Drop in gas pressure/slight gas leak

izanc24
izanc24 Posts: 13 Forumite
Does anybody know the permissible drop in gas pressure before a cooker has to be dis-connected?

I had a gas test carried out a few months ago. The test passed. I was informed there was a half MB drop in gas pressure but this is permissible. (Corgi registered gas engineer). Another test was carried out recently. Again there was a half MB drop in gas pressure. There was no smell of gas. The gas engineer said it was permissible but the landlord would not accept it. He wanted the gas engineer to dis-connect my gas cooker. I refused permission. The landlord contacted National Grid who dis-connected my cooker.

I have heard that a drop in gas pressure of 3 to 4 MB is permissible? Doe anybody know?
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Comments

  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215
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    They would not disconnect your cooker without due cause.
    Is it your cooker or one supplied by the landlord?
    In any event it clearly needs fixing.
    That gum you like is coming back in style.
  • magicuk
    magicuk Posts: 27 Forumite
    Depending on your meter size which id assume is a standard u6 normal house, not mansion size then the officeial line is 4mb drop with no smell of gas. Any smell of gas then theres a leak, the 4mb drop is for the 4 chambers in a domestic sized meter, u can get the transco man to use a gas sniffer telean and that will say if theres a leak round the cooker but for something so small and as LONG AS THERES NO SMELL OF GAS then its fine.


    Domestic GSR maintenance man.
    izanc24 wrote: »
    Does anybody know the permissible drop in gas pressure before a cooker has to be dis-connected?

    I had a gas test carried out a few months ago. The test passed. I was informed there was a half MB drop in gas pressure but this is permissible. (Corgi registered gas engineer). Another test was carried out recently. Again there was a half MB drop in gas pressure. There was no smell of gas. The gas engineer said it was permissible but the landlord would not accept it. He wanted the gas engineer to dis-connect my gas cooker. I refused permission. The landlord contacted National Grid who dis-connected my cooker.

    I have heard that a drop in gas pressure of 3 to 4 MB is permissible? Doe anybody know?
  • lemontart
    lemontart Posts: 6,037
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    transco man nah gas emergency man be it ng or other yes ......................they do not have to locate a leak they wil make safe if they have any concern at all for safety and given that the cooker was disconnected there is no doubt there is a concern and your landlord in calling ng out was looking out for your safety not to mention his liabilty insurance premiums.
    I am responsible me, myself and I alone I am not the keeper others thoughts and words.
  • As has been pointed out you can have up to 4mb drop on a U6 with apps connected.Not allowed a drop on pipework only.

    Why the landlord called NG out i dont know , the prob is if he reported it as a gas leak then the NG engineer couldnt leave it connected as there is a drop on the installation as on a gas leak you cant have any drop( i take it that the job was reported as a gas leak).

    The prob is now its been disconnected , you wont get it reconnected till the cooker has been sorted out.
  • ollski
    ollski Posts: 943 Forumite
    Half a millibar is classed as a non perceptible leak and therefore not a leak at all. Electronic meters can have up to 8mb drop although nobody in their right mind would leave that.
  • C_Mababejive
    C_Mababejive Posts: 11,646
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    The official line is a max of 4Mb with no smell of gas being reported.

    Its all very circumstantial.

    Its quite possible to have a leak which cannot be perceived on a water gauge and yet it can be smelled and conversely,its also possible to have a 4mb drop which no one has smelled !
    Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..
  • gas4you
    gas4you Posts: 2,602 Forumite
    The official line is a max of 4Mb with no smell of gas being reported.

    Only on a G4/U6 meter, as ollski states it is 8mbar on an E6.

    Perceptible drop is now 0.25 with a digital manometer accurate to 2 decimal places, or 0.2mbar on an u gauge.

    OP

    Has the test been repeated with the cooker removed?

    If so what was the result? If the 'leak' was still there afterwards, what does your landlord think he will do next? Turn off all the gas to your home!!!

    If it was just the carcass being tested, appliances disconnected or isolated from gas pipe work then there is no drop allowed whatsoever, whatever meter is fitted, apart from the above mentioned perceptible drop.

    Large commercial meters still have the same criteria, the only thing that changes as the meter and gas pipe work get bigger is the 'stabilisation' time before you start the tightness test.
  • izanc24
    izanc24 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Thanks for your reply. First of all the test was carried out recently with the cooker connected and a half MB drop in pressure was detected. The person who carried out the test (Corgi registered and working on behalf of landlord who is local authority/council) said this was fine and passed the test. I have the relevant form to say the test passed. (The test also passed earlier in the year with a half MB drop in gas pressure)

    A couple of days later, another person from the same company returned saying there was a gas leak. He repeated the gas test with the cooker connected. He detected a half MB drop in gas pressure. He then disconnected my cooker and carried out the gas test again. He said the problem was my cooker. He wanted to disconnect it. I refused permission because I had been informed that half a MB drop in pressure is permissible. He departed. Landlord then contacted National Grid who came, carried out another gas test, detected half a MB drop in gas pressure and disconnected the cooker.

    I understand National Grid will disconnect an appliance even if it is only half a MB. However, I don't understand why the landlord (local authority) insisted on having the cooker disconnected - half a MB is acceptable. I would like to have the cooker re-connected but I don't know if I have any rights to insist on this. I have contacted various organisations such as Citizens Advice, Community Leagal Advice, Consumer Direct etc. but they don't seem to know if I have any rights.
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 13,114
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    I assume it is your cooker? Does it have a bayonet plug in fitting or is it screw fitting to gas?

    If plug in I would plug it back in and get on with life

    If you do smell gas then obviously do not do this

    No doubt twenty thousand folk will now post about the danger etc

    Your choice really
    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • Gman0365
    Gman0365 Posts: 119
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    As has been posted already there are permissible pressure drops when tightness testing.

    I have noticed that many local authorities now have a policy of zero pressure drop following any inspection - although this is over and above the regulations. It may be that they have a duty of care with regards to their tenants. After all if you perform a landlords gas safety check year after year and consistently record a 0.5mb drop then one year the house blows up it wouldn't look very good on the landlord if they knowingly left this leak year after year.

    Think of it as being the local authority looking after your welfare as opposed to them doing it out of malice.

    If a Gas Safe Registered engineer deems an appliance Immediately Dangerous and you refuse permission to disconnect it then they MUST contact the Emergency Service Provider (ESP). The ESP will use their Rights of Entry where necessary to make the installation/appliance safe even where this requires forcing entry or digging up the road outside to disconnect the gas service to the property.

    When responding to a gas emergency the ESP do not allow any pressure drop. Hence, National Grid Gas made safe your affected appliance.

    The label and warning notice provided by National Grid will advice you that reconnecting the appliance without completing any remedial work to ensure safe of operation of said appliance is an offence. No Gas Safe Registered engineer will reconnect an appliance that has previously been deemed Immediately Dangerous without repairing the defect.

    Quite simply, the cookers got a leak on it. Several engineers have confirmed this and it should either be repaired or replaced as appropriate.

    Why you would want anyone to reconnect a gas appliance that leaks is absolutely beyond me.
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