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If I Have an LPG Catering Certificate, Why Do I Need a £918 Gas Safety Kit?

by Julie
(Wolverhampton)

Navy twin-axle catering trailer serving a lunchtime queue at a busy Wolverhampton street market

Navy twin-axle catering trailer serving a lunchtime queue at a busy Wolverhampton street market

If I have a Lpg catering certificate. Why do I need a Quick safe mobile catering kit costing£918.84? . It doesn't seem right. Please help

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Nov 04, 2026
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by: MobCater

Julie, I can see why that figure stopped you in your tracks. Nearly £920 on top of what you have already spent feels wrong when you thought you were covered, so let's untangle it.

The first thing I would check is which certificate you actually hold. A lot of people have an LPG training or awareness certificate, which shows you know how to use propane safely and change a bottle. That certificate is about you. A gas safety certificate is different. It is issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer after they have inspected and tested the installation in your unit, meaning the pipework, hoses, regulator, appliances and ventilation. Event organisers and councils usually want to see that one, and it needs renewing every year.

So the question to ask whoever quoted you is simple: what is the kit for, and is it fixing something the engineer found? If an engineer has inspected your unit and recorded a defect, for example appliances without flame failure devices, no proper isolation valve, hoses past their best or poor ventilation, then the unit will not pass until that is put right, and a parts kit can be a sensible way to do it. In that case ask for the defect report in writing, so you know exactly what failed and why.

If nobody has found a fault and someone is simply selling you a kit, you are within your rights to say no thank you. There is no law that says a mobile caterer must buy a particular branded safety pack. What the law says, under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, is that your installation must be safe and that any gas work is done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. How that is achieved depends on what is actually fitted to your unit.

My advice is to get the quote broken down item by item, then ring a second Gas Safe engineer who works on catering units and ask for their view and a price. You can check any engineer's registration, and the type of work they are qualified to do, at gassaferegister.co.uk. LPG in mobile catering is its own category, so make sure it is on their card. When I was starting out I learned that a second opinion costs far less than a mistake either way.

Please do not be tempted to fit any parts yourself to save money. If the work is needed, the engineer has to do it and then sign the unit off.

Good luck with it

David

Disclaimer: Gas installation and maintenance must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Never attempt gas work yourself. Check gassaferegister.co.uk for qualified engineers in your area.

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