Commercial Kitchen
Gas Safety in London
Gas interlocks installed, inspected and put right, commercial gas safety inspections and certificates, and catering appliances connected and certified, for restaurants, takeaways, hotels, clubs and nurseries across London and the surrounding areas. Gas Safe registered for commercial as well as domestic work, registration number 623092.
The interlock check, in
Ravinder Singh's words
The gas interlock is the emergency shut-off in a commercial kitchen. It is connected to the extraction fan, so when the extraction fan is not running it triggers an emergency shut-off and the gas supply to the appliances is shut off, and the gas only comes back on once the extraction is running again and everything has been reset. It is there for health and safety. Poisonous gases build up inside a commercial kitchen if the extraction is not running, so the interlock protects the people working in the kitchen and it protects the property as well.
When we are out in the field we see that many of the older kitchens do not have one, and in those cases we advise the client that it is best for health and safety, and to be in line with current regulations, to get one installed. We also see, in many cases, that an interlock has been installed and then bypassed, so it is not doing its job, and a bypassed interlock is illegal, it is a fail on a gas safety inspection, and it is dangerous. We often have to rectify these for clients, and it can be expensive. If you are fitting out a new kitchen, the interlock has to be part of the installation from the very beginning.
On one job we went into an older kitchen which had an extraction fan but no gas interlock. It was a cold day, and the people working in there had turned the extraction fan right down to keep the heat from the cooking appliances in the room, because they were cold. We turned the fan back up, explained the danger to them and then to the boss, and it was rectified: a gas interlock was installed, and the owner arranged alternative heating for the staff.
Watch
Gas interlock in a commercial kitchen: the interlock check
How a gas
interlock works
The extraction fan runs. A sensor, which is either a current monitor on the fan or an air pressure switch in the duct, proves it is actually moving air, not just switched on. The interlock panel holds the gas solenoid valve open only while that proof is there. Where the kitchen also has a mechanical supply fan bringing fresh air in, the interlock proves that fan as well, so the gas only runs while both the extraction and the supply air are working. If a fan stops, the valve closes and the gas to every appliance on the circuit stops with it, and after the fan is running again somebody has to press reset before the gas returns, which is deliberate. The emergency stop button by the kitchen door does the same job by hand.
What the
regulations say
The Health and Safety Executive's guidance for catering and hospitality (Catering Information Sheet 23) asks for an interlock between any mechanical ventilation system and the gas appliances, so that a failure of the ventilation shuts the gas off, and it states plainly that manual bypasses are not permitted. The design standard is BS 6173. The standard is not retrospective, so an older kitchen that was installed without one is not automatically unlawful, but the HSE's advice to the owner is to assess the risk and deal with it, and the maintenance duty in regulation 35 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 still applies to every appliance, flue and safety device on the premises. In practice an engineer who finds no interlock, or finds one that has been bypassed, records it on the inspection, and depending on what else they find the installation can be classed At Risk or Immediately Dangerous, which means the gas gets turned off. That was the position when last checked for this page and may be subject to change.
Domestic or commercial? The card check
When a kitchen has a commercial gas meter, commercial pipework or commercial appliances, a domestic gas engineer cannot work on it, in the same way an unqualified engineer cannot. A domestic meter can supply domestic appliances up to 65 kW; past that you are into a commercial meter, and the moment you have a commercial meter, commercial pipework or commercial appliances you need an engineer who is qualified for commercial installations, whether it is a new installation, servicing and maintenance or a gas safety inspection. Three things normally decide it: the gas meter, the pipe sizes and installation volume, and the appliances. Your 25 to 30 kW boiler is a domestic appliance; a 65, 100 or 120 kW boiler is commercial, and so is the range in a restaurant kitchen.
The check is on the back of the engineer's Gas Safe card, which has two columns, domestic and non-domestic, and it is the non-domestic column that lists what they can do in a commercial capacity, for example pipework, pipework commissioning, water heating, air heating and catering. Many engineers now carry a digital card, and you can look any registration number up at https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk before anybody touches your gas. Our registration is 623092 and it covers commercial as well as domestic work.
Watch
Commercial gas: the card check
Commercial kitchens,
installed, inspected and certified
Gas interlock installation
interlock panel, gas solenoid valve, proving of the extraction and any supply air fan, and the emergency stop, installed to BS 6173 and commissioned with the ventilation. Interlock inspection and rectification - testing an existing interlock, finding and removing bypasses, replacing failed valves and sensors, and bringing an older kitchen in line with current standards. Commercial gas safety inspections and certificates - the annual inspection of the appliances, pipework, ventilation and safety devices, with the interlock tested as part of it, and the certificate your insurer or your landlord may ask for. Catering appliance installation - ranges, fryers, grills and ovens connected on commercial pipework with the correct isolation, flexible connections and restraint, and commissioned. Commercial pipework and meters - new runs, upgrades and alterations sized for the appliances on the circuit, tested and purged. Breakdowns and repairs - on Natural Gas catering appliances and the gas supply to them, scheduled around service so the kitchen loses as little trade as possible.
From the first call
to the certificate
Call or message
tell us the premises, the appliances and what is worrying you, and whether the kitchen is trading. II. Site survey - we look at the meter, the pipework, the appliances, the extraction and whatever interlock is or is not there, and tell you what we find. III. Written quote - a clear scope and one price for the work, coordinated with your fit-out or your other trades where needed. IV. Installation, testing and certification - installed and commissioned, tested with the extraction, and the certificate issued and documented so you are compliant from the day we leave.
Get in Touch
Free, no-obligation quote
Common questions about
commercial kitchen gas
Is a gas interlock a legal requirement in a commercial kitchen?
My interlock has been bypassed. What happens at the inspection?
Can a domestic gas engineer work on a commercial kitchen?
Do you do commercial gas safety certificates for restaurants and takeaways?
Can you fit the interlock as part of a new kitchen fit-out?
Do you cover LPG?
A commercial kitchen in London that needs looking at?
Tell us the premises and what is in it. Interlocks, inspections, certificates and catering appliances, scheduled around your service.
Get a Quote07813 474638