Is there a plumbers trick for working out what is in a pipe?

[olfrog]

Thanks guys!

Well, i couldn't wait so yesterday before i got a reply i turned off everything and sliced the pipe. Turned water on, nothing coming, turned gas on, whoosh! So, it's gas.

I cut back the pipe into the loft, then wire-woolled the end and covered everything in boss white. Stuck a compression stopend on and tested it 3 times with some washing up liquid to see if there were any bubbles. Touch wood all seems fine!

The strange thing is the amount of gas pipe work in the loft - maybe originally it had gas fires everywhere as it has pipes going everywhere.

Ol

 

[REDSAW]

washing up liquid eh!.
classic.

 

[WHPES]

If you aren't 100% sure if you have drained the right pipe (EXCEPT if there may be a gas pipe there), have a self tapping screw handy, drill a hole in the pipe before you go at it with the pipe slice, and if water pors out, drive a self tapper into the hole wrapped with PTFE tape as a temporary plug.