Gas safety cut off.

[jimmyg352]

Our Swift has a gas safety cutout integrated with the hob glass lid & I imagine a few caravans/MH's also do. Our previous 2 CV's didn't & to be honest It's a right pain especially when you just want to use the oven & not the hob as It leaves less space to put plates/whatever. Obviously It's so you can't ignite a gas ring when the lid's down, or so I'd imagine.
So my question is....is this a current legal requirement or is it something that just Swift do?

 

[otherclive]

Our Swift has a gas safety cutout integrated with the hob glass lid & I imagine a few caravans/MH's also do. Our previous 2 CV's didn't & to be honest It's a right pain especially when you just want to use the oven & not the hob as It leaves less space to put plates/whatever. Obviously It's so you can't ignite a gas ring when the lid's down, or so I'd imagine.
So my question is....is this a current legal requirement or is it something that just Swift do?

Think you will find it’s a requirement of gas regulations. Our domestic cooker hob does the same.

 

[Jcloughie]

I feel sure that our last caravan would allow the use of the oven with the glass lid closed. But not positive.

John

 

[jimmyg352]

Think you will find it’s a requirement of gas regulations. Our domestic cooker hob does the same.

Which is confusing as ours has a sticker on the lid but lots of newer vans we've looked it in dealers don't. Maybe people just take these off.

 

[Buckman]

I feel sure that our last caravan would allow the use of the oven with the glass lid closed. But not positive.

John

Our Lunar Delta would not allow that plus we were told that there could be a possibility of the glass shattering due to the heat from the oven.

 

[JTQ]

Our Lunar Delta would not allow that plus we were told that there could be a possibility of the glass shattering due to the heat from the oven.

With the compact configuration of hob integrated onto the oven unit build, that seems a very sensible reason.
By the nature of oven cooking, that is being on for quite a long duration, so potential for heating up the hob/lid.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Whether a lid activated gas cut out is required is dependant on the design of the appliance and the the use to which it is put. the need is driven by safety concerns such as glass lids shattering. Regulations have changed over time, so the fact that older caravans/motor homes, boats or even domestic appliances may not have a cut off valve is irrelevant as often changes to such regulations are not retrospective.

It would be a criminal act under health and safety legislation to disable or remove a cut off valve.

 

[Buckman]

It would be a criminal act under health and safety legislation to disable or remove a cut off valve.

Although I agree with the above, if it is your own and in a touring caravan would they be able to prosecute you?

 

[Jcloughie]

Our Lunar Delta would not allow that plus we were told that there could be a possibility of the glass shattering due to the heat from the oven.

Still not positive if ours would allow the use of the oven with the lid closed. But my memory is it would. But the oven did have a powerful, thermostatically controlled cooling fan.

Looking on line it is inconclusive. Perhaps it is manufacturer dependant.

John

 

[Buckman]

Still not positive if ours would allow the use of the oven with the lid closed. But my memory is it would. But the oven did have a powerful, thermostatically controlled cooling fan.

Looking on line it is inconclusive. Perhaps it is manufacturer dependant.

John

We also had the cooling fan, but that only kicked in after you finished cooking. We used to wait until it finished before closing the lid. Apparently if the glass is heated unevenly this is what causes it to crack.

 

[Hutch]

We also had the cooling fan, but that only kicked in after you finished cooking. We used to wait until it finished before closing the lid. Apparently if the glass is heated unevenly this is what causes it to crack.

Our fan operates when the oven or grill is being used, during cooking and after. Coachman 560/4 VIP 2013

 

[ProfJohnL]

Although I agree with the above, if it is your own and in a touring caravan would they be able to prosecute you?

I assume you are suggesting that it's alright to disable a gas safety feature if it is unlikely to be detected?

Why do you want to disable a safety feature?

The ability for it to be detected is irrelevant unless you are deliberately interested in committing a criminal act. yet alone lowering your appliance safety and risking you and your families' safety.

I'm not going to debate the risk of detection.

 

[JTQ]

I thought the question related to checking if it is a "criminal" act if done by the user owner?
Though hard to see anything but really negative reasons why you might do it, but that did not seem the question as I read it.

 

[Buckman]

I assume you are suggesting that it's alright to disable a gas safety feature if it is unlikely to be detected?

Why do you want to disable a safety feature?

The ability for it to be detected is irrelevant unless you are deliberately interested in committing a criminal act. yet alone lowering your appliance safety and risking you and your families' safety.

I'm not going to debate the risk of detection.

