Question for the CORGI guys here.....

[Duncan]

....and I don't mean of the type the Queen has! I know there are a few on here so I thought I'd ask your advice.

Looking to change the gas cooker we have at the moment. Nothing specifically wrong with it, other than it's the one we inherited when we moved in and looking at getting a newer (better) one. All that would need doing is the old one disconnected and the new one connected up.

I was thinking I would be able to do this myself (I'm certainly competent enough) but I know with gas there are more regulations etc. I rang a CORGI guy I know through a business networking group I go to and he told me a few things which I hadn't realised, but he was also a bit vague as well in his explanation.

What he told me was.....

• Firstly, cookers don't come with the hose for the cooker to supply pipe connection, supposedly so that Joe Bloggs (me) can't then connect their cooker up and potentially not do it right. If the manufacturer supplied a hose then it could come back to them if Joe Bloggs blew a house up. You have to, according to him, get a hose separately and only CORGI people can get them.
  Is this true? Do cookers not come with the hose?, and what stops you just transferring the hose from the old cooker? Are they model specific and can only CORGI people get them?
• He also said that due to the new regs you apparently need 'Planning Permission' to connect up a cooker?! I thought. He said that through a CORGI person they can basically do this for you, or you could do it through the council if you wanted to - which basically implied that you didn't need to be CORGI registered to do a connection? Confused? Yep, I certainly was.
• I then asked him is it actually illegal for me to connect up a new cooker - this was where he was vague. He didn't (couldn't?) actually say yes, just that he wouldn't recommend it. Yeah, I wouldn't recommend somebody change their discs and pads if they didn't know what they were doing, but if you know what you're doing then it's not a problem!
  I definitely know that it just had to be a 'competent' person that made the connection - but is it now the case that it has to, by law, be a CORGI person?
• I asked him how much he'd charge to disconnect the old one and reconnect the new one - bearing in mind it's just a straight swap of cookers. He said it'd be £85!!!! How much I thought?!!! For a job that'll probably take you 20 mins tops, even including attaching the restraining chains to the wall that you have to do these days.

Have I been fed a pile of BS? Does the price sound somewhat excessive for the job I've explained? More importantly, is there anything to stop me from doing it myself?

Lastly, sorry for all the Q's, if the price does sound like it's taking the pee (which I thought it was), and I have to have a CORGI person do the job, do you know any mates in East Sussex that'll do it without fleecing me?

Many thanks

D

[AndrewTi]

You can't do it yourself, it will invalidate your household insurance and you may be liable to prosecution. If you blew your house up and took a neighbour with you....

Planning permission? Cobblers.

You do need to be CORGI to touch any gas appliance. Doing it yourself is just a false economy...

But,

£85. Sounds a bit steep, shop around. Most suppliers will include connection, removal and disposal for less than that.

Oh, how I'll miss the white goods industry.....

[Ste]

In honesty Duncan I can really sympathise with you.

Lets be honest here, anyone with even half a brain can fit one of thos bayonet fittings. If it isn't connected properly, then no gas flows. So are intrinically safe (almost fool proof)

I personally think that all this CORGI thing is a racket, anyone with some intelligence could do the work and then get a CORGI chap to inspect afterwards, if necesssary.

IMHO I am more than competant to do this sort of work, but the CORGI racket prevents me. I am pretty sure that there are a lot of people who are also more than able to do it too.

I FULLY accept that there are morons out there who would / could blow something up.

[Caterman]

I'm not too sure about the "planning permission" regs but they do change constantly. (That's why i have to do the course every 5 years!)
I'm CORGI but for commercial stuff and the regs are slightly different.
It does have to be a CORGI registered installer that connects it up and if it is on a flexi hose it has to have restraining wires on it too. As long as the hose is in "serviceable" condition then it can be re-used.
£85 is about the going rate for the job unfortunately. This is due to to the fact that as i said earlier, the qualifications needed and the need to do the course and the refreshers costing around £2000 every 5 years.

If you do it yourself and the worst happens you will end up in court and can be sent to prison.
Even a qualified person can suffer the same fate if they do not follow procedures. It is supposed to stop the unqualified "cowboys" but it has pushed them underground. They are still working cheaply and putting peoples lives at risk. The problem with this is that CORGI have no powers over them at all
It is a minefield out there m8
HTH

[Duncan]

You can't do it yourself, it will invalidate your household insurance and you may be liable to prosecution. If you blew your house up and took a neighbour with you....
You do need to be CORGI to touch any gas appliance. Doing it yourself is just a false economy...

Thought that was the case. I knew you had to be CORGI to touch boilers etc. - wasn't sure if it extended to the simple connecting of a cooker with a bayonet hose. Fully understand though, gas is not something to be messed around with.

Planning permission? Cobblers.

Yep, that's what I thought - even more so when he didn't really explain it when I asked. Just kinda mumbled a bit.

£85. Sounds a bit steep, shop around.

Glad it wasn't just me that thought that! He was the first person I rang as I thought he'd do a decent price given that I know him through this networking group. Guess I was wrong! lol I can find other people who are CORGI registered - but happy to receive any recommendations of somebody that anyone may know in this neck of the woods.

Most suppliers will include connection, removal and disposal for less than that.

Yeah, I thought so too, but not been able to find any so far - will keep looking.

Thanks for the prompt reply.

[plasma]

Bah, my funny was killed before it even started...

[Duncan]

Cheers Tony - just saw your reply as I posted

In honesty Duncan I can really sympathise with you.

Lets be honest here, anyone with even half a brain can fit one of thos bayonet fittings. If it isn't connected properly, then no gas flows. So are intrinically safe (almost fool proof)

My exact thoughts - it'd take me 10-15 minutes to do the whole job probably. As you say, you can't exactly do anything wrong can you as it's a self-sealing bayonet.

However, I'm not going to take the risk. I'll succumb to the regs and get a CORGI person and at least I'll have the certificate to show it's all been done properly.

Ironic thing is, if said CORGI person somehow manages to make a balls up and blows the house up I'll have a job producing the certificate to prove who it was that did the job!!!

Bah, my funny was killed before it even started...

Go on, what was it then?

[AndrewTi]

What sort of thing are you after?


Big boots on Vectras!!!!

[spoons]

Ironic thing is, if said CORGI person somehow manages to make a balls up and blows the house up I'll have a job producing the certificate to prove who it was that did the job!!! Go on, what was it then?

If the CORGI chap blows up your house, you'll probably have a job to produce YOU !! never mind a certificate

[Duncan]

What sort of thing are you after?


Big boots on Vectras!!!!

If the CORGI chap blows up your house, you'll probably have a job to produce YOU !! never mind a certificate

lol, I was kinda hoping I'd be out the house if that incident occurred!!