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How long does a BSS examination normally take ?


Alan de Enfield

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Just now, Nick D said:

Thanks. Are there any common pitfalls to look out for?

Just work through the list yourself before arranging the test. There is a downloadable checklist that covers all the points on the test and the guidance goes into much more detail so you know what they are looking for and why.

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51 minutes ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

Depends how well you know the examiner.  Guy Holden and I usually find a lot to chat about!  Also I don't have the solid fuel stove on, as he usually grabs it and gives it a good shake.

Are you saying the stove isn't secured properly??

And I think you'll find the Guy's  name is Holding

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5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

As per title :

 

When I bought the BSS handbook, what arrived was a loose leaf binder containing about 50 pages of tests and explanations. I reckon to do them all properly would take at least half a day. Most could be cruised through but there are just so many! And the odd one here and there will soak up 20 mins.

 

 

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
spellin
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4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

When I bought the BSS handbook, what arrived was a loose leaf binder containing about 50 pages of tests and explanations. I reckon to do them all properly would take at least half a day. Most could be cruised through but there are just so many! And the odd one here and there will soak up 20 mins.

 

 

And, how long did your last BSS test actually take ?

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1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

Remember CO detection is a requirement now and wasn't considered 4 years ago.

We recently had ours BSS test. The inspector passed everything except the CO detectors. He checked both, and neither worked. Eventually he told me the batteries in both were flat. I told him they had been like that for 5 years. When he asked why, I told him it was the advice I had read on the BSS website. I tested them routinely.They never worked, but I "Never removed the batteries"

 

 

Screenshot 2019-04-15 at 19.04.12.png

 

https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/stay-safe/carbon-monoxide-(co)/

Edited by rusty69
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It varies from boat to boat, depending on number of appliances etc.
Our boat is 15 years old, and we have always use the same guy to inspect it (and previous boat). After we fitted it out he went through it with a fine tooth comb and was probably about two hours testing it. Now he knows us and the boat, it takes less; I'll guess an hour or so. We always have a brew of course. He always says ours is an "easy" boat to inspect, because we prepare it for him.
One year he turned up with a broken leg, when I did the inspection and he sat on the sofa and filled the forms in. Still charged me full whack! Great guy though; very fair.

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3 hours ago, billh said:

Are you saying the stove isn't secured properly??

And I think you'll find the Guy's  name is Holding

 

It has been secured properly on each of the three occasions that Guy has done this.   I'm sure there was some subliminal reason I put Holden - perhaps because he wasn't holding, just testing? :)

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4 hours ago, rusty69 said:

We recently had ours BSS test. The inspector passed everything except the CO detectors. He checked both, and neither worked. Eventually he told me the batteries in both were flat. I told him they had been like that for 5 years. When he asked why, I told him it was the advice I had read on the BSS website. I tested them routinely.They never worked, but I "Never removed the batteries"

 

 

Screenshot 2019-04-15 at 19.04.12.png

 

https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/stay-safe/carbon-monoxide-(co)/

 

 

9999

 

?????

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59 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

9999

 

?????

I was tempted to get @rusty69 to make a really inane comment as a reply to one of mine for number 10000, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it.

 

I think he/she/it has forgotten about not posting outside the Virtual Pub!

 

Bite Rusty, Bite! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The reason for asking was mine took 21 minutes from Arriving in the car-park to departure.

Probably no more than 13-14 minutes on the boat.

 

Checked the gas bubble thingy on the way in then, no looking at flames on the hob, no checking battery cables, no checking for fire extinguishers, no looking at the battery box / lid, etc etc etc, just asked if the diesel filler was marked, asked if I had CO alarms in each living area, said "it passed last time so now you have CO alarms, it'll pass this time".

Did the 'paperwork' and took the money - job done.

 

I said to him I didn't even have time to boil the kettle to make him a 'cuppa'.

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7 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The reason for asking was mine took 21 minutes from Arriving in the car-park to departure.

Probably no more than 13-14 minutes on the boat.

 

Checked the gas bubble thingy on the way in then, no looking at flames on the hob, no checking battery cables, no checking for fire extinguishers, no looking at the battery box / lid, etc etc etc, just asked if the diesel filler was marked, asked if I had CO alarms in each living area, said "it passed last time so now you have CO alarms, it'll pass this time".

Did the 'paperwork' and took the money - job done.

What's the name of the surveyor?

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8 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The reason for asking was mine took 21 minutes from Arriving in the car-park to departure.

Probably no more than 13-14 minutes on the boat.

 

Checked the gas bubble thingy on the way in then, no looking at flames on the hob, no checking battery cables, no checking for fire extinguishers, no looking at the battery box / lid, etc etc etc, just asked if the diesel filler was marked, asked if I had CO alarms in each living area, said "it passed last time so now you have CO alarms, it'll pass this time".

Did the 'paperwork' and took the money - job done.

 

I said to him I didn't even have time to boil the kettle to make him a 'cuppa'.

 

I suspect doing it properly 'by the book' would result in the bloke earning about fifty quid a day, so he has learned to be pragmatic.

 

Being brutally frank, when doing a safety inspection one needs to assess the whole situation not just the details of what one is inspecting. The question one asks oneself constantly is "is this gonna land me in court defending my actions?", which naturally leads one to be assessing the customer as well as the installation. 

 

I would suggest he was astute enough to size you up as a boater unlikely to do anything stoopid and kill himself or a guest, so 'going down the mine' and inspecting everything in full detail was pointless, and an opportunity to earn £100 for the two hours it probably took him to drive to your boat, do the inspection and drive back home again.

 

Still only fifty quids an hour. 

 

 

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More than one inspector starts his routine with the words "has anything changed since I last inspected the boat?" 

 

If the answer is no then there is very little for them to inspect, and all that has to be done are the mandatory tests.

 

If the answer is yes then all the changed items need inspection and then the mandatory tests.

 

If the inspector has never been to the boat before then he should be inspect everything and then the mandatory tests.

 

I'm not saying its right to do it this way but that's what happens in the real world

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15 minutes ago, Loddon said:

More than one inspector starts his routine with the words "has anything changed since I last inspected the boat?" 

 

If the answer is no then there is very little for them to inspect, and all that has to be done are the mandatory tests.

 

If the answer is yes then all the changed items need inspection and then the mandatory tests.

 

If the inspector has never been to the boat before then he should be inspect everything and then the mandatory tests.

 

I'm not saying its right to do it this way but that's what happens in the real world

It is the 'real world', but, the examiner is putting his name to a document that states he has undertaken a long list of checks, and he certifies that they all meet the specification / requirements as listed in the BSS.

 

Someone trying to 'get a BSS on the cheap' is unlikely to say "yes I cut off the gas pipe to the old heater, but I wrapped some insulating-tape around the end", they would just say "no, no changes".

 

The BSSC is a legally required document (as is the car MOT certificate) and to sign to say something complies, when you haven't checked, is fraudulent.

 

A few years ago a garage owner issuing fraudulent' MOT certificates was jailed for 6 months and fined £60,000

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

The BSSC is a legally required document (as is the car MOT certificate) and to sign to say something complies, when you haven't checked, is fraudulent.

 

A few years ago a garage owner issuing fraudulent' MOT certificates was jailed for 6 months and fined £60,000

 

And as I suggested earlier, a question the BSS bod asks himself constantly is "am I likely to end up in court for this?", and a real world value judgement is made depending on the answer. If he did everything by the book there would not be enough time in one day to complete an examination and all the other examiners would undercut him on price. This is the real world, remember? 

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