Connecting Gas to a Static Caravan

[Weebles]

The caravan is here!  My question is do we need an LPG registered gas engineer to connect up to the two 47kg LPG units?  And what about when we need to change them?  Or can we do this ourselves (the pigtails are already on the end of the caravan and the boiler has been serviced before we got it).

For interest, the shed (ex-playhouse) to the right hand side is the outside toilet cum laundry.  Fitting it out has kept him indoors happily occupied for a good couple of weekends.....

 

 

[Luckylad]

Hello 

I’m not aware of any legislation,I change ours without any problems.

we had our gas boiler serviced after it had been sited because our plumber said the pipe joints might be stressed while it was being moved. 

I fitted a trace heating cable to all the pipe work and waste pipes,it was about 50 metres long.

It works well but couldn’t cope with minus 5!

Do you know how long you’re going to live in the caravan?

 

[ProDave]

You just bolt the pigtails to the cylinders and turn on. Remember they are left hand thread.

 

If you bought the 'van from a dealer it should have come with a gas safety test certificate.

 

If you have not got the cylinders yet, phone around the suppliers. You can usually blag a pair of cylinders without paying the hire charge, though when I tried this Calor would not do that so we have a different supplier (actually slightly cheaper for the gas)

[Temp]

It's a DIY job. I change my own. Remember to chain and padlock the cylinders to the chassis of the van or someone will pinch them.

[Bitpipe]

That set-up looks familiar - good luck

 

Post a pic of the regulator for the LPG - we only had a single pigtail on our van when we bought it but you need the twin option so you can have one live and one spare.

 

We got a Gas Safe plumber to install the new one and check the water heater and fire. CO alarm mandatory next to your water heater.

 

Countrywide LPG do deliveries of the 47kg bottles, you just need to set up an account, no deposit needed. They can usually deliver a new bottle in 2-3 days and the guy was happy to fit the tank each time.

 

DO NOT FORGET TO ORDER A NEW ONE AS SOON AS YOU SWAP THEM OVER - this can cause serious risk to your marriage, especially if it happens in December. Ask me how I know this...

 

You also need to make sure the bottles can't fall over accidentally - I sunk two fenceposts into the ground with post-crete and put a ring on each one with level slabs in front. Chained each bottle to the post behind it and chained them to each other and a third post for security.

 

My advice is not to use the gas fire in winter as it generates a lot of condensation which settles on the floor in the evenings and makes them very cold and damp in the morning.

 

Instead, get a dehumidifier and run that in the evenings and overnight - it kicks out quite a bit of heat and keeps the van nice and dry inside - we still have ours if you want to buy it off me

 

[Nickfromwales]

2 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

You also need to make sure the bottles can't fall over accidentally - I sunk two fenceposts into the ground with post-crete and put a ring on each one with level slabs in front. Chained each bottle to the post behind it and chained them to each other and a third post for security.

This is FUNDAMENTALLY important!!!

Do not think that as this is a 'van it's any less of a risk to life.   The botttles being chained so they can't fall over is part of gas safe criteria. 

 

4 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

We got a Gas Safe plumber to install the new one and check the water heater and fire. CO alarm mandatory next to your water heater.

Don't ever even think about recommissioning a gas burning appliance without doing so. A gas leak ( drop / tightness ) test and thorough inspection of the flue and how it's connected to the boiler must be carried out. 

Dont mess with gas, or anything that either produces CO1 or can blow up !

[Weebles]

We have a gas safety certificate for the caravan boiler (dated Nov 2017, so it's a while ago). @Nickfromwales just to be clear, are you saying to get a gas safe plumber in to double check it all (post transportation) before connecting to the cylinders? Don't want any explosions.  

Thanks for advice re securing cylinders. Will get onto that straight away. We can chain them to the playhouse but some fence posts sunk in either side will make sure of it. Will post some pics.....

 

@Luckylad we are going to be in this beauty for about 18 months we reckon. Glad we are not in it tonight though (-3).  

 

Good tip @Bitpipere the gas fire. We've got a dehumidifier in there already - cleaned the floor today and it was never going to dry in these temperatures....... the marriage just survived someone letting all the oil out of the hydraulic bottle jack (whilst trying to release the air) in the middle of levelling the caravan in the rain this week ?

