Carbon monoxide (CO) is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. A faulty gas heater, log fire or ducted gas heating unit can be filling a home with CO and the family won't know until the symptoms start — headache, nausea, drowsiness, dizziness — which most people mistake for the flu. Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting runs the calibrated CO test that Energy Safe Victoria recommends and that Victorian rental law requires every two years on gas heating. Led by Alister Williams, BPC #103414, Type A gasfitter endorsed by Energy Safe Victoria.
Gas heaters (space heaters, wall-mounted convection heaters, gas log fires) — calibrated CO reading at the appliance face under full operating load. Flue draft and seal check. Heat-exchanger condition where visible.
Ducted gas heating — CO reading at the burner enclosure plus at one or two supply registers. Flue draft check at the unit. Return-air filter condition.
Gas hot water units — CO reading at the flue terminal under hot-water draw. Combustion-air check. Flue routing inspection.
Gas cooktops and ovens — CO reading at the burner row under full flame. Ventilation check (range hood, kitchen window). Burner port condition.
Room ventilation and combustion air — checked across the home where multiple gas appliances draw on the same air supply. Negative-pressure scenarios (kitchen exhaust on, bathroom fans, evaporative cooling) tested for back-drafting risk.
Residential rental properties — Victorian Residential Tenancies Regulations require a gas-safety check every two years on rental properties. The check includes CO testing. Landlords must hold a current report.
Owner-occupiers with gas heating — Energy Safe Victoria recommends every two years. Recommended yearly if your appliance is over 15 years old.
Aged-care, childcare and commercial premises with gas appliances — annual or six-monthly cycle depending on appliance count and risk profile.
Pre-purchase or pre-sale inspections — incoming buyers asking about heating safety, or vendors wanting to put the safety report in the disclosure pack.
After any incident — household members reporting CO symptoms, a CO alarm sounding, or yellow burner flame appearing where it was blue last winter.
We use a calibrated electronic CO meter with annual NATA-traceable calibration certificate. Visual indicators ("the flame looks fine") are not a substitute. The meter sees CO at parts-per-million levels the human nose never will.
Each gas appliance gets its own reading on the report: pass/fail, the actual CO reading at the test point, the flue and combustion-air notes. Reports are emailed as a single PDF on completion. Rental agents and aged-care facilities receive the format their compliance auditors expect.
If we have to adjust a burner, replace a thermocouple, reseat a flue or anything else, the work goes on a BPC Compliance Certificate filed electronically with the Building & Plumbing Commission. You get a copy for your insurance, conveyancing, or rental compliance file.
Fixed price per appliance plus a short call-out fee, listed on the quote before any work begins. Multi-appliance discount on properties with 3+ gas appliances. Quote covers the full visit — no surprise charges on the invoice.
Single PDF report listing every appliance tested, the CO reading at the test point, pass/fail, the flue and combustion-air notes, and any recommended remedial work. Stored against the property if you book another visit later.
Dated, signed test tag on every appliance we test. Insurers and rental authorities check tags during inspections. Current-date tag means current-year compliance.
Any install, replacement, or material repair generates a BPC Compliance Certificate filed electronically. Copy emailed to you the same week. Required for insurance claims, conveyancing, and rental compliance.
Calendar reminder for next test sent one month before the two-year cycle is up. Removes the risk of an expired test during a tribunal complaint or a rental compliance audit.
For property owners or rental agents booking a CO test for the first time, the four-step process below covers what to share before the visit.
Gas heater (type — wall, space, log fire), ducted gas heating (yes/no), gas hot water (storage or instant), gas cooktop, gas oven, gas BBQ if hard-wired. The list lets us price the visit accurately and bring the right gear.
Household members getting headaches near the heater, a flame that's gone yellow, a CO alarm that triggered, soot stains around the appliance, an unusual smell. The notes let us prioritise the high-risk appliance first.
For rentals: tenant contact details, agent-pre-approval if needed, time-windows the tenant can be home. For owner-occupied: best access time. The visit takes 45 minutes for one appliance, around 90 minutes for a whole-property test (4-6 appliances).
PDF report emailed within one business day. Compliance Certificate filed within five business days if any work was performed. Both stored against the property for retrieval at the next test.
Yes — Victorian rental gas heaters legally require a CO safety check every two years under the Residential Tenancies Regulations. Owner-occupiers aren't legally required to test, but Energy Safe Victoria recommends it every two years (yearly once the appliance is past 15 years old) because faulty heaters can produce CO with no visible warning signs.
We measure CO output at the appliance face with a calibrated electronic meter, check flue draft and seal, inspect the heat exchanger where visible, verify combustion air supply, and check room ventilation under operating load. A calibrated combustion analyser reads CO/CO2/O2 plus flue draft.
Someone over 18 needs to be on site so we can run each gas appliance under load and walk you through the result at the end. The visit usually takes 45-90 minutes depending on appliance count. Tenants can be on site instead of the landlord — most rental visits run this way.
Every CO and gas-safety check ends with a written per-appliance report. If any work has been performed (burner adjust, thermocouple replace, flue reseat, etc.), a BPC-issued Compliance Certificate is filed electronically and a copy emailed to you. Insurers and rental authorities ask for this certificate.
Victorian rental properties — every two years (legal minimum). Owner-occupiers with gas heating — every two years (Energy Safe Victoria recommendation), yearly if any appliance is past 15 years old. Aged-care, childcare and commercial premises — annual or six-monthly depending on appliance count and risk profile.
Visit cost scales with appliance count. A single gas heater test runs in the $180-$260 range. A whole-property test (4-6 appliances) typically lands in the $350-$520 range. Rental compliance bundles (CO + gas safety) on multi-appliance properties usually $400-$600. Quotes are written and fixed-price before the visit.
