law is and what is on the cards regarding future legislation.

http://www.hamblemarine.com/contact.html

Peter on 023 8000 1088 or 07989 557888

 

[bendyone]

I have never been asked either (I have a Jeep too!). But the small print on some insurance quotes states that a Certificate of 'Something' is required for the installation.

W.

Got a cert from the company that installed it on my Jeep. Sent a copy to the Ins. co but that is all.

 

[jhr]

My suspicion is that someone has done a risk assessment and decided that best practice decrees that this should be their policy - another example of "gold plating" what ought to be practical, commonsense safety legislation, to make it virtually unworkable. I doubt there's a current law that says this explicitly, or you'd have to carry a certificate around with you in every LPG car.

But ask an expert, as others have said. Regular checks are, of course, sensible - by the same token, the fuel tank and lines on my (petrol) boat are checked annually as part of the winterisation process.

 

[neale]

I've been told by the company that runs the fuel pontoon in my local marina (I'm not going to disclose which marina because they might pull the plug on my fuel!!) that unless I have my boat inspected annually and a safety certificate is issued that are not allowed by law to provide me with LPG.
Is this correct and if so what qualifications should the person carrying out the inspection have, i.e. the marine equivalent of CORGI, or Gas Safe?
Should the company be able to produce some sort of an accreditation certificate to prove that they belong to an association?
Thanks

I used to have an LPG powered boat many years ago when the fuel was quite common. From memory it was always the case that the supplier should ask for a safety inspection certificate before refuelling, but no one ever did. Maybe someone new has read the small print and decided to implement it.

To be honest it is not a bad idea. It is a far more complex system than that used for cooking and of course, contains alot more gas. Not sure where you are but Hamble Marine were recent boat LPG convertors. Or you could contact gascheckmarine.co.uk who issue safety certificate for gas installations on boats or, if you can find a way of contacting him, Dr Walter Scott is the fount of all knowledge when it comes to marine LPG systems.

 

[Thepipdoc]

My work colleague of many, many years in the radiocommunications industry, Peter Burton, now runs Hamble Marine Deacons Yard Southampton.

They specialise in the installation and inspection of any and all LPG converted boats. He will tell you exactly what the law is and what is on the cards regarding future legislation.

http://www.hamblemarine.com/contact.html

Peter on 023 8000 1088 or 07989 557888

Thanks for all the replies - I'll make contact with Hamble Marine.
As I understand it the reason why boat refuelers are meant to ask for a safety certificate is because unlike a road vehicle, a boat has nowhere for the gas to go other than the bilges.
It makes sense to ask for a certificate and I would have it checked even if I didn't need to but I'm just wanting to establish if the refueler is telling a bit of a "porky" and trying make a few extra £'s at my expense.

 

[sailorman]

Thanks for all the replies - I'll make contact with Hamble Marine.
As I understand it the reason why boat refuelers are meant to ask for a safety certificate is because unlike a road vehicle, a boat has nowhere for the gas to go other than the bilges.
It makes sense to ask for a certificate and I would have it checked even if I didn't need to but I'm just wanting to establish if the refueler is telling a bit of a "porky" and trying make a few extra £'s at my expense.

just because a system passes a test today doesn't mean its safe tomorrow does it.
rather like an MOT, only stated that on a given date ect

 

[PeteHamble]

The true situation

Hi All,

Just so you all know...

1> there is no actual law that says you must have your LPG engine installation inspected every year BUT both the LPG Code of Practice AND the new European Standard both contain clauses that state the Owner's Manual must contain "..checks and tests shall be performed by a competent person....shall be done every year..".
In order to satisfy himself that a Fuel Seller is not condoning bad practice or a dangerous installation, it is not unreasonable for him to require sight of an Inspection Certificate prior to selling you LPG.

2> don't go to a Car Installer to try to get the Certificate for a boat - the installation requirements are totally different.

Hope this all helps.
(There is lots of useful information on the subject at my website www.marinegasconversions.co.uk)

 

[Thepipdoc]

Hi All,

Just so you all know...

1> there is no actual law that says you must have your LPG engine installation inspected every year BUT both the LPG Code of Practice AND the new European Standard both contain clauses that state the Owner's Manual must contain "..checks and tests shall be performed by a competent person....shall be done every year..".
In order to satisfy himself that a Fuel Seller is not condoning bad practice or a dangerous installation, it is not unreasonable for him to require sight of an Inspection Certificate prior to selling you LPG.

2> don't go to a Car Installer to try to get the Certificate for a boat - the installation requirements are totally different.

Hope this all helps.
(There is lots of useful information on the subject at my website www.marinegasconversions.co.uk)

I have a degree in engineering and I have 27 years experience in mechanical engineering.... does that make me competent? It's my guess that I would be more "competent" than any company that set themselves up as "inspectors".
If what you say is correct Peter then I would suggest that either:
A law should be passed similar to that of the domestic gas industry, whereby the "competent" person is rigorously checked and is accredited by a governing body
Or
The requirement for a certificate before re-fuelling is dropped. As it stands one refueller has one requirement and the next couldn’t care less!

 

[rafiki_]

You may find that there is an ISO xxxxx cert which can be obtained from an accredited certification body.

VCA does certs for cars and installations/workshops, but to my knowledge there is no annual need.

On rivers, the Boat Safety Cert will cover the LPG installaion, but this is once every 5 years.

 

[Searush]

Would the fuel attendant know what a "Safety Cert" looked like if he/she saw one? I guess you could design & print/ laminate your own in a few minutes. I can imagine gas cars self-filling at a garage & the till monkey being responsible for the "safety" of the gas installation - NOT!