My grinder ate a gas pipe!

[Pat Ferrett]

Well, simple little grinding job today until I cleaned out the hole and gas started to pump out of a gash made buy the grinder .

 

Cleaned round the pipe and bound it up with tape, the owner phoned the gas board and after 20 minutes a chap turned up in a van with a clip board and asked for the company name and my signature .

He went back to his van and returned to say he would wait on site until the repair team turned up which should be within 4 hours .

 

The depth of the pipe was 175mm and im sure it should be 600mm, he said I'll receive a bill but saw me take picture and video and said to keep them and appeal.

 

Your thoughts please

[Rich2484]

There should be some tape over that with. Warning gas below. Written all over it. It should be 6 inches above the pipe for this very reason.

[Pat Ferrett]

Only if it was put in via a trench Rich but im most cases now the are moled.

[scraggs]

all services have a recommended depth and it is more than 175mm for a gas main iirc

There is plenty of info out on the net about it if you search.

I found out after I rotavated through a fibre optic cable at 50mm, they came out and repaired it FOC when it was mentioned what depth it should have been at.

[WorcsWuss]

Mate, that's nothing, I was informed today that the site where I want to put an astro pitch and sports hall has a ruddy great pipeline running under it, in places it's only 3 feet down. The last bloke that hit is was a farmer putting a fence up.... Apparently the crater was like Beirut!

It's the uk oil pipeline I'm told and runs from Stanlow refinery to Essex somewhere..... Need to be a bit careful when we start digging out the bank!!

[Rich2484]

Here you go this should answer any questions you are having. Knew I had it bookmarked somewhere.

 

Looks like you up a creak without a paddle mate. They cover themselves very well.

 

Pipelines: frequently asked questions - FAQs

[Gareth Dalzell]

There should be some tape over that with. Warning gas below. Written all over it. It should be 6 inches above the pipe for this very reason.

 

I know what you mean but in a lot of situations now the pipes are "moled" into sites so there is no chance of warning tape or any guarantee of depth anymore. We hit a 3phase electric cable once at 6" below ground level. Went of like a rocket, massive flash of flame shot up and the noise like a road compressor hose bursting.

[NoRush]

Denso tape. That sticky bandage / putty type stuff is what they used when i caught one with my digger. They was going to charge about £650 for the repair but when questioned about the lack of depth charge £250. still a ripoff. Still never found how deep it should have been

[t5pete]

all services have a recommended depth and it is more than 175mm for a gas main iirc

There is plenty of info out on the net about it if you search.

I found out after I rotavated through a fibre optic cable at 50mm, they came out and repaired it FOC when it was mentioned what depth it should have been at.

 

 

You have hit the nail on the head by the word "recommended" working for local council for many years we have done many installs and dig outs for repairs/new pipes we have asked the same question over and over again and they only reply you get is we recommend it to be at said depth but its not fixed in stone.

Also gas board have to attend the breakage within 4 hrs even if they dont fix it straight away

[Pat Ferrett]

Also gas board have to attend the breakage within 4 hrs even if they dont fix it straight away

 

Its a pee take that the chap was just going to site in his van reading the Sun for 4 hours when it could have been repaired by him in 10 minutes tops.