New Consumer Unit - No main Earth to Gas - How to Report

Hi guys

Dont know whether this should be here or in general but I'm sure mods will move it.

Friend of mine has numerous flats. He asked me to do a consumer unit change at one of them and make sure it was electrically safe.
I did a mini PIR, IR on all cabling R1 & R2 and checked all was good with the exception of the main earth to gas.
This was a 4mm buried in the fabric of the building going to what I would describe as an out house. The gas is capped off just above the meter. No earth clamp, but continuity shows that the cable next to meter is the 4mm in the C/U area.

As there is no gas in the flat I made a note on the PIR. The landlord also expressed that he did not want the fabric of the building destroyed to put a new 10mm in. (It can be done, but would be messy and I would have to conduit it around 2 walls of the flat.

Then came the curve ball.

When he gets tennants, they can apply for a grant to get a new boiler. So in the near future, the gas may be recommisioned.

So after all that, what is best to cover myself.

Do I remove the 4mm so it cannot be used by boiler fitters.
Do I convince the landlord to put the 10mm in now.
Or will the boiler fitters be responsible to upgrade the 4mm to 10mm.

I am back next week to commision and PIR, so will the note in my observations be adequate for what may happen in the future.

Thanks for your help

DaveR

If you are upgrading consumer unit, I would say the main earth, tails and earth bonding should be updated to suit, after all, you are altering the whole installation and it should be brought up to current regs.
I would insist that the bonding to gas be in place for future use, being that looks possible so soon.
Just my opinion.
Rik

At present time the gas doesn't need bonding so you could leave it as it is.

If the new tenants get a boiler installed then the company fitting it has to bond it before signing it off. Will your friend the landlord be happy where they put the 10mm? I doubt it.

Thanks guys, as usual a speedy response.

I have changed tails, main earth and new 10mm to water. I think for the hassle, I will put new 10mm to gas and clamp in some fashion to the blanking cap that is to meter. At least I can then leave it and not have to rely on the gas fitters to put it in or utilise the 4mm that is already there.

Thanks everyone.

DaveR

Originally Posted by daver

Hi guys

Dont know whether this should be here or in general but I'm sure mods will move it.

Friend of mine has numerous flats. He asked me to do a consumer unit change at one of them and make sure it was electrically safe.
I did a mini PIR, IR on all cabling R1 & R2 and checked all was good with the exception of the main earth to gas.
This was a 4mm buried in the fabric of the building going to what I would describe as an out house. The gas is capped off just above the meter. No earth clamp, but continuity shows that the cable next to meter is the 4mm in the C/U area.

As there is no gas in the flat I made a note on the PIR. The landlord also expressed that he did not want the fabric of the building destroyed to put a new 10mm in. (It can be done, but would be messy and I would have to conduit it around 2 walls of the flat.

Then came the curve ball.

When he gets tennants, they can apply for a grant to get a new boiler. So in the near future, the gas may be recommisioned.

So after all that, what is best to cover myself.

Do I remove the 4mm so it cannot be used by boiler fitters.
Do I convince the landlord to put the 10mm in now.
Or will the boiler fitters be responsible to upgrade the 4mm to 10mm.

I am back next week to commision and PIR, so will the note in my observations be adequate for what may happen in the future.

Thanks for your help

DaveR

If there is no electrical supply to this 'outhouse' then the gas service should be bonded within 600mm of the entry to the house/flat.

Originally Posted by IQ Electrical

If there is no electrical supply to this 'outhouse' then the gas service should be bonded within 600mm of the entry to the house/flat.

Even if the meter in the outhouse is capped off and no gas supply to the flat? Please correct me if my post above is wrong.

Originally Posted by paul.m

Even if the meter in the outhouse is capped off and no gas supply to the flat? Please correct me if my post above is wrong.

Your post is spot on Paul, I should have said 'when the supply is recommissioned'

Thanks IQ, I confused myself for a moment then .

Just to put the boot in, you will probably find that even if you did bond the stub thats left, the plumbers will rip it off to connect to the meter and not bother re connecting it.

And i think it may be our responsibility to ensure the bonding is in place and not the plumbers.

All that will happen is, if the bond is not there, they wont commission the gas installation.

"As there is no gas in the flat I made a note on the PIR. "

Common sense suggests that you also make a note on the EIC and then you're covered. If theres no gas boiler present why alienate your friend and insist that the 10mm bonding be installed if its not required.

Any new installation of a boiler, by a competent person, will ensure that the 10mm bonding be installed at the same time.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Tin hat on!

Sorry guys, I think I may have introduced a little confussion. It is a really weird build. But to explain the outhouse. It has access directly from the kitchen, but where as the flats are double brick, this is single brick and about 3 foot square. Its like a cool larder. The meter is in here. As the main build is 3 story, it would be impossible to feed in ceilings without popping holes everywhere. Theres 2 steps in kitchen so to run at low level in kitchen would look horrendous. My option if a little messy, is to go out of back of electrical cupboard, under bath to outside walls and then conduit around 2 walls and into the out house section.

I know I will have to connect within 600mm, so will connect to blanking plug for now and await the boiler being fitted and then make a final visit to check.

It may not happen at all, the previous tennant lasted for 5 years with only 2 storage heaters.

Thanks anyway

Originally Posted by Murdoch

"As there is no gas in the flat I made a note on the PIR. "

Common sense suggests that you also make a note on the EIC and then you're covered. If theres no gas boiler present why alienate your friend and insist that the 10mm bonding be installed if its not required.

Any new installation of a boiler, by a competent person, will ensure that the 10mm bonding be installed at the same time.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Tin hat on!

That would be my take on it as well.

The only thing that would make me feel otherwise would be if there was any simultaneously accessible exposed-conductive-part or other extraneous-conductive-part. Then i would resistance test between the gas main and them and if it was >1667Ω i would supplementary bond

The capped gas main is still an extraneous-conductive-part in the way that a metallic waste pipe is.