Gas-It/Gaslow fitter

[nabsim]

Treat it as a wonderful weekend away in the Peak District.
I would have recommended Charlie if you weren’t happy fitting your own. Unless he’s moved on, the CS he’s on is just a fiver a night.

Still his base Del

 

[in h]

my insurance company wanted to see proof that my system had been fitted and tested by a professional fitter

I have never had an insurance company ask for anything like that. Have other people had to produce such documents?

 

[in h]

Have a chat with you next week if that’s ok. But nervous about doing it ourselves

You do much the same thing every time you change a gas bottle.

 

[Trotter]

Still his base Del

Think I owe him a visit. Maybe a phone call? Busy, busy till October. The Peaks are bootiful in the autumn.

 

[Nick-Mandy]

Hi Martin/Sue,

I'm getting my system supplied and fitted by Autogas 2000 [https://www.autogasleisure.co.uk]. After lots of helpful advice from two very well known motorhomers on here, I did decide to have it installed for me. I suppose I would have saved money by doing it myself but I wanted the gas installed certification. I know once its done I will be kicking myself at how easy it would have been.
I am travelling 320 miles round trip and like "Trotter", I've made it a three days trip via Hull and York.

See you at NF

 

[in h]

The James Herriott museum is worth a visit. Just up the road.

 

[Trotter]

The James Herriott museum is worth a visit. Just up the road.

How is a vet going to help with fitting their gas system.

 

[in h]

How is a vet going to help with fitting their gas system.

Not just a vet: a dead vet. But not a fictional one, it turns out. It's actually located in the real vet's surgery

 

[rugbyken]

If your up for the Stratford meet and can last that long your halfway there i.e. Only a 180 ml round trip

 

[Markd]

I have never had an insurance company ask for anything like that. Have other people had to produce such documents?

Yes - I suspect that most insurance requires professional fitting or testing of gas equipment.
You don't require annual checking for private use so original system (however old) is covered.
Technically anything before the regulator is operator serviceable so a Gasit-Gaslow install can be done DIY and not need testing.
When I did mine I also put in a BBQ point which was after regulator or course. So I arranged for a GasSafe inspection of whole system which cost about £80 if I remember correctly - much cheaper than paying for installation.

 

[cronkle]

I fitted my own system and when I informed the insurance company they were quite clear that they considered ok as a diy fit. Obviously worth checking with your own insurer.

When the last van was stolen the system was part of the payout based on the price of the components. That, and the current system are/were single bottle systems.

If you think about it you would happily change a standard bottle once or twice a year. To do that you would be making what you hope would be a gas tight joint a couple of times a year. With my systems I created three gas tight joints once in the lifetime of the system and two of those joints are only under pressure when you refill the system. My maths says that with a Calor or the like I would do twenty or so gas tight joints over ten years but with my refillable it's likely to be only the three. To me that's got to be safer.

I do have a little bottle of leak detector that I do use every now and then.

 

[in h]

Yes - I suspect that most insurance requires professional fitting or testing of gas equipment.
You don't require annual checking for private use so original system (however old) is covered.
Technically anything before the regulator is operator serviceable so a Gasit-Gaslow install can be done DIY and not need testing.
When I did mine I also put in a BBQ point which was after regulator or course. So I arranged for a GasSafe inspection of whole system which cost about £80 if I remember correctly - much cheaper than paying for installation.

Sorry, you have not actually answered my question in that long reply.
You say you got a certificate and you said you 'suspect'. I am asking you if your insurer specifically asked for documentation.

 

[Deleted member 4892]

As the system is "Pre-Regulator", it is in the eyes of Gas-safe no different than changing out your existing Calor bottles. However being a responsible installation engineer, it's important to perform all checks post installation. If your fitter has provided an invoice of supply and fit then you have that reassurance that it has been done correctly (or at least you hope so).
We always leak-test all installations of Gaslow and fill them with Gas as part of the installation, so that everything is up and running when you leave us.

 

[in h]

As the system is "Pre-Regulator", it is in the eyes of Gas-safe no different than changing out your existing Calor bottles. However being a responsible installation engineer, it's important to perform all checks post installation. If your fitter has provided an invoice of supply and fit then you have that reassurance that it has been done correctly (or at least you hope so).
We always leak-test all installations of Gaslow and fill them with Gas as part of the installation, so that everything is up and running when you leave us.

You can hope so, but depending on the supplier, it may be a forlorn hope.
Not all suppliers are as meticulous as you. Very few use qualified Gas Safe engineers to do the work.
Gadget John had bad leaks in the gas system of the van he bought.
One brand of motorhome has a reputation for the gas tank dropping off onto the road as you drive along.

 

[nabsim]

As the system is "Pre-Regulator", it is in the eyes of Gas-safe no different than changing out your existing Calor bottles. However being a responsible installation engineer, it's important to perform all checks post installation. If your fitter has provided an invoice of supply and fit then you have that reassurance that it has been done correctly (or at least you hope so).
We always leak-test all installations of Gaslow and fill them with Gas as part of the installation, so that everything is up and running when you leave us.

Are your people gas safe registered Nick?

 

[Markd]

Sorry, you have not actually answered my question in that long reply.
You say you got a certificate and you said you 'suspect'. I am asking you if your insurer specifically asked for documentation.

Sorry you thought my answer was too long and not exhaustive enough.
I can confirm that it was a condition of my insurance - so they could have requested it at any time and you can bet your life they'd want to see it if I made a gas related claim especially if the noticed I had changed from initial build.

