A domestic registration, a bakery oven and a request to 'sign it off'
An RGII-registered installer whose registration covers domestic natural gas only is asked to service a bakery's 60 kW two-deck oven and 45 kW water heater before a busy weekend. The oven has just been connected by a general builder using 15 m of 22 mm copper run from the meter, with a soldered joint hidden in a ceiling void, no sleeve where it passes through a fire wall, and no isolation valve at the appliance. The builder tells the owner 'it only needs a certificate'. The data plate states 20 mbar, 60 kW. There is no previous service record, no installation documentation and no evidence that the pipework was tightness-tested or purged. The owner wants the installer to 'sign it off' and says another firm will not come until Monday. The installer's insurance covers domestic work only and their test equipment is a domestic gauge and a flue gas analyser.
1. Can the installer legally service or certify this installation? Explain the registration and scope issues.
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Registration is specific to gas type and work category. A domestic natural gas registration does not extend to commercial catering appliances or commercial pipework, even when the appliance is small. The 60 kW oven and 45 kW water heater are commercial appliances; the installation also includes a hidden joint, a fire-wall penetration and an unproven gas line. Servicing, commissioning or certifying that work would be outside the installer's scope and insurance.
The installer may make the situation safe, carry out a visual risk assessment and isolate the gas supply to the affected appliances at the meter or an upstream valve. They should not purge, commission, adjust or issue any completion documentation for the commercial installation. The correct route is to explain the limitation to the owner, isolate the unsafe appliances, record the condition on an unsafe-situation notice or report, and refer the work to an installer registered for commercial natural gas. If there is an immediate danger - gas escape, no tightness evidence, or products of combustion - the supply should remain isolated.
2. What should the installer do about the builder's pipework before leaving the site?
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The pipework cannot be accepted on the builder's word. A soldered joint hidden in a ceiling void is not accessible for inspection or testing and is unacceptable in that location without access. The fire-wall penetration must be sleeved and sealed to maintain fire resistance, and an appliance isolation valve is required. The installer should not rely on smell or a short bubble test.
The line should be isolated at the meter, the oven disconnected, and the pipework pressure-tested by a commercial-registered installer after the hidden joint is made accessible or the run is re-routed. The open-ended pipe should be capped. A combustion check and gas rate cannot be done until the supply is proven. The installer should leave a written warning at the meter and inform the owner in writing that the appliances must not be used. If gas is escaping, they should follow the emergency procedure: avoid switches, ventilate, isolate, evacuate and call the gas emergency service.
3. What records and notifications should be made, and what should the owner be told?
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Records should include the date and time, appliance details, the reason for rejection, the isolation point used, any photographs if permitted, and a copy of the unsafe-situation notice. The installer should not issue an RGII Declaration of Conformance or equivalent completion certificate for work they did not install or cannot competently commission.
The owner should be told in plain terms: the installation is not certified, must not be used, and a commercial-registered installer must make the pipework accessible, test and purge it, check combustion and ventilation, and issue the correct documentation. The installer should also consider notifying RGII of the unsafe installation and retaining a copy of the report. If the owner pressures them, the answer is that signing off outside scope is a false declaration and would invalidate insurance. A short written handover note protects both parties and gives the owner a clear route to compliance.