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I have spent the day ripping out a perfectly good and sound gas system because I used solder joints, which in millions of omes, factories, farms, shops, hospitals, in fact just about anywhere accept a boat.

 

I have now replaced it with the regulation compression fittings which IMO is very much inferior.

 

Total BS as far as I'm concerned.

  • Greenie 1
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I have spent the day ripping out a perfectly good and sound gas system because I used solder joints, which in millions of omes, factories, farms, shops, hospitals, in fact just about anywhere accept a boat.

 

 

 

and every example you have used is a fixed property not a vibrating moving one!

  • Greenie 3
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and every example you have used is a fixed property not a vibrating moving one!

 

Logical...all our caravans had compression joints too.

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I have spent the day ripping out a perfectly good and sound gas system because I used solder joints, which in millions of omes, factories, farms, shops, hospitals, in fact just about anywhere accept a boat.

 

I have now replaced it with the regulation compression fittings which IMO is very much inferior.

 

Total BS as far as I'm concerned.

 

Which just goes to show that you really should read and understand the BSS requirements, and if necessary seek advice and clarification, BEFORE you start installing stuff on the boat.

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Do motohomes/caravans use soldered gas joints, or do they use compression fittings?

 

Every one we have ever had used compression...

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Do motohomes/caravans use soldered gas joints, or do they use compression fittings?

Whatever they use, (and mobile homes I've stayed in had compression, I believe), they are probably considerably lower risk than boats.

 

In a mobile home, caravan or camper the likelihood is that any escaped gas that finds its way to a low point can vent out somewhere. In a canal boat, the same can't happen, so there is a far greater likelihood of it building up low down, before something bad happens.

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Which just goes to show that you really should read and understand the BSS requirements, and if necessary seek advice and clarification, BEFORE you start installing stuff on the boat.

 

Yes indeed, but Biggles has obviously clocked it from somewhere well before it's been used,

 

so no real harm done...

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I have spent the day ripping out a perfectly good and sound gas system because I used solder joints, which in millions of omes, factories, farms, shops, hospitals, in fact just about anywhere accept a boat.

 

I have now replaced it with the regulation compression fittings which IMO is very much inferior.

 

Total BS as far as I'm concerned.

What sort of tube did you end up using?

 

The fully annealed thick wall copper tube specified in BSS and PD 5482-2005 Pt III for boats? Or the 15mm domestic half-hard thin-wall domestic copper tube you were asking about a couple of weeks ago?

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I have to admit to not realising this was the case until had re-read the BSS. I built to RCD and if it's in there I totally missed it.

 

I still think a soldered joint is far more stable even in a vibrating moving boat. The contact area of the solder is far more than the mechanical contact of a compression fitting.

 

Of course I will comply with the rules, but I still think is BS.

 

What sort of tube did you end up using?

 

The fully annealed thick wall copper tube specified in BSS and PD 5482-2005 Pt III for boats? Or the 15mm domestic half-hard thin-wall domestic copper tube you were asking about a couple of weeks ago?

 

 

I spoke to the local BSS inspector and was told so long as its seamless drawn copper tube that would be fine. He will be the one doing the inspection at some point so I went with that. After all This is the exact same stuff used in home and commercial properties every day. It's only the jointing method that seems to be in question.

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Whatever they use, (and mobile homes I've stayed in had compression, I believe), they are probably considerably lower risk than boats.

 

In a mobile home, caravan or camper the likelihood is that any escaped gas that finds its way to a low point can vent out somewhere. In a canal boat, the same can't happen, so there is a far greater likelihood of it building up low down, before something bad happens.

True enough. That is the danger with boats.

 

Every one we have ever had used compression...

Thanks

 

compression in all the ones i've dealt with

and thanks.

Edited by Guest
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I still think a soldered joint is far more stable even in a vibrating moving boat. The contact area of the solder is far more than the mechanical contact of a compression fitting.

 

 

Possibly true for a perfectly made joint. However, a badly made joint may be gas-proof initially but "hanging by a thread" (of solder) and hard to detect until after it starts leaking and a large pool of gas has accumulated in the bilge. Compression fittings are more idiot proof and much more consistent.

 

In our old house we had a new central heating system installed by a respectable company. All was well for many years but one day I leant against the gas supply pipe in the boiler room and it disconnected at a solder joint to the sound of rushing gas! One quick visit to the shutoff valve at the meter, and a visit by a man with blowtorch later, all was well but it made the point that solder joint quality can be very variable. Had that been on a boat it could have been much more serious.

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I have to admit to not realising this was the case until had re-read the BSS. I built to RCD and if it's in there I totally missed it.

 

I still think a soldered joint is far more stable even in a vibrating moving boat. The contact area of the solder is far more than the mechanical contact of a compression fitting.

 

Of course I will comply with the rules, but I still think is BS.

 

 

 

 

I spoke to the local BSS inspector and was told so long as its seamless drawn copper tube that would be fine. He will be the one doing the inspection at some point so I went with that. After all This is the exact same stuff used in home and commercial properties every day. It's only the jointing method that seems to be in question.

Must admit when I fitted the boat out, I wasn't keen on compression fittings on gas, then later learned that compression can be used on domestic gas systems providing the joints are accessible. I seem to recall reading that fittings HAVE to be compression if within a certain distance of the meter. Perhaps compression fittings aren't that bad after all?

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Possibly true for a perfectly made joint. However, a badly made joint may be gas-proof initially but "hanging by a thread" (of solder) and hard to detect until after it starts leaking and a large pool of gas has accumulated in the bilge. Compression fittings are more idiot proof and much more consistent.

 

In our old house we had a new central heating system installed by a respectable company. All was well for many years but one day I leant against the gas supply pipe in the boiler room and it disconnected at a solder joint to the sound of rushing gas! One quick visit to the shutoff valve at the meter, and a visit by a man with blowtorch later, all was well but it made the point that solder joint quality can be very variable. Had that been on a boat it could have been much more serious.

 

 

And a mechanical joint is less prone to developing a leak?

 

It would be interesting to hear from a plumber as to how many solderd joints he uses in comparison to compression. And how many pluming problems they are called to where either a soldered joint or a compression joint is the problem.

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in answer to the question of calls to leaks 5% compression verses 85% soldered in my experience (been doing plumbing for 30 years) the other 10% is failed plastic fittings

 

solder joints (end feed) about 75% of joints in domestic, a lot less in commercial

Edited by hamsterfan
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in answer to the question of calls to leaks 5% compression verses 85% soldered in my experience (been doing plumbing for 30 years) the other 10% is failed plastic fittings

 

solder joints (end feed) about 75% of joints in domestic, a lot less in commercial

 

 

What about Yorkshire fittings?

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I have spent the day ripping out a perfectly good and sound gas system because I used solder joints, which in millions of omes, factories, farms, shops, hospitals, in fact just about anywhere accept a boat.

 

I have now replaced it with the regulation compression fittings which IMO is very much inferior.

 

Total BS as far as I'm concerned.

what the hell.will they leak in a few years .silly rules .another one of the idiots sat round a table with nout to do .

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