REGISTERED GAS ENGINEER | INDUSTRY STANDARD UPDATE
Industry Standard Update 101 Liquid Gas UK CoP 32 Date issued: 5 January 2021
This Industry Standard Update provides an overview of the recently published new Industry Standard Liquid Gas UK Code of Practice 32 2020 LPG systems in Leisure Accommodation Vehicles and Road Vehicles with Habitation – Post Delivery Inspection, Commissioning and Maintenance, and highlights areas of significant change that the publication has introduced.
Introduction During November 2020, Liquid Gas UK published a new code of practice, Code of Practice 32 2020 LPG systems in Leisure Accommodation Vehicles and Road Vehicles with Habitation – Post Delivery Inspection, Commissioning and Maintenance(1). The requirements of this standard come into effect immediately. To allow registered businesses time to carry out internal update training to reflect the technical requirements of the new standard, Gas Safe Register will inspect to the requirements of the standard from 1 April 2021. However, this should not restrict businesses from applying the specification sooner. The following is a brief overview of CoP 32. General After the publication of CoP 32, the intention is for BSI to withdraw both BS 5482–1(2) and BS 5482-2(3). The information contained in both guidance documents has been either superseded or withdrawn and is included in other codes of practice, including CoP 32. Section 1: Introduction, scope and references CoP 32 specifies the requirements for the post-delivery commissioning, inspection and testing of LPG installations that are not included in the scope of either BS 6891(4) or BS EN 1949(5), and where connection to external gas supply is provided and/or installation requires on-site commissioning. Guidance has been included to provide guidance on
maintaining appliances and installation pipework in a safe condition. CoP 32 includes details of a standardised procedure and check report, which should be followed by a competent person to check the safety of the gas installation. This section includes guidance on safe operation, the limitations of CoP 32, and regulations and the responsibility to implement them. Included in this section are two tables. Table 1 provides guidance on other standards that may apply where installations fall within the scope of CoP 32; Table 2 provides guidance on which standards apply where installations do not fall within the scope of CoP 32. Section 2: Installation of pipework regulator and safety devices This section provides guidance on the design and installation of service pipework and modifications. Service pipework is defined as the complete distribution pipework system from the LPG storage to the Emergency Control Valve (ECV) installed at each holiday caravan. Service pipework shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of Liquid Gas UK Code of Practice 22(6) and, where relevant, Liquid Gas UK Code of Practice 25(7). This section details the requirements for: • Installation of flexible pipework, hoses, tubing, assemblies and their connections • Emergency control valve(s) (ECV) • Holiday caravan connections
• Regulators • Holiday caravans, regulator location • Meter, regulator and safety devices. The following Figures are included in Section 2: Figure 1 Cylinder Installation, Standard Regulator Figure 2 Cylinder Installation, Automatic Changeover Figure 3 Bulk Vessel, 37mbar Supply Figure 4 Bulk Vessel, Property End Final Stage Regulator Figure 5a Proximity Distance for an Operating Pressure >75mbar Figure 5b Proximity Distance for an Operating Pressure >75mbar Figure 6 Proximity Distance for an Operating Pressure ≤75mbar Figure 1 Emergency Control Valve Label Table 3 provides the pressure characteristics of regulators and aligns with the guidance provided in BS 6891. Table 4 provides the minimum proximity distances for meter boxes and relief valve vent tips. Section 3: Commissioning This section details the requirements for: • Gas tightness testing and purging • Operating pressure • Maximum pipework pressure drop • Over-pressure and underpressure shut-off verification. The installation (ie, fixed LPG
tank, service pipework, installation pipework, regulators and hoses) shall be tested for gas tightness and purged in accordance with Liquid Gas UK Code of Practice 22 and for the fixed tank Appendix F. Installation pipework shall be tightness tested and purged in accordance with Liquid Gas UK Code of Practice 22 or IGEM UP 1B(8). Table 5 provides guidance on regulator operating pressures and safety devices settings, including vehicles designed to BS EN 1949. Operational set pressures for the limited relief valve, the UPSO and the OPSO are factory pre-set and tested by the manufacturer in accordance with the appropriate manufacture standard on specific test rigs. Functional on-site tests to confirm setting pressures for these controls is not normally practical unless specified by the manufacturer with a supporting testing procedure. It is only deemed necessary to test the functional operation of these controls if the control manufacturer provides a supporting procedure: in these situations, the controls should be tested in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions provided. Section 4: Maintenance This section of the Code of Practice covers the following topics: • Periodic inspection and maintenance • Periodic inspection and maintenance of fixed tanks used in touring caravan, motor caravan, trailer tents and
www.gassaferegister.co.uk 25
>
