gas heaters inside ?

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jon_d
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by jon_d »

Bruce,

Yes under the national standards, you do.

Any motor home that is registered properly as a motor home will need the certificates. This was my point about the national registration standards; transferring a registered motorhome or being required to get a road worthy certificate in the future will need the supporting documents.

The RWC tester will ask for the certificates from the engineer as will the registration dept.


https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accredit ... ion-manual

https://www.nhvr.gov.au/files/202002-08 ... ervans.pdf
15.1 Section j

Reasons for rejection.
Where gas appliances are fitted, there is no installation compliance certification for the vehicle supplied by a licensed gas installer.


Same with electricity.

15.1 section k

Where mains wiring is fitted, there is no electrical safety certificate showing compliance with Australian/New
Zealand Standard AS/NZS 3001 Electrical installations – Transportable structures and vehicles including their site
supplies Note: Typically compliance certificates or labels can be found in the electrical switchbox, in the owner’s manual
or glovebox.



I had to get the gas /power certificate which requires the plumber to inspect and then registers the installation with the gas dept. Then, the engineer sights it and does his ventilation calculations and issues a VASS compliance. (aka the blue sticker). Then, the RWC people and rego mob register it and change the details from a bus to a motorhome.

Same with power but little different.... it might be a little easier if it's not connected to mains.
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Dot
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by Dot »

Thank you Mr Chimer :lol: :lol:
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BernieQ2
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by BernieQ2 »

When I was building both the Leyland and the Isuzu.. the gas stoves were bought from caravan supplies one in Maryborough one in Bundy..both came with extra gas jets... natural gas and bottled gas..
Had to change both they both had the natural gas jets fitted...
Bernie
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T1 Terry
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by T1 Terry »

jon_d wrote: Wed Apr 01, 2020 7:17 pm Hold on....

A gas cooker in a motor home needs a gas compliance certificate signed off by an engineer. The engineer will check for correct ventilation which is permanently open. (ie cannot be closed)

My engineer did volume calculations and vent sizes to ensure the bus would circulate enough air.

This is very different from 'remembering' to open a window.
The problem comes when the perfect air flow as the engineer assumed isn't the case. Say a bedroom window is open and the wind in blowing in through the door vent. The carbon monoxide will flow toward the open bedroom window and slowly poison all the air between the bedroom and the stove. Then the bedroom window is closed, nothing will take that contaminated air out of the bedroom or the area between the stove and bedroom.
The next issue, carbon monoxide is not lighter than air, so why would it flow to the 4 seasons hatch just because it has a flap that can't be sealed? LPG in any form is heavier than air so it will settle to the lowest point, usually the stairwell, but where do they put the vent, in the door towards the bottom of the stairwell ..... I had to do all sorts of scenario tests to get my Automotive LPG installers certificate, yet a gas fitter doesn't seem to have to do the same tests when installing a gas stove in an RV. If they did they would never install one unless the rangehood started up as soon as the stove top was lifted and ran for 30 mins after it was closed. The rangehood would be sealed except for an outlet through the roof to a turbine type or some other such exit that would not allow wind or airflow to come back down the exit pipe yet a natural air flow would always be present.

As far as jetting, it can be jetted and air adjusted for Natural gas (Methane) Propane gas or Butane gas, but it can't be jetted for a mix of butane and propane and any other garbage that was mixed with the bottle fill.

T1 Terry

EDIT: Some may remember another gas being available in some of the larger cities, coke oven gas, when natural gas was connected to the system all the appliances had to be rejetted and air adjusted to suit natural gas, yet this was done while the coke oven gas was still being supplied ... so how were they testing if they had the air adjustment correct?
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T1 Terry
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by T1 Terry »

Those from the old CMCA forum may remember a certain converted bus owner who argued about the gas hot water heater being mounted inside the motorhome because his gas fitted had just given it a certificate of compliance ...... yet gas heaters of any type that rely on the air from inside the house (or motorhome or house boat etc) being used for the oxidiser for the flame had been banned for yrs even back then :roll:

T1 Terry
A person may fail many times, they only become a failure when they blame someone else John Burrows
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Grandad
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by Grandad »

T1 Terry wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:24 am LPG in any form is heavier than air so it will settle to the lowest point, usually the stairwell, but where do they put the vent, in the door towards the bottom of the stairwell .....
I've read that sentence 4 or 5 times now and I still can't pick up where you're coming from here.

Wouldn't that be the logical place for the vent as LPG should theoretically flow down into the stair well and then out the vent to the outside.

What have I missed?

Jim
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T1 Terry
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by T1 Terry »

The airflow ventilation design is for the air to enter at the lowest point and exit at the highest point, the 4 seasons hatch, this is to vent the carbon monoxide and other poisonous gasses. The problem is, the LPG that has settled in the stairwell gets stirred up and back into the space that fills the RV. Now, each time a cupboard or draw is opened, the mixed air enters and the concentrated LPG that has settled to the bottom of the cupboard escapes ... well in theory, it actually makes its way into the cavity that lazy RV installers use so they can fit a ready made cupboard and just put a skirt on the bottom to hide the gap. Not really a problem until you think about the way many RV manufacturers run their cable bundles in the space and that opens through to the electrical enclosure.
As far as an LPG installer for vehicle use, that is an absolute no go zone, it must be contained within an enclosure and open to the lowest point outside the vehicle with no "valleys" that can form in that path outside where concentrated LPG can pool. Creating that valley and the ducting it to the electrical enclosure ..... you would have your licence immediately cancelled and your file marked accordingly.

T1 Terry
A person may fail many times, they only become a failure when they blame someone else John Burrows
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Greynomad
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Re: gas heaters inside ?

Post by Greynomad »

Our Winnie has the vent in the side panel at the bottom step, although the bottom of the vent is about 3” above the step tread, leaving an area about 18” x 8” for the LPG to accumulate.
Door is solid — no vent panel — so no circulation of air to stir it up.
In our 10 years of ownership we have never had any gas leak.
Fridge gas plumbing is fully isolated from the interior, vented only to outside. (Rubber grommets on inlet pipe & electrical wiring.)
Regards & God bless,
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