New regulations for gas cookers in flats

[Le Chat]

My mother-in-law is about to move into a new flat. She went to buy a gas cooker and when she mentioned that it was for her flat, she was told that there was a new regulation which had come into effect on Jan 1st. Apparantly, this new law means that she has to buy a cooker with a 'cut off' (we presume that this is a timer) and at the moment there is only one company making these, which is Canon and their cookers are in excess of �600.
The lady in the showroom also said that it now against the law for a corgi registered fitter to install a gas cooker without this new device.
Does anyone know anything about this?
It applies to flats only, seemingly.

[Hawkwalk]

I think you need one with an FSD (Flame safety device) to comply with the new regulations for flats. One here for �189 but check with your gas fitter first to ensure it complies.

http://www.additionsdirect.co.uk/rf/add/naviga tion/product.do?categoryId=7077963&productPos= 50&catno=PD82115&groupId=447436002

[Hawkwalk]

good article here. The beko I have shown you may not be compliant but the retailers will know.

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/consumer/s tory/0,,2260932,00.html

[Velvetee]

That's interesting, I wasn't aware of this. I will probably have to buy a new cooker soon for the flat I rent out. Knowing this will save me alot of grief.

[persianlady]

I dont think it is anything to do with the cooker itself. I could be wrong but I think it has to do with the connection to the gas supply. I think you have to use a connecting device that has a shut off valve, so that if the appliance is disconnected there is no possibility of gas escaping.

[gucciman]

hi, i'm a corgi registered gas engineer.

as from jan 1st of this yr all gas cookers installed in a flat must have thermocouple protection fitted to EVERY burner. A thermcouple is a simple safety device which cuts off the gas supply in the event of the flame extinguishing.
we did have a customer recently who wanted a new cooker installed and when i contacted our supplier he told me that the cooker manufacturers would have no compliant cooker available until march, which is a bit crazy when the law came into effect in january.
as with most gas regulations they usually do not apply in retrospect, so if you have a flat with an old style cooker that was installed before jan of this yr then you won't have to swop if for the new type. but if you have a flat and want to install a new cooker then it must be the new type.
Cannons are excellent cookers, probably the best available these days, Don't know where you got a figure of �600 from as they start from around the �300 mark.
If you email cannon thru their website they will tell you the model name and codes of their new cookers with thermocouples.
hope that helps

[Le Chat]

Thankyou so much, all of you!

[mkd]

This article from the Guardian is pertinent:
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/consumer/s tory/0,,2260932,00.html

[gucciman]

oh i forgot to say, dont touch a beko, cheap crap !!

[subkhankul]

Hi!

I understand your frustration over the cooker. I am in absolutely identical situation at the moment. Ironically things did not change much since March. The only available suitable cooker (which is 60cm wide) is Canon Chesterfield - and - yes, it is still �600. The other one I considered was Indesit KD6G25, but it is almost just as expensive. Oh, yeah - and the third one is also Canon - C367GX. There are cheaper ones of course, but although their are compliant, the are all 50cm wide, as I am sure you had already found out.

The retailers were slow to catch up, so they are allowed to sell the uncompliant gas cookers for a bit longer. Many of them are still ignorant.

I wonder what you decided to do in the end. I am seriously considering buying a second-hand electric cooker, since electric ones are also very expensive new and since you end up paying more for the electricity then gas in the long run, you want to buy the electric one for as cheap as possible.

The whole state of things is extremely dissappointing. This new regulation made my life so much harder!

[deborahrea]

I just found out that the Derby Gas & Electric Showroom has gas eye level cookers that can be used in flats. However, they will cost about �400 to buy and install.