Disconnecting Gas Hob - do I need Gas Safe engineer?

southcoastrgi

RealBobbyDazzler wrote: »

There’s an isolation valve under the hob before it’s copper piped about 2ft to the hob, I was going to turn the valve to off & add a blanking cap as a backup.

It's not an isolation valve it's a service valve, the blanking cap is not a "back up" it's a requirement otherwise you would be left with an open end & that is classed as ID & is riddor reportable, being an electrician doesn't make you competent in gas, no different from me not being able to issue a minor works certificate

bris

Your can't work on gas even in your own home if you are not gas safe registered. When they say competent they mean by way of gas safe registration.


There is more to it than just putting a blanking plug on.


There is safety precautions and tests required when you work on gas pipes. You need the correct equipment for these tests and since they require touching the gas meter you certainly can't do that without being gas safe registered.


So no you can't do it yourself.
read this before you blow up the street https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/media/1449/who-can-legally-work-on-a-gas-appliance-factsheet.pdf

shaun_from_Africa

bris wrote: »

Your can't work on gas even in your own home if you are not gas safe registered. When they say competent they mean by way of gas safe registration.

How many times do you have to be told that this is incorrect?
You can keep posting it as if it is a fact and I will keep telling you that you are posting bull****.

What do you find so hard to comprehend about the following statement?

While current law does not prohibit DIY gas work provided that the person is competent to do it safely, DIY is strongly discouraged in HSE guidance and the use of a CORGI registered gas installer is advised for all gas work.

It's there in black and white from the UK Health and safety executive.
And before you say that CORGI no longer applies, when this statement was written, the gas installation regulations in force are the same ones that are in force today.

neilmcl

RealBobbyDazzler wrote: »

That isn’t quite what I said.. but, being an electrician, sometimes I have to work in a kitchen with other people.. :T

If anyone’s actually a gas engineer/or registered with gas safe - please let me know.

But the law says that you have to be competent, ie, have the same skill and training as those who are actually and currently on the GSR. Just because you may have worked closely with gas engineers doesn't make you competent to be one and therefore doing your own DIY gas works would be illegal.

shaun_from_Africa

neilmcl wrote: »

But the law says that you have to be competent, ie, have the same skill and training as those who are actually and currently on the GSR.

But that's the point. The law doesn't say that you must have the same skill and training as a Gas Safe registered person. It simply states that you must be competent.
As far as the law is concerned, how this competency is determined has never to my knowledge, been defined.

A gas engineer from another country might have had different training and qualifications but this might not make them any less competent that someone who had been trained in the UK.

neilmcl

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But that's the point. The law doesn't say that you must have the same skill and training as a Gas Safe registered person. It simply states that you must be competent.
As far as the law is concerned, how this competency is determined has never to my knowledge, been defined.

A gas engineer from another country might have had different training and qualifications but this might not make them any less competent that someone who had been trained in the UK.

The definition of what a competent person is, as stated in the HSE's Gas Safety ACOP:

81 Gas work should only be undertaken:
(a) by a person who has successfully completed an industryrecognised training course followed by assessment of
competence. Training that leads to assessment of competence in
safe gas work should be recognised by the industry’s standards
setting body; or
(b) in the case of a currently or previously registered person, where
they have proved competence through a certification scheme; or
(c) for those working at premises that fall outside the scope of the
Regulations (see regulation 2(4) and associated guidance), by a
person who has successfully completed an appropriate full
training course followed by assessment of competence.

shaun_from_Africa

neilmcl wrote: »

The definition of what a competent person is, as stated in the HSE's Gas Safety ACOP:

Which is guidance and not law.
https://cea.org.uk/resource/hse-safety-in-the-installation-and-use-of-gas-systems-and-appliances/

This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory, unless specifically stated, and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. Health and Safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance.

This is an old HSE document (2000) but it came out 2 years after the current legislation covering gas work was enacted and the legislation itself has not been changed to make DIY gas work illegal.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/disdocs/dde14a.pdf
"DIY gas work is strongly discouraged". Not illegal, just discouraged.

If DIY gas work was illegal, why don't the government or HSE simply say so?
I know that Gas-Safe state this but they aren't exactly independent .

neilmcl

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Which is guidance and not law.
https://cea.org.uk/resource/hse-safety-in-the-installation-and-use-of-gas-systems-and-appliances/



This is an old HSE document (2000) but it came out 2 years after the current legislation covering gas work was enacted and the legislation itself has not been changed to make DIY gas work illegal.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/disdocs/dde14a.pdf
"DIY gas work is strongly discouraged". Not illegal, just discouraged.

If DIY gas work was illegal, why don't the government or HSE simply say so?
I know that Gas-Safe state this but they aren't exactly independent .

You've misread the document and splitting hairs somewhat. The part I quoted was from the ACOP which in itself has legal status, it then goes on to give guidance on how to comply with the ACOP and legislation. The document is clearly laid out as legislation -> ACOP -> guidance. It's also much more recent than your linked document.

shaun_from_Africa

I stand by what I stated in that the ACOP is simply guidance and whilst it's recommended that it's followed, not doing so is not illegal.

Approved Code of Practice
This Code has been approved by the Health and Safety Executive, with the consent of the Secretary of State.
It gives practical advice on how to comply with the law. If you follow the advice you will be doing enough to comply with the law in respect of those specific matters on which the Code gives advice. You may use alternative methods to those set out in the Code in order to comply with the law.
However, the Code has a special legal status. If you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions of the Code, you will need to show that you have complied with the law in some other way or a Court will find you at fault.
Guidance
This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory, unless specifically stated, and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. Health and safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance.

That is why I stated that you can be deemed competent without being gas safe registered and without having completed the same training.
Yes, the onus to show you are competent to carry out DIY gas work is on the person doing that work and this is something that I have never disputed but as bris keeps wrongly stating, this does not mean that you must be Gas safe registered.

chrisw

neilmcl wrote: »

The part I quoted was from the ACOP which in itself has legal status, it then goes on to give guidance on how to comply with the ACOP and legislation. The document is clearly laid out as legislation -> ACOP -> guidance.

The ACOP is still only best practice and guidance on how to comply with the legislation. It doesn't have to be followed to comply with the legislation.

Unfortunately, the legal consideration of whether someone is competent will only come when looking at liability after something has gone wrong.