Whats the minimum distance that a gas pipe can be from electric mains cable?

[Nas]

As the title says whats a the minimum distance that a gas pipe can be from any electric cable?
Also, does any one know which regulation number specifes the distance. I just recentley done this in my ACS but my minds gone completly blank!!

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Gray0689]

It's 25mm from an elec cable and 125mm from likes of a meter box
Can't remember regulation sorry

 

[kirkgas]

it is 25mm from a cable and 150mm from any electrical switch, it comes from BS6891 (pipework) these are preferred distances but it is acceptable to have them closer if you cover the area within the dimension with an electrically insulated material, (ie pvc insultating tape)

 

[dontknowitall]

What on earth is this rule for? (I only do oil, not gas, so please don't slam me!!) Is it to do with arcing? (c prounounced K!!)

I appreciate that electricity can ignite gas but it can do this to oil vapours as well and there's no rule covering that as far as I know. And surely gas is to be kept within pipes and not leak, hence all the other tests?

 

[kirkgas]

What on earth is this rule for? (I only do oil, not gas, so please don't slam me!!) Is it to do with arcing? (c prounounced K!!)

I appreciate that electricity can ignite gas but it can do this to oil vapours as well and there's no rule covering that as far as I know. And surely gas is to be kept within pipes and not leak, hence all the other tests?

TBH i cant say for certain, but i have always assumed it was for arcing and causing a burn hole in the pipe, but it was discussed recently onn here (i think) and i was given pelters for suggesting a spark could jump 150mm (thats a tiny electrical spark generated by electricity, not a big fat hairy arsed electrician, cause we all know they could never jump 150mm)

 

[dontknowitall]

With that answer then my guess is so that someone in health and safety could justify keeping his £54,000 job for thinking up another invaluable rule.

 

[pmac10]

im a maintenance electrician and cant for the life of me ever remember anything in our big red book (BS7671) regards minimum distance from gas pipes, or oil pipes for that matter in OFTEC standards, as long as all pipework is correctly bonded there should be no big sparks leaping anywhere, human or otherwise.

 

[CMairiD]

BS 6400-1 (Meters) also gives the distances.

 

[stevetheplumber]

With that answer then my guess is so that someone in health and safety could justify keeping his £54,000 job for thinking up another invaluable rule.

i quite agree with the above statement obviously this rule dosesnt apply to boiler manufactureres as most combis have wires all over the place most have two joined to the gas valve

 

[dontknowitall]

!!!!!

 

[GPSNewcastle]

The more silly rules they give us to follow, the more people are in a job checking we are following them. I tend to spend less of my time questioning them now and just make sure I can tick every box in the standards...coz once you start digging into things you soon find you have wasted a few hours of your life and just gone with what you would have initially anyway

 

[ISM]

25mm if this can't be achieved it has to be in truncing

 

[k13wjd]

FYI, given rule in atmosphere is a million volts a meter, or 1000v per MM,10kv per cm. a rule which i have proven with 500kv, with a jacobs ladder from 30cm to 80 cm....we managed 48cm !

240v will stuggle to "jump" unless you give it something worthwhile, like a nice solid earth, or a opposing EMF.

likely outcome from a cable leaning on a gas pipe is the pipe becoming live, if the pipe is earthed, then a chaffed live/neut would trip any rcd/ trip any small current device.

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm!

Problem is many older properties are not guarded by RCD's.

I have been on meter jobs and watched arcing jump quite a long way. I know an EMF in a cable does have an outer field pattern but whether this extends to 25mm I have no idea.
I suppose gas travelling in a pipe could perhaps build up some kind of kinetic energy along the walls of the pipe and possibly the emf field could interact with it somehow making for a spark.

But hey I am retired now and don't have to work all this kind of stuff out!!!!

But if you find out let us know.

 

[gbgas001]

240v will stuggle to "jump" unless you give it something worthwhile, like a nice solid earth, or a opposing EMF.

likely outcome from a cable leaning on a gas pipe is the pipe becoming live, if the pipe is earthed, then a chaffed live/neut would trip any rcd/ trip any small current device.

Got to say a mouse sitting on a pipe chewing the PVC sleave of a cable creates a nice path for electricity, very achievable with 25mm rule. The earth should have tripped the fuse but instead I got an electric shock for my trouble.

The mouse must have had enough resistance in its little shriveled up body to stop a full blow out, but if the cable had been touching it may have been a different case for either me or the fuse.

Does the electro magnetic field have polerisation effect on the ions in the gas, turning them to long string molecules and possibly making the fuel burn better like the old clamp on magnets for you cars petrol line????

 

[k13 wjd]

"Does the electro magnetic field have polerisation effect on the ions in the gas, turning them to long string molecules and possibly making the fuel burn better like the old clamp on magnets for you cars petrol line????"

i have no idea, but what how much oxygen is there INSIDE a gas pipe ???