EP #61 – How To Stay On Top Of Gas Regulation Changes w/ Terry Sawyer
📑 Table of Contents
TOC
📑 Table of Contents
Overview
If you’re not on social media, not reading Gas Safe updates, and only picking up regulation changes at your five-year ACS renewal, you might already be behind.
Terry Sawyer spent years as a Gas Safe inspector in East London and Essex before returning to the tools, and he saw firsthand how much can drift in that window.
In this episode he goes through the regulation changes that caught engineers out most consistently, why so many small updates go unnoticed, and why the new IGEM UP1B tightness test procedure is in a different category to everything that came before it.
Highlights
Terry’s background and what inspectors look for
- (2:04) – Terry’s years as a Gas Safe engineer and inspector, and going back on the tools.
- (11:09) – Why some inspectors put you under pressure, and others like Terry treat it as more of a training exercise (they’re open book).
- (15:56) – Why the tightness test sets the tone for the whole inspection.
- (17:21) – What can mimic let-by, like the sun warming an external gas pipe.
Why is IGEM/UP/1B Edition 4 the biggest change in a decade?
- (2:43) – How Edition 4 changes the way you deal with a gas leak.
- (13:49) – Isolating the appliance to find the leak is no longer optional.
- (14:37) – Warning customers upfront that a pipework leak means capping off the supply.
- (19:43) – Installation volume calculations will add time, and could affect what you charge.
The smaller changes that still catch engineers out
- (3:10) – Let-by test pressures are now a range, not one exact figure.
- (4:18) – Building regs misses like condensate pipes run into the overflow.
- (5:20) – Testing for let-by at the ECV, which older engineers were taught never to touch.
How do you keep up between ACS renewals?
- (7:16) – ACS renewal checks your standard; it isn’t designed to update you.
- (10:25) – Why “I didn’t know” won’t wash with a Gas Safe inspector.
- (12:56) – Reading Industry Standard Update 133 (Edition 2) during the changeover.