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We are having a new gas stove delivered and I consulted a gas fitter to get the old one disconnected (so the delivery people can take it away) and come fit the new one.

The gas fitter surprised me when he said I could disconnect it myself, as there is a safety valve built in that would cut off the flow automatically (should be multi pronged apparently) - but I would need someone to come connect the new appliance (I've checked the relevant NZ websites and I can confirm that a gas fitter is required to fit a new appliance, but cant find anything on the legalities of disconnecting an existing appliance).

The problem is, I'm not confident in identifying the valve to disconnect now I've pulled the stove out - I think I know which one it is, but I need someone to confirm it please.

This is the connection on the floor to the main gas supply:

Gas connection between stove and supply line at the floor

That connection looks like it can be twisted and disconnected without issue, so thats my likely candidate.

This is the actual connection at the stove, at the other end of that black pipe:

Connection at stove

Nothing there looks easy to disconnect, so I have no likely candidates there.

Am I right in thinking the safety valve is the one in the first picture at the main supply connection?

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    It looks similar to the wall / floor bayonets used in Australia for removable heaters.
    – Mr R
    Commented May 2, 2021 at 11:20
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    Perfectly sensible & safe design. Nice to see the UK's BS British Standard specifications being used around the world :) BS669 spec sheet [silly, silly price to download, free to see the overview]
    – Tetsujin
    Commented May 2, 2021 at 16:51
  • In Germany, it is legal to install user operable gas outlets. If something similar exists in NZ, it might be worth getting one -- you still need the gas fitter to install both the outlet and the hose on the appliance side, but you are allowed to disconnect and reconnect the outlet on your own.
    – Simon Richter
    Commented May 3, 2021 at 14:44

1 Answer 1

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With a little more research and a better photo of the floor connection, it turns out that the floor connection had the mark “BS669”, which means its a bayoneted valve that auto-seals on disconnection.

Took a deep breath, disconnected it and ... Im still here with no uncontrolled gas release. Valve did its job.

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    Great work for not-exploding! It might still pay to spray some soapy water on the valve and look for small bubbles, even just for piece of mind.
    – Criggie
    Commented May 2, 2021 at 19:38
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    @Criggie thanks for the advice, did that last night with no results - its been 12 hours now and there is zero gas smell in the room so I think I'm good until the fitter comes tomorrow to plumb the new one in!
    – Moo
    Commented May 2, 2021 at 21:06
  • Part of the reason for requiring professionals to fit gas appliances is that a gas leak is only one of the dangers, and obvious in any case if you can smell it. National standards vary, but in general a gas leak should be detectable by smell at around 20% of the minimum concentration to cause an explosion. Installing a device which is operating at the wrong gas pressure or flow rate, or is incorrectly ventilated, can be much more hazardous because of carbon monoxide poisoning, A professional gas installer will have the test equipment to check for CO emissions when the device is operating.
    – alephzero
    Commented May 3, 2021 at 1:38
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    @alephzero every country I have lived in has a legal requirement that new gas appliance installations are required to be fitted by a professional certified fitter - so I was shocked when researching this to find some western countries allowing you to do it yourself! Gas is one of the few things I get really really antsy around, so even this disconnection fired up the "thou shant touch gas" nervousness that I get from living in the UK etc.
    – Moo
    Commented May 3, 2021 at 1:50
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    @user253751 given the density with which the UK is populated, its less “protecting you from yourself” and more “making sure you dont blow up your row of houses”... Plenty of examples of leaky gas fittings causing explosions which level two or three properties in terraced housing.
    – Moo
    Commented May 3, 2021 at 9:53

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