Recently I upgraded the gas system in my launch and found there's plenty of deviation when navigating the gas regulations.
‘Replace the lot,’ I told a gas fitter shortly after I bought my boat. The existing installation of gas bottle, gas stove and oven was probably safe, but I wanted to start brand new.
After a hefty bill of around $1200, my boat was ready for a signed certificate of compliance – almost. It needed to have a non-combustible material fitted around the perimeter of the gas stove because it was within 200mm of the flame. When I had that sorted, the gas fitter would issue the certificate.
Unknown to me, the gas fitter had just breached the rules because he left the job in a non-compliant state – but that’s open to interpretation.
Roll forward a year or so and I hadn’t got around to fitting that non-combustible material. I was planning a two-week cruise and wanted to fill the gas bottle. I shouldn’t admit to this, but I undid the wrong part and stripped the thread of the regulator. Since the boat was at a different location, I contacted a different gas fitter to install a new regulator.
The second gas fitter declared that the entire installation was non-compliant for multiple reasons, including:
the flexible hose from the gimballed stove to the gas bottle was longer than 600mm and should be replaced. He recommended a plastic-covered copper pipe;
the gas sensor was in the gas locker. Instead, he needed to install a sensor beneath the stove and another in the lowest part of the interior accommodation;
a solenoid was required so that the new gas detector would shut off the gas if gas was detected.
The second gas fitter installed new copper pipe, with a flexible connection to the stove, and fitted non-combustible material around the stove. He arranged for an electrician to fit the solenoid and install the sensors, and confirmed he would issue a certificate. I was onboard for much of the work and could see why it took around five hours. Even so, ouch! for the invoice of $2700.
At such times, I always comfort myself with this: what would I pay for a liferaft on the showroom floor and what would I pay as the boat disappears beneath the waves? Having spent around $4000 on my gas system, I am confident it is safe as long as I follow safe practices such as turning off the gas at the bottle when not in use.
But to play the cynic… If the first guy was right, I had wasted $2700 on the second guy. If the second guy was right, I had wasted $1200 on the first guy. I decided to read the AS/NZS 5601.2:2020 standard regulations. I could download a copy from Standards New Zealand as a pdf for $186.30 or a hard copy for $207. It was more than 100 pages and a quick scan online failed to answer my questions. Yeah… nah.
I went back to the first guy and asked for his comments. He said that his installation did comply. Regarding the hose, he quoted Section 2.11.2 as it applied to boats: hose may be used for one appliance installation as corrosion considerations would favour such installation.
Regarding the gas detection system of a solenoid and a sensor, he quoted Section 7.6 which states that a gas detection system is required if you have a continuous burning flame; eg, a LPG-operating fridge, and if there is no low level ventilation.
Since I did not have a pilot light; ie, a continuous burning flame, it seemed I did not require a gas detection system. Regardless of the rules, I wanted a gas detector and had assumed that my boat’s existing detector was fully compliant.
I related all the above to the second guy. In his interpretation, the flame on my stove was continuous when it was alight. Hmmm, I could see his point.
For me, it wasn’t about right and wrong. I was interested that two qualified gas fitters had such different views about what was compliant – and could that difference represent a large safety margin for other boats?
I tried calling Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board, but I didn’t hear back, probably because they exist for plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers, not journalists.
Then I contacted Mike McKinstry of Auckland Gas Services Limited, who regularly works on gas installations on boats. He blogs about his work and gives some plain English explanations of what is required. He acknowledges there is significant scope for interpretation in the regulations, but ultimately it’s about the safest installation for each boat, including those imported new into New Zealand. He tells his customers: ‘This is how I see the regulations in regards to your boat and what I intend to do before I issue a compliance certificate.’
That’s a good place to start – understanding how your gas fitter interprets the rules and where he sits on the safety scale. If I’d been better informed, which is ultimately my responsibility, I probably would have gone for the Gucci system that I ended up with. I just wish I’d got there the first time. For boat work, it is clearly important to check that your gas fitter regularly works on boats, which have specific regulations from residential and commercial installations.
Until 2010, it was permissible for anyone to install gas systems if the gas bottle was 15kg or less. Every gas fitter I talked to said they regularly see horror installations, most of which pre-date 2010. With that in mind, if that describes your installation, it might pay to get it checked.
© Rebecca Hayter, first published in NZ Powerboat
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