natural gas leak?

[stockdoct]

Hey all,

I just completed my first full month of using my fireplace insert. Yeaaaaa

I checked my natural gas meter, compared it with the last 2 years, and found out my gas usage is down 50% Yeaaaaa

And with my face down reading the meter, I smelled natural gas. :bug:



I'm certainly going to call the gas company tomorrow, but there is clearly a thin leak of gas from my pipes. Is this normal? For those of you who heat with natural gas (and wood, 'natch), would you mind going out to your gas meter, sticking your nose 6" from the meter and tell me what you smell?

Thanks in advance

 

[fossil]

No, it's not normal, and you did the right thing...they really oughta be coming out right now! Rick

EDIT: I read your post too quickly...thought you already called them...that's exactly what you should do...call them now. They'll send someone out and get it fixed. There should be no leakage from gas pipes anywhere ever. But better out there than inside your house!

 

[struggle]

Yes CALL THEM NOW!!

They will send someone out right away as it should be. The gas can seep down into your house through the smallest area possible.

I happened to go over to my neighbors house one day via thier back garage door and smelled gas and they called the company out and had someone there right away. It was like yours leaking at the meter area and it was just a matter of tightening a coupling. The gas company employees like overtime as a general rule.

Very serious matter and should be called on right away.

 

[karl]

Grab a couple of pipe wrenches and tighten the unions on the meter base. If that doesn't stop it, turn the gas off and break the unions free, wipe them off and put some antiseize compound on them and put them back on. I don't understand why people think natural gas is rocket science.

 

[Shane]

Could it be a vent on the regulator?

 

[webbie]

I'm not an expert on this stuff, but would not advise most people to fiddle at the meter area. I think the pipe coming in is at a much higher pressure than the pipe going out.

If nothing else, try some soapy water brushed onto the joints to see if you can find a leak.

 

[fossil]

I don't think natural gas is rocket science, karl. I even have pipe wrenches, and I know how to use them. I also know that the gas company owns the meter, and that they have a vested interest in keeping their system leak-free, and that they have repair guys on call 24 hours a day to take care of problems just like this. And if you call them and say "I smell gas", they take it real seriously (as they should). When I smelled gas around my meter in Virginia, I made a call, and there was a guy there to make it right in short order. I didn't have to interrupt what I was working on to fix their problem. Rick

 

[stockdoct]

Thanks guys

I called Nicor and they're coming out tonight to take a look.

 

[bfunk13]

Ha, i work as a pumper (well operator) in a natural gas field.
I operate 42 gas wells. Responsible for production and maintenance.
In a typical day i work with pressures upwards of 4000 psi, sometimes with freezes and or trapped pressure.
Working on wellheads, separators, burners, dehydrators and pipelines.
We throw around 48" pipe wrenches with cheater bars.

If i smelled gas anywhere in or around my house, i would call the gas company.
Its their business, their meter, their responsibility, let them do it.
Just my 2 cents.

Brad

 

[karl]

Craig, I just installed a furnace at my sisters house. She had no gas service before. It really isn't hard to do. I've done maybe a dozen of them.

The meter does not reduce the pressure. The pressure in this area is 10 inches of water, which equals about 1/3 of a pound per square inch. 2 to 5 pounds per square inch is considered high pressure. That's what you will find in big industrial parks.

We've purge long gas line runs by holding a cigarette lighter to the end before we hook the furnace to it. Once it starts burning, just slide your hand over the pipe and snuff the flame out. It's really not as dangerous as it sounds.

 

[fossil]

Depends on where you live and how the system works. Lots of places, there's a pressure reducer just upstream of every meter. Yes, the meter's just a "cubic foot counter", but the actual pressure of the gas from the service line coming from the main in the street to the reducer could be a good deal higher than 10 inches of H2O. Back in about 1968 when I was in college, I worked for PG&E;as a helper one summer, digging up and replacing ancient mains in Oakland, California. We had to put in new service lines for every customer along the street. In order to minimize the service outage, the new main was installed and pressurized before we installed the service lines. A special fixture was used to mate the new service lines to the main down in the ditch, then the welder would go down in there and start welding the fitting to the main. If all went smoothly, he'd get it welded nicely all around, then a drill bit would cut through the main and the new line would be in service. Occasionally, the welder would burn through the main, and gas would be streaming out with such velocity that it wouldn't burn, even though the guy was down in the hole with an Oxy-Acetylene torch blazing. I was amazed. The welder would calmly go about closing the hole up with rod, and get it done. But, if that same gas had been just seeping out into that pit he was in for a while, and then he lit his torch, he'd have been incinerated. No, natural gas ain't rocket science, but the vast majority of users of it don't know anything about it. That's why in most jurisdictions, a permit is required to do any NG installations or modifications, and a licensed plumber has to sign off on the work, and a leak test has to be witnessed and signed off by an inspector. Too many houses have blown up and too many people have been killed to condone any sort of complacency when it comes to NG. OK, that's it, I'm off my soapbox. For now. Rick

 

[struggle]

Thanks guys

I called Nicor and they're coming out tonight to take a look.

BINGO you made the right choice.

Like others said their pipes and system let them fix it on their time schedule which would be right now which is best for your safety and theirs.

Let us know what they find.

 

[begreen]

Could it be a vent on the regulator?

That was my first thought.

If you are concerned, check for leaks. Add about a teaspoon of dishwashing soap to about 1/4 cup of water. Gently mix. Use a small (1/2") brush and brush this liquid on each joint and watch for bubbles. If you see any bubbles forming continuously from a joint, there is a leak there that needs to be taken care of.A