Disconnecting domestic gas supply - what qualification will i need?

Barefoot_Wanderer

Hi -

A friend of mine has bought a franchise installing heat pumps. One rquirement of an install reqires a Gas Registed person to disconnect domestic gas supply - we basically rip out the old gas central heating system, disconnect the supply and then replace the system with a heat pump system which is entirely electric of course.

What mimimum qualification is required to carry out this kind of gas work?

The ACS courses seem to be the only root I can take to gain the appropiate qualification and then I can register for Gas Safe - this costs £3,000 upwards plus registration fees. This seems excessive and I wondered (hoped!) if there is an alternative root which would allow me to become Gas Safety Registered specifically for the type of gas work I will be undertaking, ie. shut off the gas supply safely.


I have no gas qualifications nor do I have any experience.

Help much appreciated,
thanks in advance


Andy

phill99

Why don't you just employ a Gas Safe Registered Engineer to disconnect the gas supply for you each time you do an installation. It'll probably only cost you less than £100. You then wouldn't need to worry about training, ongoing re-training, specialist equipment, expensive public liability insurance etc.

Seems a no brainer to me.

ohreally

Barefoot_Wanderer wrote: »

I have no gas qualifications nor do I have any experience.

You need to be competent and GS registered. Is this the right career move for you?

Barefoot_Wanderer

I should have explained phill99 that this is what we intend to do from the start but we are trying to find out what I would need to take care of the gas side (he's taking the electric exams). We intend on having a van each (so 2 teams) and it would make sense to us if one of us is Gas registered. Just can't find a way of getting Gas registered without spending £3000 or above which is mind-melting!

If we can't find a cheaper alternative we will have to employ our own engineer although I think your estimated cost might be conservative, £100. That cheap?

DandelionPatrol

ohreally wrote: »

You need to be competent and GS registered. Is this the right career move for you?

The gas content of the job is tiny, so 'right career move' is not brought into question by this.

Barefoot_Wanderer wrote: »

I should have explained phill99 that this is what we intend to do from the start but we are trying to find out what I would need to take care of the gas side (he's taking the electric exams). We intend on having a van each (so 2 teams) and it would make sense to us if one of us is Gas registered. Just can't find a way of getting Gas registered without spending £3000 or above which is mind-melting!

If we can't find a cheaper alternative we will have to employ our own engineer although I think your estimated cost might be conservative, £100. That cheap?

Definitely that cheap. All that is required is to cut and cap the gas pipe to the boiler. Once that is done, none of the rest of the job requires gas-safe.

Barefoot_Wanderer

thanks DandelionPatrol such a simple job for £100 - just a shame I can't pass a quick exam and do it myself if the job is that easy?

jamesperrett

99% of the time it probably will be easy - but it is the 1% of systems where things have been done in an unusual way that will cause you problems. Given the consequences of getting things wrong, I wouldn't want to employ a firm with your attitude to gas safety (or electric, given that your colleague seems to have no prior experience).

tomtontom

Very concerning that the franchisor does not confirm you have the requisite quals and experience before selling to you. What support can you offer the customer if the service goes wrong?

zaax

The gas co. otherwise the owner will still get a standing charge for the meter etc.

HappyMJ

Barefoot_Wanderer wrote: »

Hi -

A friend of mine has bought a franchise installing heat pumps. One rquirement of an install reqires a Gas Registed person to disconnect domestic gas supply - we basically rip out the old gas central heating system, disconnect the supply and then replace the system with a heat pump system which is entirely electric of course.

What mimimum qualification is required to carry out this kind of gas work?

The ACS courses seem to be the only root I can take to gain the appropiate qualification and then I can register for Gas Safe - this costs £3,000 upwards plus registration fees. This seems excessive and I wondered (hoped!) if there is an alternative root which would allow me to become Gas Safety Registered specifically for the type of gas work I will be undertaking, ie. shut off the gas supply safely.


I have no gas qualifications nor do I have any experience.

Help much appreciated,
thanks in advance


Andy

Why would anyone spend thousands ripping out the cheapest form of heating in the UK to install a more expensive heating system to both install and run? Sounds very odd to me. Make sure your friend gets very good insurance to cover the liability of accuracy the advice he is giving to customers which turns out in the long run to be false...it will if he's saying a heat pump is cheaper than gas...it isn't.

It could be a very poor investment if customers start winning county court claims for giving incorrect advice.

Post a thread on the Energy sub forum here if you'd like some opinions on the accuracy of the advice he's giving.

All I'm saying is be very careful he could be in for a shock.

PasturesNew

General question to the room: Would that (change of system/electric) need building regs?