sailoppopotamus
Active member
I am in the process of updating my boat's LPG installation. There is a cooker in the galley. Copper pipe runs from the lazarette into the aft cabin, where the cooker shutoff valve is located (the cooker is on the other side of the bulkhead). I decided to replace the old shutoff valve which was showing signs of corrosion with a GOK stop valve.
It took me several hours to cut the old olive off the pipe, which I was proud to achieve with no damage to the pipe. I then installed the new valve. I did notice at the time that the instructions require the use of reinforcing sleeves when the compression fitting is used on copper pipe. Since these were not supplied with the valve, and the only place to source them in Greece seems to be through SVB (with the associated 2 week delay and 25 euro delivery charge), I went ahead and fitted the valve without them. I must admit I did not really follow GOK's instructions. I simply slid the compression olive on, hand tightened, and then tightened another 1 1/4 turn.
The system does not seem to leak. I tested with GOK's leak detection spray and the system pressurized to 70mbar. Yet, given the potential dangers of LPG, I'm worried that perhaps I've cut a corner here. On the other hand, the above point regarding the availability of the sleeves still applies, plus it means that I'll have to do the job all over again. Even if I again manage to not nick the pipe with my hacksaw, I'm worried that I won't be able to hammer in the reinforcing sleeve anyway given that the pipe is not new and in an awkward location.
Any opinions on how great a sin I've committed are welcome. I'd be grateful if we could skip the whole discussion about getting a certified professional to do this work -- to the best of my knowledge there is no such thing in Greece.
It took me several hours to cut the old olive off the pipe, which I was proud to achieve with no damage to the pipe. I then installed the new valve. I did notice at the time that the instructions require the use of reinforcing sleeves when the compression fitting is used on copper pipe. Since these were not supplied with the valve, and the only place to source them in Greece seems to be through SVB (with the associated 2 week delay and 25 euro delivery charge), I went ahead and fitted the valve without them. I must admit I did not really follow GOK's instructions. I simply slid the compression olive on, hand tightened, and then tightened another 1 1/4 turn.
The system does not seem to leak. I tested with GOK's leak detection spray and the system pressurized to 70mbar. Yet, given the potential dangers of LPG, I'm worried that perhaps I've cut a corner here. On the other hand, the above point regarding the availability of the sleeves still applies, plus it means that I'll have to do the job all over again. Even if I again manage to not nick the pipe with my hacksaw, I'm worried that I won't be able to hammer in the reinforcing sleeve anyway given that the pipe is not new and in an awkward location.
Any opinions on how great a sin I've committed are welcome. I'd be grateful if we could skip the whole discussion about getting a certified professional to do this work -- to the best of my knowledge there is no such thing in Greece.