Commercial or Domestic plumber required?

[Louise12345]

Hi
We are a commercial premises
Have been using the same plumber for years and very happy with his work but recently came to light he has a domestic ticket.
When questioned he said it was ok as all the boilers he works on are under 70kw?
He also says he does not touch the commercial catering or gas pipework.
I am not sure this is correct, it seems a grey area?
We are a very large Georgian Mansion and all these boilers are running commercial activities - providing the hot water and heating in our public and back of house areas.
Our boilers are:
Concord CXA50
Keston C55
Warm Air - Brink B-34D
Keston Heat55
Glow Worm Energy 25c
Vaillant Ecotec Plus 618

Thank you so much in advance
I have asked our insurance but they are sitting on the fence.

 

[Deleted member 120897]

Hello @Louise12345,

I hope this may be of some use to you?

 

[gmartine]

Your plumber is correct and it really isn't a grey area. It doesn't matter on the application it's the boiler size rating that matters in terms of defintion between commercial and domestic classification.

Just as say he'd be fine working on an under 70kw boiler supplying a hairdressers with hot water and heating.

 

[Last Plumber]

Looking at those appliances, you should have a commercial Gas meter?

His domestic ticket will cover him for up to and including U16 meters, up to 35mm pipework, up to 0.035 Meter cubed installation volume including the primary meter, amongst a few other things.

By the sounds of it, he isn't qualified and in my humble opinion shouldn't be working on commercial boilers which are connected to a commercial gas installation.

 

[Louise12345]

Your plumber is correct and it really isn't a grey area. It doesn't matter on the application it's the boiler size rating that matters in terms of defintion between commercial and domestic classification.

Just as say he'd be fine working on an under 70kw boiler supplying a hairdressers with hot water and heating.

Thank you

Our plumber himself and our insurers have said it is a grey area.
We are a large public building / commercial operation as opposed to a hairdresser or similar who arguably are the same sort of size as a domestic setting.

We have used our plumber for many years and would really rather not change but insurers and himself cannot confirm if there was a plumbing issue that his work would be covered so as much as we do not want to switch plumbers feeling like we have no option.
It all comes down to whether he is deemed competent or not to carry out the work which I can see could be argued both ways

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Easy way to remember he’s ok on the boilers unless the manufacturer lists them as commercial but if you ever have to claim through his Insurance it’s invalidated

He can’t touch the gas line due to out of scope

Might be worth a chat to see if he’s willing to get the commercial qualification

 

[Louise12345]

Looking at those appliances, you should have a commercial Gas meter?

His domestic ticket will cover him for up to and including U16 meters, up to 35mm pipework, up to 0.035 Meter cubed installation volume including the primary meter, amongst a few other things.

By the sounds of it, he isn't qualified and in my humble opinion shouldn't be working on commercial boilers which are connected to a commercial gas installation.

Looking at those appliances, you should have a commercial Gas meter?

His domestic ticket will cover him for up to and including U16 meters, up to 35mm pipework, up to 0.035 Meter cubed installation volume including the primary meter, amongst a few other things.

By the sounds of it, he isn't qualified and in my humble opinion shouldn't be working on commercial boilers which are connected to a commercial gas installation.

Thank you so much
It is not what we want to hear (we like our plumber!) but this is my suspicion too.
I am not sure if our meter is commercial but would think it must be- We are a large building with both public catering and private events, 50+ employees etc.

 

[Louise12345]

Easy way to remember he’s ok on the boilers unless the manufacturer lists them as commercial but if you ever have to claim through his Insurance it’s invalidated

He can’t touch the gas line due to out of scope

Might be worth a chat to see if he’s willing to get the commercial qualification

At least one is listed by the manufacturer as a commercial boiler
Does this mean he cannot work on this with his domestic ticket.
He definitely is not interested in getting his commercial qualification unfortunately

 

[Last Plumber]

At least one is listed by the manufacturer as a commercial boiler
Does this mean he cannot work on this with his domestic ticket.
He definitely is not interested in getting his commercial qualification unfortunately

I personally would say he can't work on the installation full stop, due to it being classed as commercial gas.
You could ask Gas Safe for their opinion. They are usually helpful.

He may be a very competent person and obviously knows the building and installation well so it is a shame if he can't continue. With him not having the qualifications required at present, he would need to complete those as well as a portfolio of commercial work so it isn't just a case of sitting exams.

If we are talking purely about gas, then I think we have covered it. If he is a qualified Plumber/Heating Engineer however, he is probably fine continuing with the work other than the gas related elements?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

At least one is listed by the manufacturer as a commercial boiler
Does this mean he cannot work on this with his domestic ticket.
He definitely is not interested in getting his commercial qualification unfortunately

Correct if manufacturers list the appliance as commercial then needs the commercial qualification hence why about 10 years ago a few manufacturers re listed a few models to large domestic because they were loosing sales

 

[Louise12345]

I personally would say he can't work on the installation full stop, due to it being classed as commercial gas.
You could ask Gas Safe for their opinion. They are usually helpful.

He may be a very competent person and obviously knows the building and installation well so it is a shame if he can't continue. With him not having the qualifications required at present, he would need to complete those as well as a portfolio of commercial work so it isn't just a case of sitting exams.

If we are talking purely about gas, then I think we have covered it. If he is a qualified Plumber/Heating Engineer however, he is probably fine continuing with the work other than the gas related elements?

Thank you so much
Really helpful and had not considered this. We can move the gas and boiler maintenance over to a commercial plumber and keep using our current plumber for any general maintenance on taps etc.
thank you so much everyone for your replies so unbelievably helpful and really appreciate you all taking the time to share your knowledge. (Google is a minefield I spent a good fews hours going in circles looking for the answer!)

 

[snowhead]

Contact for Gassafe enquiries,

[email protected]

 

[gmartine]

Shouldn't he be able to work on a domestic rated appliance even though it's on commercially rated supply though?

 

[king of pipes]

I'm a gas engineer who has held a commercial and domestic gas qualification and I am sorry to say in my opion your current engineer although he has proven himself competent over the years does not hold the relevent qualifications to work on a multiple boiler installation in a commercial premises. He would need to complete a change over course from domestic gas to commercial gas and the relevent qualifications for testing and purging commercial gas pipework and Meters , also his commercial public liability insurance needs to cover all the categories of work he carries out and be worded in the insurance policy documents. I would say at least £10 million pounds cover would be needed . Kop

 

[Timmy D]

I'm a gas engineer who has held a commercial and domestic gas qualification and I am sorry to say in my opion your current engineer although he has proven himself competent over the years does not hold the relevent qualifications to work on a multiple boiler installation in a commercial premises. He would need to complete a change over course from domestic gas to commercial gas and the relevent qualifications for testing and purging commercial gas pipework and Meters , also his commercial public liability insurance needs to cover all the categories of work he carries out and be worded in the insurance policy documents. I would say at least £10 million pounds cover would be needed . Kop

I agree. (I hold domestic, commercial and catering).