Propane or Natural Gas-fuelled Hearth Products : NS Labour and Advanced Education, Fuel Safety

Fuel Safety Bulletin 2003-02

Issued: January 20, 2003

Subject: Installation of Propane or Natural Gas-fuelled Hearth Products (Fireplaces, inserts and stoves)

Meetings between the Atlantic Wood Energy Technicians Association and this Office, in mid 1995, resulted in an agreement. This agreement addressed the partial installation of propane-fuelled hearth products by personnel not holding a valid Gas Fitter certificate, as required by the Fuel Safety Regulations. Recent problems in the field have made it necessary for us to revisit this agreement. The revised version of the agreement is as follows. The original agreement dated August 23, 1995 is cancelled as of this date.

Unless you are notified at a later date by this Office, we are presently willing to accept the following;

  1. The appliance may be set in place by a W.E.T.T. (Wood Energy Technical Training) certified technician. Care should be taken on inserts, as an installed insert may have to be removed, if the venting system is hidden.
  2. Only an exposed, gravity vented, Type "B" gas vent system may be installed by a WETT certified technician. This vent system must remain open to inspection by the Gas Fitter, in its entirety. Direct vent or sealed combustion vent systems (two concentric pipes) shall not be installed by WETT certified technicians.
  3. A WETT certification does not entitle one to do any gas work of any kind. One may not run gas lines nor do service work on gas-fired equipment with only this certification.
  4. The WETT certified technician shall provide his certificate number to the Gas Fitter responsible for the installation.

Should there be any questions regarding these changes, please contact me at our Halifax office. Our phone number here is 424-5721 or 1-800-559-3473. Our Fax number is 902-424-3239. My e-mail address is: stewardc@gov.ns.ca

Sincerely,

Dale C. Stewart
Chief Inspector - Fuel Safety