I did the bit below a couple of months ago in our Newsletter. It was done with a lot of input and checking!
Boat Safety Scheme (BSS)
The Gas Aspect - Examiners, Bubble Testers and Manometers
A BSS Examination is a safety check every four years to ensure your boat is being kept in a condition that complies with the BSS requirements (and be aware that, in the intervening period, your boat must not have any non-compliant changes to any of its systems which are subject to a BSS check). You can find an Examiner from the BSS website - www.boatsafetyscheme.org – which lists Examiners by area and gives full details of the scheme..
HOWEVER, a key element of the BSS Examination - the Gas check (7.12.2) - is critical as to whether your BSS Examiner will be able to issue a ‘pass’ confirmation for your boat. Graham Watts, BSS Support Executive, has been the lead on what follows.
1. If you are a leisure user (i.e. non-residential and your boat is non-commercial [not a hire boat, not a shop etc.]) any BSS Examiner can complete the safety checks and issue a ‘pass’ because they can check for gas leaks (check 7.12.2) using a manometer.
2. If you are a residential boater then if your BSS Examiner is not also Gas Safe (LPG boats-competent) registered, the Examiner can only complete check 7.12.2 (and therefore issue the ‘pass’) by either
a. observing the tightness test conducted by an attending GSR engineer
b. undertaking a gas tightness test using a bubble tester where correctly fitted and correctly located
Less than 30% of BSS Examiners are also GSR so check for an in-date ID card if necessary.
In terms of the (b) option, a bubble tester must be fitted by a GSR engineer** and if the total kW rating of appliances running through the system is greater than 12kW (as in most widebeams), the bubble tester cannot be fitted in-line but needs to be on a by-pass. This can be awkward in the locker and, to complicate matters, they are designed to fit to metric pipework. To add to this, a big part of the GasSafe gas test is the gas pressures of the system which the bubble tester doesn’t show.
Two final points: The BSS does not require you to have a bubble-tester fitted. And, particularly important, if you are a residential boater, consider the sense in having an annual routine gas check.
**Boats used for residential purposes as well as hire boats and floating businesses (such as cafés or shops) all fall within scope of the Gas Safety [Installation and Use] Regulations (GSIUR) and as such any LPG 'work' must be undertaken by Gas Safe registered installers.