gas engineer in 8 weeks!

[traineegasman]

Ladies & Gentlemen, I apologise for MR. Kevplumbs behaviour, & I hope this will not preclude myself from further interaction on this site. I look forward to further sensible discussions with like minded individuals & welcome any comments.

ChrisR, A JOY TO BEHOLD! a man with a sense of humour, I Like you, Goood man! xxxxxx p.s I`m not gay..

8 months! I trained for 8 months, I went to college for 5 years, I worked as a plumber for 10 YEARS, I was not talking about me! I was talking about people on the course who were taking a different course in their lives. I have been a plumber for 20 years, Was not talking about ME, Trained for 8 months to become a gas engineer, was just saying that you do not have to serve an apprenticeship to be a good tradesman.,

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10a

 

[ChrisR]

I'm confused. If you've done that lot why haven't you heard of a sine 18, and what did I say that was funny?
The 2 weeks to "do" gas wasn't a joke -that's how long it took. Ithink there were some gaps so I read a bit, went into the third week.

ANd you don't have to be unemployed - there's a Guild of Gas Fitters course which only takes a matter of days in the classroom, though written up practical stuff is needed to join corgi. The course finishes with ACS passes.

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sorry, please note 10a

 

[traineegasman]

ChrisR , sorry to confuse you but i was a plumber`s mate for a long time, were are you exactly? I know a s**tload about plumbing , not great on heating, why you wanna know?

still don`t know what a sine 18 is: must be a crap plumber, is it a strange boiler found in Torquay????????? Posh peope must know, ChrisR does, (bastard).....What?.... Oh God........I`m off.....bye..

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

I think these types of schemes must be very detrimental to the moral of time served plumbers and gas fitters, especially those who had to complete exam based C&G qualifications to start their carreer's in the 70's & 80's.

It's a great hypocracy that schemes to train competent politicians are never sponsored, and we sure are short of those.

I believe there are very few skill shortages in reality, only a shortage of skilled workers willing to work for fat cats looking to pay buttons.

Exactly, I filled someone elses pockets for 21 years before going on my own, unless something changes dramatically I wont be filling some suit and ties pockets again, it's bad enough filling corgi's coffers as it is.

 

[bripl]

you can be a pilot in less time but can you be a COMPETENT one in such a short time NO is the answer over 25 years doing gas/plumbing and still learning,i have had the misfortune of working with some of these fast track tradesmen[i use the term loosely].while SOME may do these courses and go on to be very good tradespersons the vast majority are only in it for the reported earnnings that are considerably exagerated by the media,as i have said before JUST BEING ON THE CORGI REGISTER DOES NOT MAKE A COMPETENT FITTER/ENGINEER it is a legal req to work on gas to earn a living,getting corgi reg is simple and straight forward as plenty of people on these forums have it but not the EXPERIENCE especially on older boilers like the model mentioned

 

[traineegasman]

The whole point of my first message was for people who have the skill & ability, but not neccesarily the experience that all the guys that contribute to this site have. I was just trying to say that there is hope for people who do want a change of direction at whatever stage they are in, career wise. I was only having a bit of a laugh with the regular guys like Kev & Chris, & even you PVM! I work with guys young enough to be my son,they are trained, experienced engineers, know a helluva lot more than me! Respect due, just don`t write people off because they are not as knowledgeable as you, experience comes with time no matter wether you are fifteen or fifty. Hope I didn`t ruffle too many feathers, great site, great advice, keep it up & many thanks!

 

[bobxx]

A friend of mine who is a plumber by trade aged 68
was told he had to employ a Corgi reg plumber to do a 5 min gas job
because of the new regulations. This was to prove that the work was done by a competent person to get a certification certificate.This was in his own home.He could have done the job himself but he was told it could invalidate his house insurance. He`so off to the dole to retrain for his bit of paper qualifation. 50 odd years experiance means nothing but still learning
how to be competent.It only takes 8 weeks.

 

[traineegasman]

Sorry, bripl, I have only just read your post, & have come to realise that you, like all `gas engineers` are a dying breed. The moment that the general public has access to a gauge, & somebody shows them how stupefyingly simple it is to test their own gas, we will be all out of a job. I show every customer I meet how to do it. Sorry fellahs but was paying a guy 40 quid to test gas until i found out how to place a bit of rubber on test nipple. Leak detection fluid followed, HAPPY DAYS.

