Hi,

I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit
a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.

How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees
and see if gas gushes out?

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

Thanks...

"Mike Smith" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit
a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.

How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees
and see if gas gushes out?

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

Thanks...



Erm! open the window near to it,turn on the valve a quarter of its travel
and you should be able to smell it let alone hear it.

On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:46:09 GMT, "George"
wrote:


"Mike Smith" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit
a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.

How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees
and see if gas gushes out?

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

Thanks...



Erm! open the window near to it,turn on the valve a quarter of its travel
and you should be able to smell it let alone hear it.


Fit a balloon over the pipe ..LOL

What I would like to know is why the pipe isn't capped .

Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi,

I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit
a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.

How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees
and see if gas gushes out?

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

With the best of intentions and not intending any disrespect, yes it would
be foolhardy.

The pipe should be capped anyway (you must not touch this), and assuming the
valve is prior to any regulator that may or may not exist, the gas pressure
in the supply pipe is much higher than you may be expecting (that's why
they fit a regulator).

Despite the probably well deserved feelings of doom that the following
statement will raise, it's time to ring the gas operator or supplier for
your area and enquire if it's possible for you to have a gas connection and
how much will it cost.

If you want to make an educated guess: do the neighbours have mains gas? If
so, then whether or not your pipe is "live", it should be a straightforward
matter for the supplier to reconnect it or put in a new one.

Now you're going to say you live in a little stone house 10 miles from your
neighbours...

;-

Cheers

Tim

wrote:

What I would like to know is why the pipe isn't capped .

Quite possibly because it is dead would be my guess.

"Cod Roe" wrote in message
...
wrote:

What I would like to know is why the pipe isn't capped .

Quite possibly because it is dead would be my guess.

Not necessarily
former occupants could have taken the gas meter? or at sometime someone has
been fiddling the gas and used a meter that they aquired and didn't bother
to replace the cap that might of been there?

"Tim S" wrote in message
...
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi,

I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit
a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.

How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees
and see if gas gushes out?

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

With the best of intentions and not intending any disrespect, yes it would
be foolhardy.

The pipe should be capped anyway (you must not touch this), and assuming
the
valve is prior to any regulator that may or may not exist, the gas
pressure
in the supply pipe is much higher than you may be expecting (that's why
they fit a regulator).

Despite the probably well deserved feelings of doom that the following
statement will raise, it's time to ring the gas operator or supplier for
your area and enquire if it's possible for you to have a gas connection
and
how much will it cost.

If you want to make an educated guess: do the neighbours have mains gas?
If
so, then whether or not your pipe is "live", it should be a
straightforward
matter for the supplier to reconnect it or put in a new one.

Now you're going to say you live in a little stone house 10 miles from
your
neighbours...

;-

Cheers

Tim

Thanks to all for the replies. From the sounds of it, the supply pipe will
be
capped. This is a 1980's terrace, and I guess gas supply was laid on for
every
house when they were built -- only it was never "activated" in this one...

There is no regulator, just a lever-valve.

I'll leave well alone and get what-ever company owns up to responsibility
for un-capping gas supplies involved.

Any idea's who to contact? (North Hampshire)

Thanks again for saving me from my fool-hardiness ;-)

On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:38:51 +0100, "Mike Smith"
wrote:

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

Only if you turned it on and went to make a cup of tea.

Turn it on a fraction and see if it hisses, then turn it off again.
It's not sarin gas and you will not drop dead from it.

Not long ago people lived in houses with gas taps all over the place,
particularly on the floor by fireplaces. (Some still do)

Appliances were connected by flexible pipes with tatty rubber
connectors on them. They leaked all the time.

On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:48:55 +0100, "Mike Smith"
wrote:

"Tim S" wrote in message
. ..
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi,

I currently have a gas supply pipe but no meter. Before SEB come and fit
a gas meter, they want to know if the gas supply is "live" or not.

How do I safely determine this? Just turn the valve lever 45 degrees
and see if gas gushes out?

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

With the best of intentions and not intending any disrespect, yes it would
be foolhardy.

The pipe should be capped anyway (you must not touch this), and assuming
the
valve is prior to any regulator that may or may not exist, the gas
pressure
in the supply pipe is much higher than you may be expecting (that's why
they fit a regulator).

Despite the probably well deserved feelings of doom that the following
statement will raise, it's time to ring the gas operator or supplier for
your area and enquire if it's possible for you to have a gas connection
and
how much will it cost.

If you want to make an educated guess: do the neighbours have mains gas?
If
so, then whether or not your pipe is "live", it should be a
straightforward
matter for the supplier to reconnect it or put in a new one.

Now you're going to say you live in a little stone house 10 miles from
your
neighbours...

;-

Cheers

Tim

Thanks to all for the replies. From the sounds of it, the supply pipe will
be
capped. This is a 1980's terrace, and I guess gas supply was laid on for
every
house when they were built -- only it was never "activated" in this one...

There is no regulator, just a lever-valve.

You mean you can't tell if it is capped .Is the end of the pipe not
visible ? Now I am confused .?

Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

Thanks to all for the replies. From the sounds of it, the supply pipe will
be
capped. This is a 1980's terrace, and I guess gas supply was laid on for
every
house when they were built -- only it was never "activated" in this one...

There is no regulator, just a lever-valve.

I'll leave well alone and get what-ever company owns up to responsibility
for un-capping gas supplies involved.

