Gas supply cutoff after Smart Meter installation

hallmark

Scottish Power did our Smart Meter installation yesterday.  The chap who did it announced at the end that we had a gas leak he couldn't trace, therefore he was capping the supply and we'd need to source an engineer to investigate.

My response was to point out we hadn't had any problems in over 10 years living here and had his work caused the leak, to which he replied "the leak was there before I started but I did the work as that sometimes fixes issues".

I can't prove this wasn't the case but (1) I would have expected at the very least he should have advised us of this before starting work and (2) I find it hard to believe that the approved approach in circumstances where a gas leak is detected prior to starting work is "do the work anyway and hope it fixes it".

Any views/insight on this?

So far we've had a (different) guy out who has confirmed the leak but can't trace it so we've currently been advised our options are:

1. Cap off every appliance in turn (boiler, cooker, heater) to test for leaks, then rip up the floorboards / rip out the walls tracing every pipe looking for a leak until something is found.

2. Cap off all the old pipework, run new external pipes from the meter to the boiler and cooker, and replace the gas heater (which would no longer have a supply) with an electric heater.

Neither is exactly appealing and it's looking like a week minimum before we can even get somebody to do either. Currently without hot water, heating or hob.

FreeBear

hallmark said: 1. Cap off every appliance in turn (boiler, cooker, heater) to test for leaks, then rip up the floorboards / rip out the walls tracing every pipe looking for a leak until something is found.

2. Cap off all the old pipework, run new external pipes from the meter to the boiler and cooker, and replace the gas heater (which would no longer have a supply) with an electric heater.

Sounds like floorboards will have to come up regardless of which option you go for. Cap the appliances, do a pressure check on the pipework, and if a leak is detected, replace the lot.

hallmark

FreeBear said:

hallmark said: 1. Cap off every appliance in turn (boiler, cooker, heater) to test for leaks, then rip up the floorboards / rip out the walls tracing every pipe looking for a leak until something is found.

2. Cap off all the old pipework, run new external pipes from the meter to the boiler and cooker, and replace the gas heater (which would no longer have a supply) with an electric heater.

Sounds like floorboards will have to come up regardless of which option you go for. Cap the appliances, do a pressure check on the pipework, and if a leak is detected, replace the lot.

I don't think so re floorboards, unless I'm misunderstanding, if we chose option two none of the existing pipework is a factor anymore. none of it will be connected to the gas supply.

macman

He may have detected a gas leak that you were simply not aware of. Leak detection has come on a bit from the days of  sniffing, and lighting a taper to check...

hallmark

macman said:

He may have detected a gas leak that you were simply not aware of. Leak detection has come on a bit from the days of  sniffing, and lighting a taper to check...

Yeah it is possible.  As I say I'm very surprised he wouldn't mention that up front and/or refuse to start work on a known broken system if so. I find it hard to believe that's the proper approach.

Robin9

Having detected a leak he can't just walk away from it and telling you that you have a leak and hoping that you will fix it is not an option either.

hallmark

Robin9 said:

Having detected a leak he can't just walk away from it and telling you that you have a leak and hoping that you will fix it is not an option either.

Yes I understand that, the part I'm not convinced by is that having detected a leak the correct approach is to not mention it and commence work.

binao

Ring and report smelly gas outside.

Team turn up and drill holes every where and drop sniffer down afore said holes.

Men sniff holes for days, turns out several old supply pipes to local properties have minute leaks, permeating underground into most local  properties.

Hence why they can't find your leak. It's there but where?

Several new supply pipes, new meters and outside boxes fitted within days, all free.

A few years later, top of list, whole area was done, road by road.

The chap who did your meter would be a subby, only interested in getting  smart  meter in and moving on.

If you're on a new estate etc, rethink.

Normally gas Co will locate an internal leak and allow a short free period of labour to fix, a leaky joint etc. Areas do vary.

Good luck.

hallmark

Sorry I should probably have explained better: The gas leak is showing via an incorrect pressure reading (5mb drop when the max is 4mb? I think. At no time before or since has there been any smell of gas.

victor2

When we had our CH boiler replaced last year, the gas-safe engineer said there was a very small leak somewhere. He was able to trace it back to the original (50 year old) pipework adjacent to the meter. Hadn't been touched by the boiler installation, but he couldn't leave it. Replaced the necessary pipework and it then passed the test. It was the final test before handing over, and it was very fortunate the faulty pipework was in the garage and easily accessible. There had never been a smell of gas or any gas usage recorded by the meter if we were away and everything was turned off.

He couldn't explain why it happened, other than an ageing of the joints. Previous gas work had been several years earlier and it tested OK then.

fenwick458

hallmark said:

Robin9 said:

Having detected a leak he can't just walk away from it and telling you that you have a leak and hoping that you will fix it is not an option either.

Yes I understand that, the part I'm not convinced by is that having detected a leak the correct approach is to not mention it and commence work.

what the meter fitter did doesn't really matter, you still have a leak. your supply should have been capped off until the leak could be found

just because you haven't noticed the gas leak in the last 10 years doesn't change anything either. were you testing for leaks?