Moving a gas meter 50m!!

h13odg

Hi!

I'm looking to purchase a property but have been told that when the current combi boiler needs replacing the current gas supply will not be adequate to feed a new condensing combi boiler.

At the moment the pipe from the meter to the house runs 50m. I have been advised I will need to have the meter moved closer to the house, because the 50m exceeds the maximum pipe length for a modern combi boiler.

I have contacted Northern Gas Networks but they won't even give me a ballpark cost without filling out all the paperwork for a quote.

Does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to move the meter by 50m???

Thanks

JasX

Thats odd, i'd have thought the meter would be a similar restriction no matter where it was.... would make more sense if the piping between you and the meter was too narrow to pipe the gas in which case fitting a larger pipe would make more sense (and actually solve the problem) whereas if you have the same problem pipe but just have the meter on the near end rather than the far end that would make very little difference no?

C_Mababejive

You must have a very big house?

The only thing that matters is whether the meter can deliver the volume and also to correctly design the pipe from meter to boiler ensuring that the required working pressure is delivered to the boiler.

h13odg

Yes you're right! The engineer advised me I had 2 options, either replace the current 28mm pipe with a thicker one, or move the meter closer to the house. Either way it requires a 50m trench to be dug because the current 28mm will not deliver the required working pressure.

The engineer's recommendation is to move the meter closer to the house because then the utility company will then size the pipe accordingly from the mains to the meter to ensure the meter can deliver the required volume. The issue of pipe size from meter to house is then less of an issue because the distance will be around 5m instead of 50m. The maximum pipe distance for a 37kw replacement boiler on a 28mm pipe is 40m.

So whether it's moving the meter or putting in a higher volume pipe I'm going to need a 50m trench.

Quickly looking around the web I've seen people paying £500-£1500 just for moving 2m. Northern Gas Networks wouldn't give me a figure but I certainly got the impression I'd be looking at £1000s, just not sure how many?

Mankysteve

The larger diameter pipe will be cheaper as you pay your own plumber to do it and not teh rip off charges they charge to move meters

spiro

I think pipework charges are fairly regulated for short distances but for what you need they will provide an individual quote. You may be able to reduce the cost by digging the trench yourself.

C_Mababejive

All you need to do is have someone suitably qualified to run a length of MDPE outlet pipe in your suitably dug trench from meter outlet to house and thats it.

http://www.bes.co.uk/products/042.asp