Marine Gas Fitter required at Gulf Harbour

[strath 4]

Hi I am after a gas fitter to replace my gas line in Azure ( Farr 1020) 

Any recommendations?

[Dtwo 157]

Good luck getting a gas fitter anywhere near a boat.

[Island Time 1,294]

DIY. Or be prepared to remove LPG from the boat, or pay $$$ to have a compliant system installed.

[marinheiro 365]

Malcolm Pollard - Aquaplumb, 021950924

[Fish 0]

DIY. Or be prepared to remove LPG from the boat, or pay $$$ to have a compliant system installed.

I'm curious, if you removed LPG from the boat, what would you use instead;

Kero

Diesel,

Propane, and just get a jet boil?

 

Price of a diesel cooker is probably worth more than the boat. Kero I don't know so much about the cost of stoves, always used one camping as a kid. I understand propane is popular on race boats, doesn't sound any safer than an LPG set up, and must be a hassle if you want to go cruising for longer than one cup of tea.

 

Of course I'm ruling out electric with a genny as just hilariously silly (you need 230 volt to cook with don't you, can't get the current from a 12 v stove?)

 

Question is in the context of NZ's aging NZ built cruiser racer fleet, not new euro imports (which should have new and compliant systems anyway, right)

[Beccara 25]

 

Canisters are cheap too

[tuffyluffy 76]

DIY. You can buy flexible LPG pipe and crimp it on myself.

[Island Time 1,294]

LPG gas hose, and crimps are available at Burnsco. You can use a pair of carpenters pliers to do the crimps...

[Island Time 1,294]

I'm curious, if you removed LPG from the boat, what would you use instead;

Kero

Diesel,

Propane, and just get a jet boil?

 

Price of a diesel cooker is probably worth more than the boat. Kero I don't know so much about the cost of stoves, always used one camping as a kid. I understand propane is popular on race boats, doesn't sound any safer than an LPG set up, and must be a hassle if you want to go cruising for longer than one cup of tea.

 

Of course I'm ruling out electric with a genny as just hilariously silly (you need 230 volt to cook with don't you, can't get the current from a 12 v stove?)

 

Question is in the context of NZ's aging NZ built cruiser racer fleet, not new euro imports (which should have new and compliant systems anyway, right)

Quite a few boats now going with electric hobs, especially induction ones. You'll need a genset, or decent inverter with good charging systems though.

 

New boats are not built to NZ standards, and, unless going into survey, no-one checks.

[Steve Pope 253]

Quite a few boats now going with electric hobs, especially induction ones. You'll need a genset, or decent inverter with good charging systems though.

 

New boats are not built to NZ standards, and, unless going into survey, no-one checks.

I thought that the implication was that if something happened that involved insurance and the gas setup didn't comply, you might not have a happy outcome.

[Island Time 1,294]

The legislation is no retrospective. So as long as it was ok when installed you should be ok....IMO.

[Dtwo 157]

The Cat rules state that you must be compliant with the relevant gas code.  AFAIK there is no way you would ever get a gas fitter to sign off the flexible connection to a gimballed stove, so it's all a crock of compliance crud.

[Island Time 1,294]

The relevant one is the one that was in place when the boat was built. The later ones are not retrospective.

[Cantab 341]

The problem is that it is now illegal to "do it yourself" and fixing up an old system suddenly activates the new rules.

 

I went to two gas suppliers and two sellers of gas system components and equipment asking for the labels legally required on gas bottle compartments, none of them new what I was talking about.

 

Unfortunately in realty there is no way near enough gas fitters in the country to ever keep up with making boats compliant, let alone ones that will come work on a boat. Seems that regulators aren't required to consider the practical implications of their new rules.

 

I also recall two very significant blasts in the last year that by shear luck didn't kill anyone, both on recently installed certified systems, go figure.

 

Like a lot of things in this country now, you do your best and hope nothing goes wrong or someone complains about you, its dam near impossible to be compliant at everything and actually have any money left to feed yourself.

[180S 20]

Have been going down this track too, compliance for insurance. PIA

My solution was to remove the gas tank from under the sink, remove all the gas hardware from my burnsco 2 element hob, then cut a hole In the top plate and insert the unit that Beccara posted. Works a treat, retained a gimballed element with safety rail and is enough to boil the billy.

[bigal.nz 61]

We have just been through it. Got gas fitter to replace all the hose with the plastic coated cope piping so boat meets ASNZ5601.2. Also had gas detectors fitted along with the new solenoid controller. 

 

Added drain for the gas locker. Price was not too bad as we did a lot of the prep work our selves and had the gas fitter do the fiddly bits and issue cert.

[gisywaterboy 4]

Try NZ Shipwrights, works out of Gulf Harbour and is registered to do gas.

[marinheiro 365]

The Cat rules state that you must be compliant with the relevant gas code.  AFAIK there is no way you would ever get a gas fitter to sign off the flexible connection to a gimballed stove, so it's all a crock of compliance crud.

should not be a problem, from 2.11.2 AS5601.2 (my underlining)

 

In general, other than for hose assemblies between cylinders and regulators, hose assemblies shall be used only between the regulator and rigid piping, and between rigid piping and appliances. Flexible hose shall be one continuous length and as short as practicable for the intended application in order to prevent kinking and damage to the hose. Flexible hose inside a caravan or boat shall be accessible. The connection of hose assemblies to each other is not permitted. 

 

IT is correct when he says the regulations have not made the gas standards retrospective. Gas fitters are required to certify that the work they have performed on a gas installation complies with the current regs and this is where it gets a bit tricky, as they may for example refuse to connect a new hose to a gas califont.

To my knowledge all the new imported boats have their gas systems upgraded to the current standards with a gas fitters certificate as they are being sold  as "new" and hence must comply in full as a "new installation". Used imports will be a different story.

[Dtwo 157]

should not be a problem, from 2.11.2 AS5601.2 (my underlining)

 

In general, other than for hose assemblies between cylinders and regulators, hose assemblies shall be used only between the regulator and rigid piping, and between rigid piping and appliances. Flexible hose shall be one continuous length and as short as practicable for the intended application in order to prevent kinking and damage to the hose. Flexible hose inside a caravan or boat shall be accessible. The connection of hose assemblies to each other is not permitted. 

 

Thanks for that, good to know.  What is your opinion if my boat is a 1977 vintage but rebuilt?  I had no questions importing it and insurance has not asked either.  Obviously I won't be shouting from the rooftops but I'm interested to know where I stand,

[marinheiro 365]

Thanks for that, good to know.  What is your opinion if my boat is a 1977 vintage but rebuilt?  I had no questions importing it and insurance has not asked either.  Obviously I won't be shouting from the rooftops but I'm interested to know where I stand,

That's a curly one. I would think that as a minimum the boat should comply with the applicable standard at the time the yacht was imported. I feel it is best to take the same approach as my EWOF inspector inspector takes, is the system from a holistic view point safe, ie are flexible hoses of the appropriate material, gas bottle locker sealed from yacht's internal and ventilated externally, gas sniffer fitted, and does system pass a leak test.