Yacht Gas Regulations

DaveS said:
It's only a sample of one, but I made exactly this change a few weeks ago and there is no obvious change in how the cooker works.
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I concur. I didn't notice any change in performance of our 29 yr old cooker on swopping to the marine regulator I linked to previously. On thinking about it, with a higher pressure gas supply, the power of the gas burners should increase a little.
 
the bss rules when read through contradict themselves, and as they have now, no qualified gas inspectors these notes are only guides.
the rules also change with the age of a boat and year it was manufactured, and if the fittings were done when the boat was built.
you can however get a gas safety check done by your local gas fitter/heating engineer who will give you advise and a certificate which covers your bss if required.
 
I'm hoping to get round to replacing my regulator and flexible hose connections this winter. The copper pipework is probably as old as the boat (35 years). Is there a recommended 'life' for copper pipe?
 
I wouldn't trust camping style regulators again. I had a 'professionally' installed gas system put in when I bought my 1970s style boat. That included a camping style style regulator that failed, as did the locker that was meant to vent overboard. Got woken up in the early hours by the gas alarm, which wasn't a good experience. Switched to Taylor's and paraffin.
 
Cuan said:
I wouldn't trust camping style regulators again. I had a 'professionally' installed gas system put in when I bought my 1970s style boat. That included a camping style style regulator that failed, as did the locker that was meant to vent overboard. Got woken up in the early hours by the gas alarm, which wasn't a good experience. Switched to Taylor's and paraffin.
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In the early hours of the morning and while you were sleeping the gas should have been shut off at the bottle!

Cannot blame the regulator or the locker for your failure to do that.
 
VicS said:
In the early hours of the morning and while you were sleeping the gas should have been shut off at the bottle!

Cannot blame the regulator or the locker for your failure to do that.
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While I fully agree that the gas should have been turned off at the bottle, the whole point of the recommendations regarding venting gas lockers over board, and using marine grade regs is so that when fallible humans forget, they don't get killed. Fortunately in this case there was a gas alarm as well.....
I would have been tempted to go back to the fitter, and ask why the gas locker was venting into the boat, and not over the side......
 
andrewbroadbent said:
I concur. I didn't notice any change in performance of our 29 yr old cooker on swopping to the marine regulator I linked to previously. On thinking about it, with a higher pressure gas supply, the power of the gas burners should increase a little.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow your reasoning, although apparently borne out by experience. The gas is jetted to suit the supplied level of aeration (2 phase) so my concerns were that the increase would cause the mix to be a little on the rich side. But based on your advice, I'll now be quite happy to use a 30mbar regulator, though I wonder how it will run if using propane for the winter... Oh well, just have to borrow a tank to try it out!

Rob.
 
The regulator was turned off at the bottle. It failed, and was diagnosed as having done so by a marine gas fitter (not the same who made the installation), and this resulted in gas leaking into the gas locker, which was designed to vent overboard, but had been tested with water, which did drain, whereas the gas didn't. Instead a small amount leaked into the bilge, and set off the gas alarm.
So, following everything I have ever been taught, I had turned off the gas at the bottle, ie the regulator, the supply to the cooker and at the cooker. Everything was off.

The facts are that the turned off regulator failed, and then the gas locker failed to vent overboard. The alarm worked so all was ok, but getting back to earlier threads, I really wouldn't economise by using camping style gas regulators.

In my case it worked out more convenient to switch to a Taylor's and paraffin. I would be more than happy with gas on another boat better suited.
 
Cuan said:
The regulator was turned off at the bottle. It failed, and was diagnosed as having done so by a marine gas fitter (not the same who made the installation), and this resulted in gas leaking into the gas locker, which was designed to vent overboard, but had been tested with water, which did drain, whereas the gas didn't. Instead a small amount leaked into the bilge, and set off the gas alarm.
So, following everything I have ever been taught, I had turned off the gas at the bottle, ie the regulator, the supply to the cooker and at the cooker. Everything was off.

The facts are that the turned off regulator failed, and then the gas locker failed to vent overboard. The alarm worked so all was ok, but getting back to earlier threads, I really wouldn't economise by using camping style gas regulators.

In my case it worked out more convenient to switch to a Taylor's and paraffin. I would be more than happy with gas on another boat better suited.
Click to expand...

I suspect you may have had a type of regulator which is no longer produced. A Camping Gaz one by any chance? I had one which I doubt very much had a positive and infallible shut off valve but I had no trouble with it until I broke the outlet fitting. :mad:

I replaced it with another non marine type as at that time I had not heard of marine ones. The new one appears to have a proper needle valve that positively shuts off the gas supply from the bottle. Similar sort of thing to this

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However it is now due for replacement so will do so with a marine one.
 
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