5 year Gas Inspection

[Alison]

One of my Spanish neighbours tells me that I should have a gas inspection done for my apartment every 5 years. This is the first I have heard of it and have never had one done in the 8 years that I have owned the property. I was wondering if this applied to me as I don't have a contract with a gas provider and just use the one silver bottle under my kitchen sink for hot water and the hob. I am in the UK and currently trying to sell my apartment so would rather deal with this now than have any unexpected complications later down the line.

[BigPete]

I'm happy to admit to being wrong here, but isn't that just the case for when you have a contract with a supplier, as opposed to when you just pick up and odd bottle locally ?

[MickeyB]

I too have a small, 1 bottle installation, and have never been asked to get or have received any such inspection certificate. But I DO change the orange tubing and regulators every couple of years just to make sure that none of the rubber has perished, which I would recommend you did - especially if you are out of the country for periods at a time.

[Alison]

I too have a small, 1 bottle installation, and have never been asked to get or have received any such inspection certificate. But I DO change the orange tubing and regulators every couple of years just to make sure that none of the rubber has perished, which I would recommend you did - especially if you are out of the country for periods at a time.

Thanks. How do I check / know that a regulator is faulty ?

[MickeyB]

Check that the seals haven't cracked or persihed in the frost / heat / damp and that the plunger still works freely and without sticking. A good sign of a regulator that is starting to go, is an intermittant gas supply when your bottle is quite full. For what a regulator and a bit of pipe costs, it's worth just replaceing anyway every 3 or 4 years.

[sinbad]

Might this be something that is covered in your community fees for the upkeep of the building ? - assuming you pay them. If you do check the terms.

[MrGrumpy]

Check that the seals haven't cracked or persihed in the frost / heat / damp and that the plunger still works freely and without sticking. A good sign of a regulator that is starting to go, is an intermittant gas supply when your bottle is quite full. For what a regulator and a bit of pipe costs, it's worth just replaceing anyway every 3 or 4 years.

...Just to add to this point ... There are a number of different gas regulators on the market that can vary a few Euros in price. I have found that it is worth paying a little extra to get the better quality ones, because they don't tend to suffer from having a plunger that sticks quite as often as the cheapo ones do.