The switch has a red plate with the words EMERGENCY SWITCH on it. There are 3 gas appliances in the room: a gas heater, a gas water heater, and a gas dryer.
Is the switch for a particular one of the appliances in the room, or is it for the whole room? Under what circumstances should the switch be used?
Hmm, never seen one like that, at least not in a residential setting. I'll offer a WAG that it cuts all power to circuits within the room, to reduce chances of sparking in case of a gas leak? (You don't wanna flip switches if you smell gas.) Either that or it sets off the alarms, and puts the room under negative pressure to outside the building?
If I smelled gas, I'd be more inclined to pop the main breaker, unless it was within the smelly zone, and shut the gas off at the meter, and call the fire department from my cell outside or from the neighbors. FD and Gas Company respond very quickly to gas leak reports. I've seen the aftermath of basements filled with gas lighting off. Usually no fire, since the fumes burn so quick, but when you pick the entire house up a foot or so and then drop it, it is pretty much a writeoff.
I would guess, if it is a push button, it shuts down all gas usage in the room. These are typically required in commercial code settings. It is a bit unusual for the heater and hot water tank, as I would think they are a bit unusual in a typical setting. The buttons are seen most often in kitchens, school science labs, etc.
If what you're calling a "gas heater" is in fact a furnace or boiler, and it is enclosed in a room(as opposed to sitting in the middle of a basement), it's typical to have an emergency switch on the unit as well as outside the door in case of a malfunction
It's not a push button; it's a toggle switch. It looks like just another typical wall switch except for the red plate and the words on the latter.
Ah, hell, go ahead and flip it. You know you want to. Worst case scenario, you'll have to relight everything. It isn't a starship- there is no self-destruct circuit.
Me, I'd poke around and see where the wires lead.
I don't know what it's connected to. I thought it's required by code in some places. I was hoping that someone would be able to tell me what it's for based on it's placement.
I don't know where or why a burner or boiler emergency switch would ONLY be required for an oil burner. In NY, NJ, and Conn. at least they are required regardless of the type fuel
Well, we can't see it. You can. _Find_out_ what it's connected to, for Pete's sake. Nobody can possibly tell you what it's for, or when and how it should be used, without knowing what it's connected to.
It's to cut the electric power to the furnace and is required in NJ. In fact, I once had trouble getting a CO because a tight assed inspector made me change the "OIL BURNER EMERGENCY" switch to one that said GAS because it was a gas furnace. It does not cut off the gas or power to any thing else that I have ever seen so I don't know what practical use it serves. Bob
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