Is it normal to smell natural gas near water heater?

[peter]

When I stand right next to the water heater, I smell a little bit of gas at certain height. If I move to 1 foot away, I no longer can smell it.

See this photo:

red ellipse shows where I smell the gas. I smell some at lower spots, but it's not continuous, meaning when I go lower, I don't smell it, then I smell it, ...

I assume it has been like this during the last year, and there is no cumulation of natural gas (like I said, only can smell it within a foot). So I wonder, is it normal for a water heater with pilot light to emit some natural gas odor, or should I try to seal all the pipe joints?

[Joseph Meehan]

How long has the water heater been there? Was it a replacement or a new install?

[m Ransley]

Your fire dept and gas company will check it out free, it could be Co from a poor draft, blocked flue, There are Co-Ng detectors for about 40$ at HD, get it checked out by a pro you obviously dont have your equipment serviced or cleaned regularly and you should.

[trader4]

No, it;s not normal to smell any gas near a water heater. It needs to be checked out. You can start checking yourself by applying some soapy water with a brush to the pipe joints. If there is a leak, you will see bubbles. It's most likely the problem is before the combustion occurs, not the exhaust, because the combustion products are odorless.

[delphiprog]

I have a followup question to this answer - unrelated to water heaters, but sort of on topic - is there a "safe" amount of natural gas to smell? Reason: I can smell natural gas near my meter, but only when I put my nose right near the pipes. Anywhere else along the ground around the meter I can't smell it - and I can't smell it on any of the pipes in my house that I could reach (my neighbors probably think I've lost my mind). I've had the gas company out several times, each time they told me they could smell it too (with their nose up next to the pipe), but said that they couldn't find a leak. I watched the last guy who came out and he soaped up the entire pipe & meter and found nothing. None of them has given me a good reason why this is occurring.

Thanks Doug

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Any time the gas does not explode could be considered safe in a loose sense of the term.

The odorant that is put into gas can leave a residue over time. I've sniffed pipes and fittings removed from gas service and months later and could detect an odor. If their equipment does not detect any gas, it is probably safe and the leak may be gone, but the residue remains. So, you are not smelling gas necessarily, but the odorant. Natural gas has no odor.

You did the right thing having it checked.

[mm]

I'm not saying this case is the same, but a few weeks ago, someone died in a motel in Ocean City, Md. Apparently it was CO. About a week ago, someone announced that it was because of "a missing pipe" from a gas water heater. The motel said it moved the water heater outside. It gets pretty cold some of the time in Ocean City, and I don't think anyone else keeps their water heater outside, but they have to do something to make people feel their motel is safe.

[Bob]

I installed a new gas waterheater and for weeks later kept getting a faint smell of gas odor. Rechecked my connections and they were tight. Finally checked the internal connections and found a loose one - came that way from the factory. Tightened it and never smelled gas again.

Bob

[Eigenvector]

Your question is pretty dangerous, remember that this is a public forum and therefore we can't tell what your situation and what your intelligence level really is, so a question involving highly flammable gas typically is answered very conservatively.

As to whether it is normal or not, it can yes. I have spoken with people who do home calls and people who do training for PSE (Puget Sound Energy) and on certain gas water heaters it is normal to smell gas around the burner control knob. But your circle doesn't indicate that location so in my mind you should perhaps ask your gas supplier if they can verify the installation for you. It's what I did when I smelled gas in and around my gas control box. No reason to risk sending your water heater into low orbit.

[peter]

It is a replacement water heater installed about 1 year ago. If I turn off the gas valve on the water heater itself, then the smell is gone.

Then I turn it to the pilot lighting setting and lit the pilot. Immediately after this I stuck my nose near the control box (where the valve, lighting button, and the temperature control is mounted) and smell gas.

I think it's safe (dangerous?) to say the leak comes from that control box. And it's only 1 year old. The water heater is made by state industries

[Eigenvector]

Did you call the gas company? There were a few people who suggested it and it really is a good recommendation.

[Joseph Meehan]

That eliminates what I was thinking of. I suggest that you call the manufacturer or your local gas company. I would consider it a hazard.

[peter]

I found the problem. There are two gas tubes coming out of the temperature control box, a big one supplies the burner, and a small one supplies the pilot light:

The installer did not use any joint compound on these tube fittings, so they leak a little. Instead, he overtightened the large nut, but that still doesn't work.

I bought some joint compound from HD (says ok to use on gas pipe) and put them in the threads. That's the white stuff you see in the threads. This eliminates almost all the gas odor. I no longer smell gas when standing next to the water heater. I still smell a faint odor at the bottom of the control box.

I think a little bit of gas is leaking out between the nut and the tubes. How do you seal this? Yes, I know I can call the gas company, or call the installer to fix it. That would be the last resort. I want to learn something in the process if I could.

[dpb]

...

...

Then you need to replace the fittings--joint compound is for _threaded_ pipe fittings where the threads make the seal, _not_ for tubing fittings. In a tubing fitting (or a pipe union, as well) the seal is the mating between the taper and the sleeve _not_ the threads at all.

Sounds like they tried to reuse an old fitting that has either corroded enough to no longer have a precise matching or, in trying to make that connection, overtightned and likely crushed the ferule.

The real solution is to replace the fittings if you have sufficient length to get a fresh tubing end or the tubing and fittings if not.

[Daniel]

I have exactly the same issue before or after replacing my water heater. I always smell a waft of gas at a certain height near the pilot fire chamber. All tests prove negative, but the smell still haunts or hovers around that spot from time to time, giving me an eerie sense that gas is oozing out from some tiny leaks.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, No gas detector in the house?

[clare]

OK - what you are smelling is the odorant Ethyl Mercaptan which is added to natural gas to make it detectable. Somehow the mercaptan is being released into the air - with or without the gas. My suspicion is some has "settled out" of the gas at the pilot. Only a fraction of a small drop will be detectable by a sensitive schnozz.

[terrable]

Who would have a natural gas detector in their house?

I don't and don't know anyone who does.

[Stormin Mormon]

Some campers and RV have a LP detector near the floor. But NG detector in a home? Not heard of such.

When I did HVAC, I used to have a gas beeper for use on the job, but that's not the typical HO situation.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I do, NG, CO, flame, smoke detectors, why not? I even had them in my fiver when I had it. Any thing wrong having them?