Any idea's who to contact? (North Hampshire)

Thanks again for saving me from my fool-hardiness ;-)

OK - sounds like it will be painless. If these are 1980's houses and there
is a gas main in the road, I would expect the whole lot to have been
plumbed for gas as standard, ready for a meter.

Just choose your supplier (eg www.uswitch.com offers comparisons), or if you
like the "old days" ring British Gas.

Tell them you'd like to buy gas from them, tell them you don't have a meter
(they'll probably ask this anyway, or have a database that might just tell
them). Take it from there - they will be able to sort everything out for
you - at least as far as the meter. You'll need[1] a CORGI fitter to sort
out connections from there to your appliance(s). British Gas may still do
this, but it will probably be a different arm to the meter people so
doesn't make much difference who you use.


Cheers

Tim

[1] Well, not strictly true, but you *must* be "competent" to do it
yourself.

"EricP" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:38:51 +0100, "Mike Smith"
wrote:

Would I be foolhardy to attempt this myself?

Only if you turned it on and went to make a cup of tea.

Turn it on a fraction and see if it hisses, then turn it off again.
It's not sarin gas and you will not drop dead from it.

Not long ago people lived in houses with gas taps all over the place,
particularly on the floor by fireplaces. (Some still do)

Appliances were connected by flexible pipes with tatty rubber
connectors on them. They leaked all the time.

Exactly. You might well turn on the gas cooker before firing up a gas
lighter...

"Tim S" wrote in message
...
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

Thanks to all for the replies. From the sounds of it, the supply pipe
will
be
capped. This is a 1980's terrace, and I guess gas supply was laid on for
every
house when they were built -- only it was never "activated" in this
one...

There is no regulator, just a lever-valve.

I'll leave well alone and get what-ever company owns up to
responsibility
for un-capping gas supplies involved.

Any idea's who to contact? (North Hampshire)

Thanks again for saving me from my fool-hardiness ;-)

OK - sounds like it will be painless. If these are 1980's houses and there
is a gas main in the road, I would expect the whole lot to have been
plumbed for gas as standard, ready for a meter.

Just choose your supplier (eg www.uswitch.com offers comparisons), or if
you
like the "old days" ring British Gas.

Tell them you'd like to buy gas from them, tell them you don't have a
meter
(they'll probably ask this anyway, or have a database that might just tell
them). Take it from there - they will be able to sort everything out for
you - at least as far as the meter. You'll need[1] a CORGI fitter to sort
out connections from there to your appliance(s). British Gas may still do
this, but it will probably be a different arm to the meter people so
doesn't make much difference who you use.


Cheers

Tim

[1] Well, not strictly true, but you *must* be "competent" to do it
yourself.

FYI, British Gas offer a free service to determine if a supply pipe
is live or not. Assuming it is live, then Southern Electricity will
fit a meter and regulator for free - providing we take gas from them
of course. Free. Can you believe it?

Things only get expensive if it turns out the supply pipe isn't
live.

After the meter is installed, the corgi man can start the new central
heating install (replacing night storage heaters)

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:47:07 +0100, "Mike Smith"
wrote:

"Tim S" wrote in message
. ..
Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:

Thanks to all for the replies. From the sounds of it, the supply pipe
will
be
capped. This is a 1980's terrace, and I guess gas supply was laid on for
every
house when they were built -- only it was never "activated" in this
one...

There is no regulator, just a lever-valve.

I'll leave well alone and get what-ever company owns up to
responsibility
for un-capping gas supplies involved.

Any idea's who to contact? (North Hampshire)

Thanks again for saving me from my fool-hardiness ;-)

OK - sounds like it will be painless. If these are 1980's houses and there
is a gas main in the road, I would expect the whole lot to have been
plumbed for gas as standard, ready for a meter.

Just choose your supplier (eg www.uswitch.com offers comparisons), or if
you
like the "old days" ring British Gas.

Tell them you'd like to buy gas from them, tell them you don't have a
meter
(they'll probably ask this anyway, or have a database that might just tell
them). Take it from there - they will be able to sort everything out for
you - at least as far as the meter. You'll need[1] a CORGI fitter to sort
out connections from there to your appliance(s). British Gas may still do
this, but it will probably be a different arm to the meter people so
doesn't make much difference who you use.


Cheers

Tim

[1] Well, not strictly true, but you *must* be "competent" to do it
yourself.

FYI, British Gas offer a free service to determine if a supply pipe
is live or not. Assuming it is live, then Southern Electricity will
fit a meter and regulator for free - providing we take gas from them
of course. Free. Can you believe it?

Things only get expensive if it turns out the supply pipe isn't
live.

After the meter is installed, the corgi man can start the new central
heating install (replacing night storage heaters)


There ya go then..That's your problem sorted !!!

Mike Smith coughed up some electrons that declared:


FYI, British Gas offer a free service to determine if a supply pipe
is live or not. Assuming it is live, then Southern Electricity will
fit a meter and regulator for free - providing we take gas from them
of course. Free. Can you believe it?

Things only get expensive if it turns out the supply pipe isn't
live.

After the meter is installed, the corgi man can start the new central
heating install (replacing night storage heaters)


Thanks for coming back - it's good to have a definitive answer in the google
archives

In a sense I would hope it *would* be free, as it's in their interests to
give you a way to buy their product.

I'd rather hoped it would be free even if they had to mole a pipe in
(assuming the road had a pipe) for the same reason, but things don't make
as much sense post privatisation as they used to...

Cheers

Tim