All this talk of gas explosions

Has got me thinking of what kind of maintenance does the gas supply to my house require?

It was my impression that I am responsible for everything that exits the meter - piping and the works, but the gas company is responsible for the meter and everything that feeds it. As a homeowner should I periodically test valves, inspect pipe fittings, purge the system or anything else like that?

One of my friends at the rifle range happens to be a field engineer and inspector for the local gas company and he recommends getting the meter set changed out or inspected when work is done to the bonding of the electrical panel. Arguably a person would only do that once in the life of the home so I believe he was referring to the fact that typically a different meter hookup is used in houses that don't have grounding installed and when grounding is installed the meter hookup needs to be changed to protect the cathodic protection the gas company has on their lines.

But back to my main question. If I see visible corrosion and pitting on my gas lines would I be advised to contact the gas company and/or simply replace the lines

Reply to
Eigenvector
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Where would you be seeing this corrosion? IMO, what is needed is simply a periodic (they do once every other year here) scan w/ the gas detector looking for minute leaks in the service entrance and supply lines/valves, etc.

I personally have never done a test/exercise of a gas valve to the water heater, for example.

I don't know about individual house meter hookups, our feed comes straight from a main (8" diam) collection pipeline and the tap/meter is out in the pasture about a half-mile from the house so can't comment on that. (Was no meter until a few years ago when the original pipeline company was sold and the original landowner/right-away agreements were no longer honored and we lost in court... :( )

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Reply to
dpb

Dickin' with the gas lines significantly increases your risk over just leaving them alone.

Reply to
HeyBub

"Eigenvector" wrote in news:ON2dnWbLw9REFPHbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

I suggest a periodic visual inspection and perhaps test when any work is performed on appliances. There is nothing magic about gas piping that makes it maintenance free. :-)

If corrosion looks severe then I'd get a pro's opinion about r & r. If it is minor then perhaps a little clean-up and a good coat of paint is in order.

From experience, I know that at least one jurisdiction required a pressure test after appliance work. The county had just adopted the UBC and everyone was trying to adjust. I had a furnace converted from LP to natgas and had to pass a 15 minute 10 psi air test.

From even more experience, if you've got black iron piping out doors or in a damp environment, I'd suggest a good prep and coat of paint at least on the threads and the connections. Not many folks actually do this but it always seemed to me that an ounce of prevention was worth many labor hours of cure.

I'm not a plumber or piping professional but I have had to deal with a heck of a lot of industrial tubulars of the past 25 years.

Reply to
Clark

Well I guess that's pretty straight to the point.

Reply to
Eigenvector

Well I've seen worse corrosion in my life. It's getting close to the point where I'd replace it, but not close enough for me to spend the time ripping up the concrete garage floor that's on top of it. There's already a nice coat of piss poor quality latex on it, appearently the owner loved the color of the house so much he painted everything near the house the same color - doors, faucets, gas lines, downspouts, probably would have painted his wife if she had stayed put for a bit longer. So I guess the pipe is reasonably protected from the elements then.

Reply to
Eigenvector

If they are after the meter, it's YOU that is responsible for them. If the pitting is deep, replace them, if it's just surface rust, wire brush or sand the rust off and paint them with a rust preventative paint such as Rustoleum. Just use black since gas pipe is always black.

Reply to
thirtyone

Actually in most places where the gas pipe is painted, it's painted yellow for some reason.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I've never seen yellow inside the house. The street mains are yellow though. In the house it's always been black iron pipe. Of course this may be some new trend that I have not seen.

The most dangerous parts of gas pipes are those flexible pipes behind a stove or water heater, and heaven forbid the aluminum tubing once used. When I was in my teens, we had one of those alum tubes going to our clothes dryer. It developed a small hairline crack and my dad just applied some epoxy to the pipe. To me that was not safe. I had a friend who'd father was a plumber so I asked that father. He told me to tell my dad to shut off the gas till he replaces it. My dad hired the guy to replace it. I was young, but that glued leaky pipe seemed really bad to me.

Reply to
thirtyone

Maybe. However I believe at least in some areas you are responsible from the curb shut off in. The meter is theirs and you don't mess with it, but replacement or repairs may be on you.

I suggest you contact your local supplier. They may well have information for you. I'll also bet they will offer you an overpriced insurance/maintenance policy.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Odd this came up here. Every few years I paint my meter and pipes rust oleum forest green, to protect it and keep it looking good. the pipes are at least 35 years old. around here your responsible from the curb valve, and everything in your home.

say you have a minor leak and call the gas company. they come and detect the leak and red tag your home, no service tll a plumber fixes leak and pressure tests home.

now normal pressure is very low, a few ounces,

pressure test is 75 POUNDS:(

basically a indoor pressure test here means you rip out ALL the lines and generally its easier to just replace them all, since there are some grandfathered fittings that arent legal today... in 1950 they were normal.....

I plan on buying enough paint to do a friends home, she is on a fixed income and the meter connections are turning into a ball of rust. looks bad too right on front of home.

some stuff is easier maintained than replaced. if I hadnt been occasionally painting those pipes they would of certinally rotted away by now, replacing entrance line here is 3500 hundred bucks:(

incidently most gas explosions are from the gas company mains, not peoples homes.

in your house its so stinky you know immediately you have a problem and take care of it.

I have reported repeatedly a exposed gas company line in a field that was leaking bad. met the service guy there once. line was hissing.

he said he would add it to the list, leaks were common and to not worry about it.

as a child i lived by a major gas explosion in crafton pa. many died that day and since i liked watching them work it could of been me. explosion destroyed a big chunk of buildings. the area still looks different today

Reply to
hallerb

I don't know if it is common in a residential app. I agree that most gas piping is simply black iron pipe. In a commercial setting where the install specs call for piping to be painted however, usually in a school building, it's always yellow.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I've never actually seen the curb shut off. There is a locking valve at the meter, but after that it disappears into the ground never to be seen again.

Reply to
Eigenvector

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