Massive HT Italia price reductions in our latest newsletter!

Plumb Center and Parts Center have launched 'Wise Up to CO', a new initiative to raise more awareness about the fatal effects of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

The initiative focuses on how installers can detect CO and prevent CO poisoning, as well as how to maintain the products which monitor it.

It is being run in partnership with Gas Safe Register, Testo, Honeywell, Anton, Fire Angel, TPI and Kane, and will take place in over 500 Plumb Center and Parts Center branches nationwide throughout March.

Tesco has announced that it is opening up its installer network to a wider list of approved Gas Safe engineers, following the launch of the Tesco Home Efficiency Service – a new gas boiler replacement and heating installation service.

Enact Energy, the Cornish-based firm that manages the service, has now launched an expression of interest for firms of heating engineers who wish to become part of this new nationwide service.

Take the lead in fast track testing with the Martindale HandyPat 500 PAT Tester - now only £278 + VAT at Test4Less!

Plus - FREE Label Starter Kit worth £120 while stocks last!

An unregistered gas engineer has been fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £800 costs for risking an explosion at a Cheltenham home

Christopher Clark pleaded guilty before magistrates to breaking gas safety laws when carrying out shoddy work between December 2010 and February last year whilst falsely claiming he was a registered installer.

Health & Safety Executive investigator Dominic Goacher said: "Mr Clark put the residents at Upper Norwood Street at grave risk of a gas explosion. Thanks to the residents' vigilance, this risk was averted, but it could easily have become a fatal incident."

After finishing the work, Clark promised to return to the house with paperwork, but when the resident noticed a gas leak and tried to contact him about the problem, he could not be reached.

Cheltenham Magistrates' Court heard that on the original occasion he had falsely claimed to be on the Gas Safe Register. In fact, his accreditation had run out in early 2010.

Source: hvpmag.co.uk

The government has launched its public consultation on Part P of the Building Regulations for England, which covers electrical safety in dwellings.

“We welcome the indication that the government is inclined to amend Part P, rather than remove it”, explained Phil Buckle, director general of the Electrical Safety Council (ESC). “However, we still have concerns regarding the extent and impact of proposed changes and we urge people to take part in this consultation”.

The public consultation offers three options for Part P: leaving it unchanged; revoking it; or revising it to reduce the costs and burdens it imposes. Proposed amendments include reducing the amount of smaller-scale work that is notifiable and allowing unregistered installers to employ competent third-party electricians to inspect and test their work.

Part P was introduced in 2005 to reduce the number of electrical accidents, deaths and fires in UK homes and improve working standards among domestic contractors. It is the only legal framework in England and Wales which protects the consumer from unsafe electrical work in the home. However, it has been criticised for its cost and the bureaucracy it imposes on contractors and building control bodies.

The UK’s biggest range of gas test equipment: all at low prices and delivered from stock.