So for those who want to read on it's probably important to get a certificate covering all 'fixed' plumbing if you add to or alter it.
The certificate lists every 'circuit" so the BBQ point I added was specifically mentioned.

My insurance said either professionally installed OR serviced. So initial build covered 'forever' and any addition either done professionally or GasSafe checked.
Once certified ok 'forever' as no regular service required on personal use van.

As Nick confirmed gas storage is not specifically part of regs but I think that if you move to under slung tanks from bottles then some sort of certificate makes sense.
Again my GasSafe man checked my installation over including 'hoses' so I'm confident that I have sufficient documentation if required.

I cant speak about every single insurance policy (hence my initial use of 'suspect') but I'd thoroughly recommend that everyone should read what you have and check that you haven't given the insurers a get out.

 

[in h]

Sorry you thought my answer was too long

No, I said it was long. You decided to deem it "too long"

Not what I wrote, not what I thought, not what I implied. Which leads me to doubt your ability to glean the exact meaning of an insurance policy requirement.

and not exhaustive enough.

It didn't answer my question in any way, so there we agree.

I can confirm that it was a condition of my insurance - so they could have requested it at any time and you can bet your life they'd want to see it if I made a gas related claim especially if the noticed I had changed from initial build.

Which condition, exactly? What "it" could they require, according the the policy?

My insurance said either professionally installed OR serviced. So initial build covered 'forever' and any addition either done professionally or GasSafe checked.
Once certified ok 'forever' as no regular service required on personal use van.

You seem to be confusing the meaning of "professionally" if that is what it does say.

Gas Safe is meaningless: there is a specific qualification needed for LPG installations on motorhomes and touring caravans. Almost impossible to find people with it. Without it, they are no more qualified than the postman.

Professionally has two possible meanings: one is "paid for" and the other is "done to a good standard". That's why a well-written insurance policy should be more specific. "Serviced" is not the same as "regularly serviced".

What is the actual wording of your policy that leads you to this view?

As Nick confirmed gas storage is not specifically part of regs

Quite

but I think that if you move to under slung tanks from bottles then some sort of certificate makes sense.
Again my GasSafe man checked my installation over including 'hoses' so I'm confident that I have sufficient documentation if required.

Is he qualified to check this installation? If not, the documentation isn't worth the paper it's written on. Not saying it isn't worth getting checked: just that the document is worthless.

I cant speak about every single insurance policy (hence my initial use of 'suspect') but I'd thoroughly recommend that everyone should read what you have and check that you haven't given the insurers a get out.

There we are in agreement.

I simply doubt that your are correct in saying that it needs to have any sort of certificate, I don't think that a certificate issued by a generic Gas Safe person has any value at all, and I don't think that fitting a refillable gas cylinder is in any way different to fitting a replaceable one. That's a user task.

When it comes to underslung tanks (which was NOT the subject of the discussion) it is rather more of a grey area. Their weakness is how well they are fitted and how easily they can be damaged by external events. The gas bit is the easy bit.

 

[rugbyken]

within gas safe qualification there is a specific lpg element in the requirements although i had the others and tried to persuade my boss’s to put me through it never successfuly , but an important point is that any under gas regulations inspection by a ’competent’ person confers a line of responsibility, part of the gas reqs state that anyone ‘working’ on a gas system is required to test & examine the whole system to ensure compliance & safety, therefore a habitation check carried out by a gas safe operative is the only paperwork required by the insurance company & the reason why a gas safe trader has to carry minimum £1m public liability cover , and also the reason a habitation check is only worth more than the paper it’s written on if carried out by a competent person ,

 

[Minisorella]

No, I said it was long. You decided to deem it "too long"

Not what I wrote, not what I thought, not what I implied. Which leads me to doubt your ability to glean the exact meaning of an insurance policy requirement.
It didn't answer my question in any way, so there we agree.

Which condition, exactly? What "it" could they require, according the the policy?

You seem to be confusing the meaning of "professionally" if that is what it does say.

Gas Safe is meaningless: there is a specific qualification needed for LPG installations on motorhomes and touring caravans. Almost impossible to find people with it. Without it, they are no more qualified than the postman.

Professionally has two possible meanings: one is "paid for" and the other is "done to a good standard". That's why a well-written insurance policy should be more specific. "Serviced" is not the same as "regularly serviced".

What is the actual wording of your policy that leads you to this view?
Quite



Is he qualified to check this installation? If not, the documentation isn't worth the paper it's written on. Not saying it isn't worth getting checked: just that the document is worthless.

There we are in agreement.

I simply doubt that your are correct in saying that it needs to have any sort of certificate, I don't think that a certificate issued by a generic Gas Safe person has any value at all, and I don't think that fitting a refillable gas cylinder is in any way different to fitting a replaceable one. That's a user task.

When it comes to underslung tanks (which was NOT the subject of the discussion) it is rather more of a grey area. Their weakness is how well they are fitted and how easily they can be damaged by external events. The gas bit is the easy bit.

Gosh, lighten up H! People on here kindly share their personal stories or what they've seen/heard... they don't expect to have to pass a strict exam afterwards!

 

[Trotter]

Anyone know of one they can recommend down here in the South, please? Last van we got fitted out at one of the Warners Shows, as they are day shows currently not sure there will be fitters there.

This started off as a simple request. As far as I know, it still is.
If folks want to argue the point, may I suggest they start their own thread.