22mm gas fittings in Africa!!

[vincentvtwin]

Hi,
Some advice needed, I have a portakabin that is in Africa but has just been built in Hungary by a Canadian company, still following. The kitchen has the gas bottles inside and I want to move them outside by extending the 22mm copper pipe through the wall, the fittings are crimped type and the crimp machine is very expensive,(£500) are compression type fittings used on gas pipes in the UK? No point in asking local people I have seen the work.

Regards,
Vincentvtwin.

 

[PTH]

Yes, you can use compression fittings on gas as long as the joints are accessible. Some of the crimped pipework does not conform to standandard dimensions so you will have to check the fittings for a good fit. You may find that 3/4" fittings are better than 22mm. Be careful that the bipework is well bracketed so that the movement of the cabin and bottle changing do not put too much stress on the joints.

C Series?

 

[Agile]

Africa is a very large place! Regulations vary in different countries.

It would be VERY unusual to have used 22 mm tube for an LPG supply!

Compression fittings, if accessible, are acceptable for natural gas in the UK but NOT for LPG in all situations.

Tony Glazier

 

[bripl]

do not do much lpg then agile 22mm is very common on low and medium pressure also common in houses when the tank is remote if the supply is sized correctly.

 

[PTH]

I'd rather rely on compression fittings than the bundy tube, hose pipe and jubilee clips as I've seen in many LPG installations on caravans and site huts!

Nothing odd about 22mm LPG - I know that the calorific value is higher at 96 MJ/m3 and that for propane the usual regulator pressure is 36mbar (or is that butane). In theory it would be the same as a 28mm for natural gas but with higher pressure loss acceptable.

LPG pipework tends to be oversized simply because the regulator (and the evaporation rate from the liquid surface in the bottle) needs time to react to a changing flow rate, so the volume stored in the pipework can act a bit of a cushion.

The places where compression fittings and other mechanical joints shouldn't be used are exactly the same as they would be for natural gas, except that they shouldn't be used in cellars because the gas is heavier than air.

 

[Agile]

Although I am not registered for LPG I do go to a few installations to deal with non gas aspects and also see installations at friends and on boats etc.

The installation originally mentioned was in Africa where central heating is very uncommon. My house in Lagos has a/c but no heating! Most of the time the daytime temperature is around 31-34*C

It was also described as a "site hut". I envisaged that as the usual container size with a simple cooker, perhaps a small water heater and an orange cylinder just next to it on the outside.

Tony

 

[vincentvtwin]

Africa is a very large place! Regulations vary in different countries.

It would be VERY unusual to have used 22 mm tube for an LPG supply!

Compression fittings, if accessible, are acceptable for natural gas in the UK but NOT for LPG in all situations.

Tony Glazier

Updated info - 4 gas bottles are manifolded into 22mm copper which run to 2 large stoves (hobs and ovens) I will only have one extra fitting inside the building all the others will be in the open air, if I cannot use compression type fittings is my only alternative to buy the crimp machine.
Regards,
Vincentvtwin.

 

[bripl]

you may have to remove the crimp fittings to comply with uk legislation but using compression should be alright but i personally would solder all joints

 

[ollski]

I'm desperately searching for the written word on compression fittings on LPG, I'm not sure at all that they are not allowed.

 

[bripl]

compression are ok this is an exctrate from the domestic lpg hand book
"compression joints should only be used where they are readily accessessible allowing the joint to be easily tightened.this type of joint is not permitted where the pipe is to be buried or concealed within the structure of the building."
another exctrate
"compression joints are suitable for gas,but their use is prohibited where the joint is not accessible.the joint should be made so that the copper pipe enters the fitting to the correct depth"

 

[Agile]

Vincent, simple question but getting the answer is not proving that easy! What country is it ???

What is this portacabin to be used for ???

With two "large stoves" I am left wondering if its to be some form of catering establishment.

If it was in the UK then commercial catering regulations would apply.

On the other hand if you are making fou-fou or mealemaize then there may not be that many regulations involved.

Why not enlighten us ???

Nkosi Sikelel'l Afrika

Tony