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gas compression fittings

Dave Payne

By Dave Payne
in Boat Building & Maintenance

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Flyboy Experienced

Flyboy

Posted
Posted

Is it safe to re-use gas compression fittings?

 

I need to remove my old cooker and plumb in the new one and note a lot of the old fittings can be used again saving money, if safe?

Yes, compression fittings can be re used with new olives.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted

Yes, compression fittings can be re used with new olives.

 

And I'm sure you know this, but best to use soft copper olives, and avoid hard brass ones.

 

(Yes, I know the rules can be interpreted by some to say brass is OK, but received wisdom still remains that copper is the better option}.

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mross Influencer

mross

Posted
Posted (edited)

You can reconnect and leak test, using original olives. If it leaks you will need to renew the olives. As they will have crushed the copper pipe, you will need to cut them off. Obviously, this makes the pipe a little shorter.

Edited by mross
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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

You can reconnect and leak test, using original olives. If it leaks you will need to renew the olives. As they will have crushed the copper pipe, you will need to cut them off. Obviously, this makes the pipe a little shorter.

And you're not permitted to lengthen it (no uneccessary joints).

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BEngo Veteran II

BEngoDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

You can reconnect and leak test, using original olives. If it leaks you will need to renew the olives. As they will have crushed the copper pipe, you will need to cut them off. Obviously, this makes the pipe a little shorter.

If the olives have crushed the pipe they were overtightened.

 

You should be able to remove the olives by splitting them carefully (dremel or fine hacksaw a slot then split the olive with a screwdriver, or you can buy tools for the job). Take care not to damage the pipe.

 

The fitting will then reassemble with the right size new olive.

 

N

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stegra Proficient

stegra

Posted
Posted

A good tip is to compress the fitting then open it, wrap the compressed olive and a few mm each side in PTFE tape (gas) then remake the joint. The tape wedges into the joint. It's unlikely but worth checking that none of the olives are actually bite rings. Only likely to be the case in the fittings to the appliance or an iso tap or manifold. Bite rings look like acorns and work differently. They are sometimes used in LPG fittings.

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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

A good tip is to compress the fitting then open it, wrap the compressed olive and a few mm each side in PTFE tape (gas) then remake the joint. The tape wedges into the joint. It's unlikely but worth checking that none of the olives are actually bite rings. Only likely to be the case in the fittings to the appliance or an iso tap or manifold. Bite rings look like acorns and work differently. They are sometimes used in LPG fittings.

If the BSS inspector sees any trace of ptfe that's an instant fail.

Edited by WotEver
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nicknorman Veteran II

nicknormanDonate to Canal World

Posted
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What's the alternative? Are soldered joints allowed? I understand they're not allowed on road vehicles because of vibrations. I realise you can't put drop-out holes on the bottom of boats.

It's complicated because the BSS and PD54823 do not agree on a number of points, so it depends on which document you want to comply with. BSS doesn't allow soldered joints. PD54823 does. But it also disallows any jointing compound for compression fittings whereas as far as I can tell, BSS doesn't mention it.

 

I think you could run gas pipe under the floor, though it's generally not considered a good idea. Any compression fitting must be visible for inspection by BSS man. So if there is gas pipe hidden under the floor, how does the BSS man know there isn't a hidden joint? I think if you are going to run pipe under the floor the whole length must be visible by some sort of inspection hatches. It will be a PITA if at BSS time floor covering has to be lifted, unless it is just loose carpet/carpet tiles etc.

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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

 

Really? I'm surprised. That works so well as a belt and braces method. Any idea why it's not allowed?

My mistake. It's not BSS which disallows it, it's PD54823.

 

It's still considered poor practice though, even if it's not a BSS fail.

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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

Posted
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I think if you are going to run pipe under the floor the whole length must be visible by some sort of inspection hatches. It will be a PITA if at BSS time floor covering has to be lifted, unless it is just loose carpet/carpet tiles etc.

7.8.3 kinda says that. If the inspector can't access all joints then it's a fail. You could therefore say that if he can't see all the pipe then he doesn't know if he's seen all joints. Somewhat grey again...

 

http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/media/268789/ecp-private-boats-ed3_rev2_apr2015_public_final.pdf

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
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7.8.3 kinda says that. If the inspector can't access all joints then it's a fail. You could therefore say that if he can't see all the pipe then he doesn't know if he's seen all joints. Somewhat grey again...

 

http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/media/268789/ecp-private-boats-ed3_rev2_apr2015_public_final.pdf

 

Exactly my take on this........

 

If there is any pipe that you cannot fully expose on request, then how can the examiner be sure there are no joints in that bit of pipe.

 

But I agree it is open to be interpreted other ways.

 

Why would anybody realistically put an LPG pipe under the boat's floor, even if it were allowed? Seems a very odd thing to think is a good idea!

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nicknorman Veteran II

nicknormanDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

Why would anybody realistically put an LPG pipe under the boat's floor, even if it were allowed? Seems a very odd thing to think is a good idea!

On a narrowboat it's hard to see the need, but I suppose on a wide beam someone might want an island kitchen unit with the hob on it.

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