TECHNICAL
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Nice and tight
The author
Peter Mason is a Gas Utilisation
Consultant with Blue Flame
Associates. Joining West
Midlands Gas as an apprentice
in 1972, he worked his way up
in technical roles to managerial
level in British Gas. Since leaving
British Gas he has worked for a
local authority and worked as
an industrial and commercial
burner specialist.
Peter is currently responsible
for a number of consultancy
and training activities with Blue
Flame including both ACS and
specialist non-domestic training
for industrial clients. He is also
involved in external verification
of ACS Assessment Centres and
the design of examinations for
ACS and other qualifications.
Peter is additionally involved
in the approval process for
Green Deal installers as a
member of the Certification
Body technical team.
62 INSTALLER Nov/Dec 2012
Following significant revisions to IGE/UP/1B, Peter Mason
assesses how the changes will impact on the procedures
for tightness testing and direct purging of certain types
of installations.
I
GEM/UP/1B Edition 3
Tightness testing and direct
purging of small Liquefied
Petroleum Gas/Air, Natural
Gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas
installations has been published.
As the title suggests, the
standard now additionally
includes tightness testing and
direct purging procedures for
Liquefied Petroleum Gas/Air (LPG/
Air) and Liquefied Petroleum
Gas (LPG) installations. The
tightness testing procedure for
Natural Gas (NG) is slightly altered
and the purging procedure for
NG remains essentially as that
described in IGE/UP/1B Edition 2.
LPG/Air is in use on Guernsey
and Jersey. The Isle of Man (Manx
Gas) is currently undertaking a
gas conversion operation from
LPG/Air (town gas) to Natural
Gas (NG).
LPG/Air is a manufactured
or derived 1st family Gas and
is heavier than air. NG is a 2nd
family gas and is lighter than
air. LPG is a 3rd family gas
and is heavier than air. The
characteristics of the fuels need
to be considered when releasing
gas as part of any purging process.
IGEM/UP/1B Edition 3
supersedes IGE/UP/1B Edition2,
which covered small NG
installations and changes the
soundness testing and direct
purging procedures within
BS 5482-1 Code of Practice for
domestic butane and propane
gas burning installations Part1:
Installations at permanent
dwellings, residential park homes
and commercial premises, with
installation pipework sizes not
exceeding DN25 for steel and
DN28 for corrugated stainless
steel and copper.
There were previously no
formal national standards for the
soundness testing and direct
purging of LPG/Air installations.
The greatly extended scope
of IGEM/UP/1B Edition 3 is best
explained in terms of which type
of installation it is concerned with
against each fuel type.
Natural Gas and LPG/Air
Maximum Operating Pressure
(MOP) at the Emergency
Control Valve (ECV) outlet not
exceeding 2 bar.
Pipework size not exceeding
35 mm copper, 32 mm or
1 " steel.
Primary meter size not
exceeding U 16 (G10),
Maximum installation volume
(IV) of 0.035 m3 (supplying
a dwelling or non-domestic
premises).
Operating pressure at the meter
outlet not greater than 21 mbar.
The standard covers small
installations, which includes most
domestic and small commercial
customers. The maximum
installation volume of 0.035 m3
would be approached on an
installation using a U6 meter with
25m of 35mm copper pipe or
an installation using a U16 meter
with 5m of 32mm steel pipe.
LPG
Pipework size not exceeding
35mm copper, 32mm or
1" steel.
Primary meter size not
exceeding U16 (G10).
Maximum installation volume
(IV) of 0.035m3 (supplying
a dwelling or non-domestic
premises).
Operating pressure at the outlet
of the final stage regulator not
greater than 37mbar.
LPG installations in small
commercial premises, permanent
dwellings, residential park homes,
Leisure Accommodation Vehicles
including touring and motor
caravans, and caravan holiday
homes may be tested and direct
purged using the procedures in
the standard.
LPG installations in boats
and other vessels are within
the scope of PD 54823 and
BS EN ISO 10239.
Tightness testing
The significant changes to
tightness testing procedures
may be divided as follows:
Test equipment
Test equipment needs to be well
maintained electronic gauges
are to be calibrated as per
manufacturers instructions and a
certificate of calibration available.
Electronic gauges that are
intrinsically safe need to be used
when a test location may be
within a flammable atmosphere.
Intrinsically-safe electronic
gauges need to be used when the
equipment is to be left unattended
and whenever a risk assessment
dictates that certified intrinsically
safe equipment is necessary.
High specific gravity gauges
are no longer considered to be
suitable for tightness tests to
IGEM/UP/1B Edition 3.
Leak detector fluids complying
with BS EN 14291 must be
used and must be wiped from
pipework and components
following testing.
