Gas is straight forward in as much as you will either have a supply or
not. If you can find a meter take a reading and register with your
local gas showroom (You might need to ask for a
pre-payment meter
before they are happy) they are normally OK about letting you have a
supply. There might be a large
handle next to the meter you need to
turn to get the supply going. Once you have done this, go round the
house and check throughly for leaks. If there is not a meter in
place , do not try and connect the
pipes. The meter contains a one
way blow-back, pressure regulation
valve which is vital to the safety
of the supply. You can use
bottled gas as an alternative for cooking and heating. Bear in mind
that strictly speaking this should be
blue bottle gas, not
red bottle gas
as this is illegal to use inside buildings (as a result of the
Ronan
Point disaster when a red gas bottle blew up inside a block of flats)
- however red gas is much better for cooking on though it should
strictly be store outside (you could always run a pipe through the
kitchen window.
Heating: If you find there are old gas fire installed you
should be wary of carbon monoxide emissions - buy yourself a
detector -they are dirt cheap and may save your life.
Cooker: To connect a cooker you will need a roll of PTFE tape
(from a DIY store) and some washing up liquid. Wrap a couple of layers
of PTFE tape round the screw thread on the end of the hose that comes
form the back of the cooker - you may need to do it a couple of times
to get in neat - then screw this into the fitting on the end of the
pipe that comes from the wall - smear the joint liberally with washing
up liquid (very slightly diluted) and check for bubbles of gas leaking
form the joint - repeat this test again at regular intervals to make
sure. If there is a chain on the back of the cooker it should be
attached to a suitable fitting on the wall to prevent the cooker
tipping over.
Remember gas is inherently dangerous. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK
I'm not going to take liability if you blow yourself up.