Gas Cooker Installation

• Freestanding gas cookers: A hob, oven and grill in one unit, sliding into a gap between kitchen units or standing on its own.
• Range cookers: Wider and much heavier, usually with two or more ovens and a larger hob. A range cooker can use more gas than the cooker it replaces, so we check that the existing pipe can supply it.
• Dual-fuel cookers: A gas hob with an electric oven. The gas side is connected like any gas cooker, and the oven needs a suitable electrical supply (see below).

Every cooker is set up for one type of gas. A cooker for natural gas must not be connected to LPG, or the other way round, unless it has been converted with the manufacturer's kit.

Yes. Connecting or disconnecting a gas cooker is gas work under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The law requires anyone doing gas work to be competent, and anyone doing it as part of a business must be on the Gas Safe Register. That is why many retailers' delivery teams will deliver a gas cooker but not connect it. The back of an engineer's Gas Safe ID card lists the types of gas work they are qualified for, which should include cookers.

• Bayonet connector: Most freestanding cookers connect to a bayonet point, a push-and-twist socket on the wall behind the cooker, which shuts off the gas automatically when the hose is removed.
• Flexible cooker hose: An approved hose of the right length, not stretched, kinked or trapped, and clear of hot surfaces. An old hose is not reused on a new cooker.
• Stability bracket or chain: A cooker on a flexible hose must be secured, so it cannot tip forward if weight is put on the open oven door, and so the hose is not strained when the cooker is pulled out. We fit the bracket or chain the manufacturer specifies.
• Clearances: The gaps to side walls, cupboards and anything above the hob, such as a cooker hood, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
• Ventilation: A kitchen with a gas cooker normally needs an openable window or similar, and a very small room may also need a permanent air vent.

Before the cooker is handed over, the engineer:

1. 1

   Tightness tests the gas installation before and after connection, to confirm there are no leaks.

2. 2

   Checks the gas pressure at the cooker and lights every burner, the oven and the grill, checking the flames burn correctly.

3. 3

   Tests the safety devices: flame supervision devices that cut the gas if a flame goes out.

4. 4

   Checks the stability device by gently tilting the cooker forward.

5. 5

   Shows you the controls and where to turn off the gas.

If a fault is found, the cooker is not left in use until it is put right. Landlords should make sure the new cooker is included in their next landlord gas safety certificate check.

Many gas cookers have electric ignition, a fan oven or a clock, and plug into a standard socket. A dual-fuel cooker or a range cooker with electric ovens usually needs its own cooker circuit with a cooker control switch, sized for the cooker's rating. If your kitchen does not have one, a new cooker circuit is installed and certified through one of the routes the building regulations allow, through our domestic electrical installation service. We check the rating before your cooker arrives.

• Like-for-like replacement: The old cooker is disconnected, the new one is connected to the existing bayonet point, then secured and tested.
• A new position: If the cooker is moving, or there is no gas point where you want it, a new gas pipe and bayonet point are needed first, through our gas plumbing service. During a kitchen renovation, the cooker point is planned with the layout.
• Removing a gas cooker: If you are switching to an electric cooker, the old gas cooker is disconnected and the gas point capped and tested.