[ProDave]

6 minutes ago, Weebles said:

@Luckylad we are going to be in this beauty for about 18 months we reckon. Glad we are not in it tonight though (-3).  

 

Ah a soft southerner

 

Just coming up to a year in ours. And we picked the longest coldest Highland winter for many years. Had many nights of -10, even -12 one night. A mere -3 forecast tonight, balmy weather.

 

The best thing we did was fit a wood burning stove. That thing has been going almost non stop since November.  It's been a struggle at times to keep up with preparing wood for it, but it has saved us a fortune in heating.  The first month we were in we got through 47Kg of gas in a month. We stopped using the gas fire then.

[Weebles]

Adopted southerner but soft nonetheless ?  Fortunately the balmy southern summer nights will be here by moving in day (14 April). Will hopefully have a mild winter next year!

Def won't be using that gas fire if it eats gas and causes condensation problems. Reckon the piano can go in front of it instead!

[Nickfromwales]

47 minutes ago, Weebles said:

We can chain them to the playhouse

So.........not content with the lunacy of self-building you now want to attach a big sail to your gas bottles

 

47 minutes ago, Weebles said:

just to be clear, are you saying to get a gas safe plumber in to double check it all (post transportation) before connecting to the cylinders?

Too damn right. The alternative is you connect it and jump in bed hoping it's ok . 

CO1 detectors detect products of combustion eg they don't tell you there's a gas leak, but the light switch will 

Gas = due diligence. . 

 

You'll need the bottles there when the GSR'd plumber arrives, so it can be pressurised and tested. Nowt can be done if the bottles aren't there. 

[Cpd]

A few years ago our neighbours blew the kitchen lean to of the side of their house.... someone had not turned the gas cooker off properly in the morning when they went to work, later there was an ignition, probably from the fridge and that was the end of the kitchen lean-to. Good job no one was home. The first thing i did when i found out about it was rip out all the gas appliances in our caravan and went full electric. Its used by guests  and our volunteers so i was not going to take the chance that something like this was going to happen. I sleep easier now that its done. 

[Gone West]

10 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

CO1 detectors detect products of combustion eg they don't tell you there's a gas leak, but the light switch will 

Gas = due diligence. . 

 

We had an LPG detector in our last house.

[Nickfromwales]

2 hours ago, Cpd said:

A few years ago our neighbours blew the kitchen lean to of the side of their house.... someone had not turned the gas cooker off properly in the morning when they went to work, later there was an ignition, probably from the fridge and that was the end of the kitchen lean-to. Good job no one was home. The first thing i did when i found out about it was rip out all the gas appliances in our caravan and went full electric. Its used by guests  and our volunteers so i was not going to take the chance that something like this was going to happen. I sleep easier now that its done. 

All quite avoidable with FFD's ( flame failure devices ). Most modern appliances can be purchased with FFD's, they're the little metal stub that pokes up alongside the igniter that tells the gas valve that there is a flame ( heat ) present. The second the flame extinguishes the FFD cools down and you hear a click where the gas is shut off aoutomatically, irrespective of the position is the gas control knob. 

Basically if the gas control is turned to on, say to boil a pan of water for veg, and the pan boils over and quenches the flame, gas still comes out. The second heat loss is detected, around 6-8 seconds for it to cool sufficiently, the gas flow is arrested. 

Moral of the storey : don't go hacking out all your gas burning appliances just ensure they have FFD's. . 

[Cpd]

3 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Moral of the storey : don't go hacking out all your gas burning appliances just ensure they have FFD's. . 

 Very interesting and good to know, as always so much useful information on BH and people willing to share there wisdom. The gas cooker and heater were archaic at best and i was just glad of a reason to get rid of them ! I will hold off launching a national campaign...... 

[Weebles]

Thanks @Nickfromwales - we'll be getting the bottles and the man to check it all out and connect it properly. Wise words indeed and your guidance is much appreciated.

Going to need a twister to move that playhouse - it's now on mains drainage and doubles up as site toilet and teenage boy toilet ? as well as a laundrette / first aid station and general site storage. Figured it saved us the site toilet rental though it has taken a lot of time to sort out.