Gas main and what else ?

[Nice But Dim]

I need to dig out a french drain in our gravel driveway to avoid surface water flooding. The gas meter is located at the side of the drive - so I need to know its route to avoid it when digging..... Anway i found it - but what else have I found ?

I presume the gas main is the foam covered tubing - but what is the black tubing ?

[LookAtMyCat]

Water main; pitch fibre.

[Nice But Dim]

LookAtMyCat said:

Water main; pitch fibre.

Thank you - so the foam covered piping is the water main and the black piping the gas main ?

[hyphen]

What are the materials of the pipes?

I would expect water to be lead/plastic. Gas to be well protected so something like steel.

[colin_p]

In the ground, always assume the worse, assume that that is electic.

[forest07]

Looking at your gas meter the service looks likes PE so the pipe will be yellow plastic and if ducted that should be yellow.

The black service looks electrical. For water I would expect blue PE or lead.

[guitarcarfanatic]

Black pipework looks like your water supply. Black alkathene pipework.

[Jonesy23]

Could be electric, hard to tell without knowing the size. More than one type of supply could be black plastic.

Compare it to what feeds to the meter/cutout fuse as it would be the same size/material.

Otherwise compare it to what feeds the stopcock.

The one that matches is the winner.

[Chrisgr31]

hyphen said:

What are the materials of the pipes?

Gas to be well protected so something like steel.

Nope a gas pipe is likely to be yellow plastic and not protected. A sharp spade will pierce it easily. You can guess how I know!

[QuickQuack]

Black looks like the armoured copper electric cable our electrician laid to supply the outbuildings.

[King Herald]

Chrisgr31 said:

Nope a gas pipe is likely to be yellow plastic and not protected. A sharp spade will pierce it easily. That is the best way to find out.

[Nice But Dim]

Thanks for your replies so far

The prewvious owner has advised this.........

"The plastic pipe probably contains the earth bond cable which runs round the left side and back of the house to the kitchen and bonds to the incoming water main"

Is the plausible / possible ?

[eliot]

earth cable is the one at the 6 o'clock position in the first pic.