That is not what I asked and at no time did I suggest disabling the gas safety feature. I asked a simple and not a complex question.

 

[jimmyg352]

I wonder if I should've even asked the question, that's if anyone can even remember what it was.
I don't intend to disconnect any safety features but I ask myself 2 things. If the cut out is simply to stop the glass lid cracking while the oven (only) is on, why don't manufacturers use a more heat resistant material?
Secondly, If that isn't the reason why don't they just have the cut out operative only when the lid is down?
(Even when our oven has been on the area around the gas rings certainly isn't anywhere near hot, barely warm in fact)

 

[Jcloughie]

I wonder if I should've even asked the question, that's if anyone can even remember what it was.
I don't intend to disconnect any safety features but I ask myself 2 things. If the cut out is simply to stop the glass lid cracking while the oven (only) is on, why don't manufacturers use a more heat resistant material?
Secondly, If that isn't the reason why don't they just have the cut out operative only when the lid is down?
(Even when our oven has been on the area around the gas rings certainly isn't anywhere near hot, barely warm in fact)

I agree that even with the oven on high, the glass does not get that hot. As I said earlier, my memory says the oven in our last van did allow using the oven with the lid down.

I expect the reason is cost. Placing the cut-off solenoid on the gas input is probably easier, therefore cheaper than just on the rings.

Normally, the gas pipe feeds all the gas valves. So one solenoid on the input is all that is needed.

John

 

[Buckman]

I do wonder if the cut off is tested during a service? Apparently t is not the amount of the heat, but where one part of the glass gets heated more than the other part that causes it to crack. We always lift the glass if using the over.

 

[Mel]

I wonder if I should've even asked the question, that's if anyone can even remember what it was.
I don't intend to disconnect any safety features but I ask myself 2 things. If the cut out is simply to stop the glass lid cracking while the oven (only) is on, why don't manufacturers use a more heat resistant material?
Secondly, If that isn't the reason why don't they just have the cut out operative only when the lid is down?
(Even when our oven has been on the area around the gas rings certainly isn't anywhere near hot, barely warm in fact)

In the words of ABBA …. Money, Money, Money.
Mel

 

[JTQ]

In the words of ABBA …. Money, Money, Money.
Mel

If they don't take costs out at the point of design, it never can be at the point of sale, not that the opposite holds by any means.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I wonder if I should've even asked the question, that's if anyone can even remember what it was.
I don't intend to disconnect any safety features but I ask myself 2 things. If the cut out is simply to stop the glass lid cracking while the oven (only) is on, why don't manufacturers use a more heat resistant material?
Secondly, If that isn't the reason why don't they just have the cut out operative only when the lid is down?
(Even when our oven has been on the area around the gas rings certainly isn't anywhere near hot, barely warm in fact)

I refer you to my answer in #7.

Whether a gas interlock cut off is needed depends on the design of the installation. Whether its the appliance manufacturers duty or the installer (caravan manufacturers) duty to fit such a cut off depends on the choice of appliance and the installation. as for choice of materials that will be down to the party that designs the installation in consultation with the relevant regulations.

From a kitchen perspective, a glass lid is a hygienic choice, its easy to clean but it also has a greater risk of shattering, but in this application it also has to cope with heat, which limits the type of glass that can be used. So it's a restricted choice of materials that might be suitable.

Hobs are not always integril with the oven, so again the choices of how the interlock will work will be driven by the type of installation designed by the caravan manufacturer.

 

[Dustydog]

My Bailey is fitted with the Spinflo hob and oven .
I’ve just tested it.

You can close the hob lid and the burner does not go out.

You can light and use the oven with the hob lid open or closed.

The hob and oven are on two totally separate gas lines each controlled with its own isolating tap.
And for the record the entire system was serviced and checked over last February by my local AWS engineer.
Clearly no two caravans are the same so I doubt there is a one fit all solution.

 

[Jcloughie]

My Bailey is fitted with the Spinflo hob and oven .
I’ve just tested it.

You can close the hob lid and the burner does not go out.

You can light and use the oven with the hob lid open or closed.

The hob and oven are on two totally separate gas lines each controlled with its own isolating tap.
And for the record the entire system was serviced and checked over last February by my local AWS engineer.
Clearly no two caravans are the same so I doubt there is a one fit all solution.

It might simply be a regulation change after a certain date that was not retrospective. I did a search but no successful. However I found this which might by informative.


John

 

[JTQ]

Concerning that these tests are being made, which in our case would be in direct contradiction to the warning label on it.