Dean Romig please check in

[Dean Romig]

We have no answers yet.

I hope we get a credible story when they decide to “placate the masses.”






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[Southpaw]

It is hard to say individually where a leak happens in a residence that is why the pressures are supposed to be so low. It takes a lot of gas in a confined area to build up cause an explosion. Most of the time even if there is major break in a line the pressure is so low at 2 psi that the gas dissipates before it becomes bad enough to blow up or cause a fire and you smell it easily.

Natural gas can also have a lot of moisture in it but it takes a long long time to rust out the pipe. Most of the time where I have seen issues is around the joints and fittings that is generally first failure point. Sometimes the pipe compound they put there will get old, brittle and crack and a sustained pressure spike would fail at those points badly.

Thank goodness hopefully no one was killed or injured. I got a feeling before service is restored your going to get a lot of info. One thing I would do is go and shut off all the valves you have in the house past the main shut off at the meter and to the furnaces. When they say you can turn on it on again test every joint you can in between with spray bottle that has some water and liquid soap in it like your making bubbles with your kids and grand kids and look for bubbles emerging. As you get past each section then and its okay then open valves and test next parts past that. It could be leaking and you not even smell it, but this test will show the leaks. Though have a feeling they are going to make that gas pretty stinky as a precaution for people and detectors to pick up the smell if there are leaks.

Another bad spot are the flexible lines that have all those ridges and those are used at connections generally to furnaces and appliances. They can look totally fine but moisture can collect there and rust those out in the interior of flexible pipe so definitely spray those down with soapy water. I do once a year. They say your supposed to replace those lines about every 7 to 10 years, but no one does until they have a problem.

You'll probably be fine but at least the soapy water test will give you peace of mind.

[Double Lab]

Glad you are safe Dean and family. I've been working on commercial gas appliances for close to 40 years and can't fathom what would cause such a problem. I deal in inches of water column instead of PSI and either way it is very low at 3-5 PSI at the gas valve using what's known as a manometer. It could be as high as 7-10 inches of H2O on the supply line. All appliances have a pressure regulator installed in line upstream of the unit and if I'm not mistaken the meter on my home has a pressure regulator. Obviously the pressure has to be greater for delivery then reduced into the home.
Either way it will be interesting to see what they say caused the problem.

[BRDHNTR]

I heard that the gas company was in the process of upgrading the system and a high pressure line may have been crossed with a low pressure line thus over pressuring the system.

[Dean Romig]

One 18 year-old boy was sitting in his car in his driveway with a couple of friends. His mother went in the house to start cooking supper. BOOM the house blew up and the brick and mortar double-flu chimney fell over on his car killing him.
There are more than a dozen victims who have been treated at Lawrence General Hospital and a few of them are still there.
A husband and wife were med-evaced to Boston in critical condition.
There are probably a lot more folks who have refused treatment but who were injured.

Todd - all that advice wasn't directed at me was it?





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[Southpaw]

Dean I never sell a man short. For all I know your a master plumber in your spare time to go along with other talents. Nope to much respect for you to think your incapable of anything, just sharing my general knowledge from messing with that stuff for a while. That is why I purposely said what "I would do" and not what "You should do". You are your own man.

BTW had a gas leak two months ago that was a result from some work done to gas lines 5 years ago in the house. It was at a fitting on elbow joint where pipe compound had become dried and brittle. Turns out plumber used the cheap stuff. Had to find leak using soapy water and after that just checked every joint and flexible hose in the house to be sure no more leaks. 10 years ago had a flexible gas line start to leak, soapy water.

I do know this though, people sometimes have a stigma or phobia on natural gas especially after disasters and crazy occurrences like what your facing. I know very capable men that are DIY kings that won't even blink at gas leak problems but just call someone to fix it and have been around natural gas their entire lives. Got family in New Orleans that had simple gas leak after Katrina, there was no one to help and father in law even in insurance business could could not get someone there in less than a week. Was able to find the leak using simple soap water test and it was simple fix. They did not have much a for a while but they were at least not inconvenienced from not having hot water.

Just read where they asked Columbia to step out and that another competing gas company is stepping in to handle situation. That's not good for Columbia but at this point who cares.

Good luck and hope you don't get used to cold showers.

[Double Lab]

The old soap and water bubble trick is fine but their are commercial products that actually are better. The problem is you have to find the leak to use the solution. Your nose is your best detector of a gas leak. Natural gas is odorless and a chemical Mercaptan is added which gives it that distinctive odor. If you smell it get out and don't bother to look for a leak.

[Southpaw]

That is probably wise advice.

[Dean Romig]

After I brought gas into the house about 6 years ago I decided to get the plumber back in to run a line to the grill on my deck. That all went well and then I was working on building my new gun room and I called him back to run another line so I could have a gas heater in the gun room. He always tested everything with soapy water and pronounced it fine so I began sheet-rocking the room. I never disturbed any of the gas pipes but the next morning when I went to continue working on the room I smelled the very faint smell of gas... or else a mouse had died in a wall...
Anyway, I called the plumber back and he couldn't smell it. He called his younger helper in and he thought he could detect a faint smell.

They spent the next hour looking for a single tiny bubble in one of the three joints they had installed... but there it was - a 1/8" bubble would show about every three or four minutes.

Problem solved. I have a very sensitive nose for such things and I don't thing a gas leak would ever get by me.




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[StubTwist]

Originally Posted by keavin nelson

The NE enjoys not only having old guns, but old everything else, including gas lines. Good to hear you are well Dean!

In the town of Lexington, MA a colonial town famous during the Revolutionary War, there are still remnants of wood water / drainage plumbing underground.