Test criteria
Tightness testing procedures now
vary within IGEM/UP/1B Edition 3
according to the fuel in use and
whether the installation is new or
existing.
Test criteria remain unchanged
for new installations at no
perceptible movement for
example, 0.25 mbar or less on a
fluid gauge or 0.2 mbar or less on
an electronic gauge.
Tightness testing
The standard applies to tightness
testing following any work that
may have affected the gas
tightness of any installation. The
standard recommends that if a
new installation is connected to a
fuel supply, it is pressurised and
tested with fuel.
Air tests may be carried out
if desired on new installations.
The relevant test pressures for
differing fuels and operating
pressures are detailed within
Appendix 3.
A tightness test using fuel
must be performed before the
installation is purged with fuel. A
further tightness test using fuel on
LPG installations must be carried
out following an air-to-fuel purge.
Natural Gas
The installation now needs to be
visually inspected to ensure that
all sections of the installation to
be tested are connected, joints
made and open ends sealed
appropriately. Automatic Isolation
Valves (AIV), where fitted, must
be open.
Tightness testing procedures
for new and existing installations
are now carried out using a
common procedure.
Let-by tests of ECVs and Meter
inlet valves (MIV) are now carried
for the latest industry News and articles
out at a pressure between 7 and
10 mbar.
If the ECV is deemed to be
letting by, the Gas Emergency
Call Centre must be notified. If
the MIV is letting by, the Meter
Asset Manager (MAM) must be
notified. Installations without a
MIV may be tested according to
Appendix4 which is not within
the scope of the standard and is
deemed to be advice.
The stabilisation period for
NG remains at one minute. The
tightness test cannot proceed
until a stable gauge reading is
obtained and further stabilisation
time may be necessary.
The tightness test pressure is
now changed to between 20 and
21 mbar for two minutes.
On a new installation, or on
an existing installation with no
appliances connected, the criteria
for a successful tightness test is
no perceptible gauge movement
and no smell of gas.
On an existing installation
with appliances connected,
allowable pressure drops remain
unchanged, with the exception
of an ultrasonic meter or no
meter connected to pipework
with a diameter greater than
28mm and not exceeding 35mm.
The allowable pressure drop is
reduced from 4.5 mbar to 4 mbar.
If the installation is new, or any
gasways are exposed to air, the
installation needs to be purged.
LPG/air mixtures
Procedures are broadly similar
to NG installations with the
following exceptions:
If fitted, the UPSO on the outlet
of the supply control valve will
Meter
No meter pipework only
with ECV/AECV
Diaphragm U6/G4
Diaphragm U16/G10
Table 1. Maximum pressure drops for an individual dwelling with
appliances connected (LPG/air).
HEATING
close at let-by test pressure
(7 10 mbar) and will require
the reset mechanism to be
operated to release any trapped
pressure. The mechanism may
require resetting several times
in order to achieve a let-by
test pressure of between 7 and
10 mbar.
If the ECV or MIV is letting-by,
the gas supplier needs to
be notified.
For an operating pressure of
14 mbar, the tightness test
pressure is between 13 and
14 mbar. If the pressure rises
above 16 mbar, the pressure must
be reduced to 710 mbar to
release the locked-up regulator.
For an operating pressure
of 21 mbar, the tightness test
pressure is between 20 and
21 mbar. If the pressure rises
above 23 mbar, the pressure
must be reduced to 710 mbar
to release the locked-up
regulator.
The stabilisation period is
one minute. The tightness test
cannot proceed until a stable
gauge reading is obtained and
further stabilisation time may
be necessary.
On a new installation, or on
an existing installation with no
appliances connected, the criteria
for a successful tightness test is
no perceptible gauge movement
and no smell of gas.
On an existing installation with
appliances connected, allowable
pressure drops are given in
Table 1.
If the installation is new, or any
gasways are exposed to air, the
installation needs to be purged.
Pipework diameter Maximum pressure drop
<35 mm 1.5 mbar
<35 mm 1.5 mbar
<35 mm 0.5 mbar
63
 TECHNICAL
LPG
Tightness testing (previously
soundness testing) procedures
for LPG cylinder and small bulk
tank installations have been
significantly altered.
The pressure gauge is
connected to a pressure test
point in the pipework downstream
of the final stage regulator.
The valve used to admit fuel
into the installation needs to be
tested for let-by at a pressure of
7 to 10 mbar.
Any regulator upstream of this
valve (supply control valve)
needs to be activated.
If fitted, the UPSO on the outlet
of the supply control valve
will close at let-by test pressure
(7 to 10 mbar) and will require
the reset mechanism to be
operated to release any trapped
pressure. The mechanism may
require resetting several times
in order to achieve a let-by test
pressure of 7 to 10 mbar.
Let-by is now tested at 7 to
10 mbar for one minute.