Soz, bob xx, but why didn`t he do the job & not tell anybody? When he sells up, he can say that it was already done ,don`t see problem there son

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10a

 

[ChrisR]

To be gas safe you have to know how things work in principle and how to test and how to cap off! That doesn't take very long to learn.
I'm a newbie to the industry, so I try to absorb all I can. I'm getting help from more experienced folk all the time, though a bit less frequently than I used to, and some of them have started to call me.
Can never know enough. With the rash of new condenser boilers coming out, there will be a lot of people struggling a bit.

 

[croydoncorgi]

Have to remind you guys about the Last Man Standing principle.

If you're CORGI registered and you work on a gas installation and then it later goes bang, or people die from CO poisoning, it's YOUR fault, WHATEVER you were actually doing to the system, until the cause is identified.

Insurers and others (including Mr Plod) understand that CORGI registration and gas safety training are quite thorough (even if the basic principles are 'stupefyingly simple'). So they will not usually throw CORGIs into jail as a first step. Anyone else implicated in a gas problem (IMHO) SHOULD be thrown into jail until they're proved innocent! The law is quite clear and if people ignore it, that's their problem.

 

[ollski]

Sorry, bripl, I have only just read your post, & have come to realise that you, like all `gas engineers` are a dying breed. The moment that the general public has access to a gauge, & somebody shows them how stupefyingly simple it is to test their own gas, we will be all out of a job. I show every customer I meet how to do it. Sorry fellahs but was paying a guy 40 quid to test gas until i found out how to place a bit of rubber on test nipple. Leak detection fluid followed, HAPPY DAYS.

That is fine if the customer happens to have a manometer and a bottle of LDF. The problem arises when they don't do it properly on a meter in the house under the stairs which subsequently collects gas and explodes killing one occupant. You as the engineer who told them to do it themselves are fully responsible to the HSE. Don't do it.

 

[traineegasman]

Woah! frikkin` Woah DUDES! I AM NOT ADVOCATING that incompetent persons f**k around with gas. Please READ my original message. This is is getting out of hand. READ MY ORIGINAL POST! Luv yoo all xxxxxxx

In reply to ChrisR, .. you do not need to know how an appliance works to do a gas tightness test, unless you are checking the ffd. The whole `secret society` *******s that I have encountered with plumbers/heating `engineers` makes me sick, Whoops! I just said ffd! thats a secret word that only heating engineers would understand. If you have a gas appliance that you would like installed, simple: before you pick up the phone READ YOUR BROCHURE/ MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS! that`s all your engineer will do, especially if he`s come to service it. Know what the hell your installing before you even pick up the phone. Great words, Great advice, from a great guy, have to go now, my wife is licking my shoulders........oooh.... matron!.........

10a

 

[ChrisR]

That is not true ! !
Which part of a gas cooker is the biggest killer, and why?
What would happen if the bypass were blocked?
How soon should the flame failure device on the oven cut the gas off?
How do you measure the burner pressure on the hob?
How would you know if the hose was meant for LPG?

I could go on and on - none of that's in the MI.
You could learn it in under a minute. But if you can't be ar*ed to learn and someone dies as a result, you go to prison.

Ok, maybe you're a special case - twenty minutes?

 

[bripl]

tgm there are no secrets/closed shop,that i am aware of just lessons some easier than others you probably fell asleep at the safety ones or the ones that you need to know when correctly commissioning a gas appliance not all relevant information can be to hand when working on older appliances this is where experience and competence come into play

 

[doitall]

NO WAY! if you are dealing with people`s lives then it is not like passing your driving test & then forgetting about it. An apprentice gas engineer will be totally more aware of the safety factors involved than an engineer who has `done it for 30 years luv, never had an accident!`Blaze in a word, they have been there, done it, seen it Ask one, I`m sure you`ll be impressed.

Want to try your luck working for an old git for a day

I could teach you more in an hour than you learnt in the last year, but don't expect to get your kit out, you wont be using it, in fact I put money on you not seeing the day out.

Your still an amature and a dangerous one at that.