Should the let-by test fail it
may be necessary to test
the cylinder supply control
valve with LDF. If the valve is
satisfactory, additional time
should be allowed until a stable
reading is obtained. It may
be difficult to achieve a stable
reading on an installation with
a small pipework volume or
if the pipework is exposed to
direct sunlight.
No attempt should be made
to dismantle pipework on a
bulk storage tank to check a
supply control valve for let-by.
If the operation of any valve is
suspect, the gas supplier needs
to be notified.
The pressure needs to be raised
to the tightness test pressure
for a stabilisation period of 1
minute. Tightness test pressures
are given in Table2.
The tightness test duration is
two minutes.
On a new installation, or on
an existing installation with
TO SUM UP
In view of the significant changes to the procedures, it is
suggested that before attempting tightness testing and
direct purging procedures in accordance with IGEM/UP/1B
Edition 3 that guidance is sought from the standard.
64 INSTALLER Nov/Dec 2012
no appliances connected,
the criteria for a successful
tightness test is no perceptible
gauge movement and no
smell of gas.
On an existing installation with
appliances connected, allowable
pressure drops are given in
Table 3.
Installation volumes may be
estimated using the methods
previously detailed in IGE/UP/1B
Edition 2 and now in IGEM/UP/1B
Edition 3 Appendix 7.
Following a successful
tightness test, all pipework and
control connections that have
been tightness tested between
the supply control valve and the
final stage regulator need to be
tested with LDF or a suitable gas
detector (properly calibrated for
the fuel).
The connections to be tested
operate at pressures up to 10 bar
and any escape may only be
detected when the installation
operates at elevated pressures.
Direct purging
There are minor safety detail
changes to purge procedures
for NG. Purge criteria for LPG/Air
and LPG are revised to fall in line
with NG procedures; however,
the characteristics of the various
fuels need to be considered.
Natural Gas
Installations with an IV of 0.02 m3
or under may be purged to
atmosphere. Any accumulation of
gas within confined spaces needs
to be avoided. The area in which
the purge is taking place must
not be left unattended.
Installations with an IV over
0.02 m3 and not more than
0.035 m3 need to be purged
through a cooking appliance
burner or a temporary burner
connected to the installation.
Installation volumes may be
estimated using the methods
previously detailed in IGE/UP/1B
Edition 2 and now in IGEM/
Tightness test pressure*
Installation Operating
type pressure
Propane Butane
Regulator in the 28 mbar 20 to 21 mbar
test section
30 mbar 28 to 29 mbar 28 to 29 mbar
37 mbar 30 to 31 mbar
No regulator in 28 mbar 27 to 28 mbar
the test section
30 mbar 29 to 30 mbar 29 to 30 mbar
37 mbar 36 to 37 mbar
* To avoid regulator lock-up, do not exceed TTP
Table 2. LPG tightness test pressures.
Installation volume Permissible pressure drop
< 0.0025m3 2.0 mbar
> 0.0025m3 and < 0.005m3 1.0 mbar
> 0.005m3 and < 0.01 m3 0.5 mbar
> 0.01 m3 and < 0.035m3 No perceptible movement
Table 3. Maximum permissible pressure drops for existing
LPG installations with appliances connected.
Installation type
PV
Meter Pipework diameter
U6, G4, E6 <28mm 0.01 m3
U6, G4, E6, U16 and G10 > 28mm <35mm 1.5 3 IV
Table 4. Purge volumes.
UP/1B Edition 3 Appendix 7. Purge detailing some of the risks
volumes are given in Table 4. involved in working on pipework
that contains fuel gas.
LPG/air mixtures If a blowlamp is to be used
The purge procedure is or there is a danger that the fuel
identical to that of NG except may be ignited on the section
that any purge gas must be it is important to test for tightness
ignited as soon as possible. to ensure that there is no let-by
Under no circumstances can into the installation. The gas
LPG/Air mixtures be vented to supply needs to be disconnected
atmosphere as the heavier-than- and any meter needs to be
air nature of this fuel causes the removed. Any open end needs
gas to accumulate at low levels. to be sealed with an appropriate
fitting. If necessary, the installation
LPG may be purged of fuel gas to
The purge procedure is identical air by means of the procedures
to that of NG except that any purge detailed in IGE/UP/1 or IGE/UP/1A.
gas must be ignited as soon as If an installation is to be
possible. Under no circumstances decommissioned, purging
can LPG be vented to atmosphere the pipework to air may be
as the heavier-than-air nature of considered. A U6, G4 or E6
this fuel causes the gas to meter need not be purged to
accumulate at low levels. air but needs to be capped on
permanent removal. Any meter
Safety precautions with a capacity larger than that
A new sub-section has been will require to be purged of fuel
added to the purging section when permanently removed.