New to gas

[Anonymous]

Unlike seemingly many posters here, we preferred an all electric house. Never dealt with gas before. We have a gas stove, gas water heater, furnace (is that a separate thing). We also have a wood burning fireplace, to top it all. Zero experience with that as well.

So, basically, we are afraid of gas. It sounds deadly. What precautions do we need to take to make sure the house doesn't explode and we are not all dead. The house has CO detectors.

[Anonymous]

So many people have gas. Get CO detectors and check/test them monthly. I do ours on the 1st of the month so I don’t forget.

Someone checks our furnaces, HVAC, water heaters, and gas stove. The people who check the furnaces and HVAC come 2x a year and the rest usually come once. I do it through the gas and electric company, but many heating and plumbing companies have this sort of maintenance you can pay for. It can be pricey so check around. I think it’s worth it because they also check for CO and any damage that can possible cause an issue.

If you smell gas get out of your house and call the gas company or the fire department. Will say we had a CO detector go off and my spouse was home and called the fire department. It ended up being faulty alarm and not a problem, so we bought a new detector (get new detectors every few years should say on box) but the police told us if it happened again and it ended up being faulty we would be fined! For something you can’t smell or see! I told the cop next time I would call the gas company and he told me
I should call the fire department. 🙄 Luckily we haven’t had that issue again.

If you’re worried you can probably call the gas company and have them look at things (but you’ll be charged unless you smell gas or something). When we first bought our home the laundry room closet smelled like gas so I called the gas company and they came out, fixed it and checked everything else. They ended up redoing the entire gas main line and it all was no cost to me.

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much? So, perhaps call a gas company and have them do an inspection, with the understanding it is going to cost?

[Anonymous]

You need a gas detector too:

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Detector-Monitor-Propane-Detection/dp/B0B3DVHT1W/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=2O6YGR6SQSS4C&keywords=gas+detector&qid=1699981202&sprefix=gas+de%2Caps%2C787&sr=8-5

[Anonymous]

If you are not accustomed to the smell of gas escaping please get a detector. I was the OP of the thread who had a faulty gas pipeline at the complex I lived in. Please get the detector if you are not aware of the scent. It will save your life and others.

There have been a few neighborhoods experiencing homes blowing up due to this. Know the odor. It can save your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many people have gas. Get CO detectors and check/test them monthly. I do ours on the 1st of the month so I don’t forget.

Someone checks our furnaces, HVAC, water heaters, and gas stove. The people who check the furnaces and HVAC come 2x a year and the rest usually come once. I do it through the gas and electric company, but many heating and plumbing companies have this sort of maintenance you can pay for. It can be pricey so check around. I think it’s worth it because they also check for CO and any damage that can possible cause an issue.

If you smell gas get out of your house and call the gas company or the fire department. Will say we had a CO detector go off and my spouse was home and called the fire department. It ended up being faulty alarm and not a problem, so we bought a new detector (get new detectors every few years should say on box) but the police told us if it happened again and it ended up being faulty we would be fined! For something you can’t smell or see! I told the cop next time I would call the gas company and he told me
I should call the fire department. 🙄 Luckily we haven’t had that issue again.

If you’re worried you can probably call the gas company and have them look at things (but you’ll be charged unless you smell gas or something). When we first bought our home the laundry room closet smelled like gas so I called the gas company and they came out, fixed it and checked everything else. They ended up redoing the entire gas main line and it all was no cost to me.

The ignorance about natural gas astounds me. Did you all fail high school chemistry? Natural Gas is NOT CO. Natural Gas is mainly CH4 which is Methane. I guess this is why grills have warnings not to use them idoors. People are zero awareness of the world around them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many people have gas. Get CO detectors and check/test them monthly. I do ours on the 1st of the month so I don’t forget.

Someone checks our furnaces, HVAC, water heaters, and gas stove. The people who check the furnaces and HVAC come 2x a year and the rest usually come once. I do it through the gas and electric company, but many heating and plumbing companies have this sort of maintenance you can pay for. It can be pricey so check around. I think it’s worth it because they also check for CO and any damage that can possible cause an issue.

If you smell gas get out of your house and call the gas company or the fire department. Will say we had a CO detector go off and my spouse was home and called the fire department. It ended up being faulty alarm and not a problem, so we bought a new detector (get new detectors every few years should say on box) but the police told us if it happened again and it ended up being faulty we would be fined! For something you can’t smell or see! I told the cop next time I would call the gas company and he told me
I should call the fire department. 🙄 Luckily we haven’t had that issue again.

If you’re worried you can probably call the gas company and have them look at things (but you’ll be charged unless you smell gas or something). When we first bought our home the laundry room closet smelled like gas so I called the gas company and they came out, fixed it and checked everything else. They ended up redoing the entire gas main line and it all was no cost to me.

The ignorance about natural gas astounds me. Did you all fail high school chemistry? Natural Gas is NOT CO. Natural Gas is mainly CH4 which is Methane. I guess this is why grills have warnings not to use them idoors. People are zero awareness of the world around them.

Lol, and CO is caused by incomplete combustion of fuel, including NG. Just get a CO and gas leak detectors linked above.

[Anonymous]

Get detectors, make sure you place them low. If you put them on the ceiling, there is a good chance that it will be too late by the time they go off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many people have gas. Get CO detectors and check/test them monthly. I do ours on the 1st of the month so I don’t forget.

Someone checks our furnaces, HVAC, water heaters, and gas stove. The people who check the furnaces and HVAC come 2x a year and the rest usually come once. I do it through the gas and electric company, but many heating and plumbing companies have this sort of maintenance you can pay for. It can be pricey so check around. I think it’s worth it because they also check for CO and any damage that can possible cause an issue.

If you smell gas get out of your house and call the gas company or the fire department. Will say we had a CO detector go off and my spouse was home and called the fire department. It ended up being faulty alarm and not a problem, so we bought a new detector (get new detectors every few years should say on box) but the police told us if it happened again and it ended up being faulty we would be fined! For something you can’t smell or see! I told the cop next time I would call the gas company and he told me
I should call the fire department. 🙄 Luckily we haven’t had that issue again.

If you’re worried you can probably call the gas company and have them look at things (but you’ll be charged unless you smell gas or something). When we first bought our home the laundry room closet smelled like gas so I called the gas company and they came out, fixed it and checked everything else. They ended up redoing the entire gas main line and it all was no cost to me.

The ignorance about natural gas astounds me. Did you all fail high school chemistry? Natural Gas is NOT CO. Natural Gas is mainly CH4 which is Methane. I guess this is why grills have warnings not to use them idoors. People are zero awareness of the world around them.

Gas is purposely scented. CO is much more likely to kill you and is odorless

[Anonymous]

Gas smells exactly like when you are hard boiling eggs so remember that

[Anonymous]

From a HVAC Contractor/ Master Gas Fitter:

-Don't be afraid of gas; its used everyday 70 million homes in the US.

-Don't DIY gas appliance repairs/ installations

-Natural Gas is odorized with Mercaptan which has a pungent sulfur smell. You can kick a burner on your stove on for a second without igniting it to get a whiff of what it smells like. If you smell it call 911 or the gas company.

-There's a very narrow window of conditions that need to occur for a natural gas leak to explode. Its incredibly rare for it to occur and in a majority of cases someone who didn't know what they where doing tampered with or disabled safeties built into the appliance.

-Have a CO detector on each floor; keep them lower vs higher. Make sure to change the batteries; they inevitably go bad in the middle of a cold night scaring the hell out of everyone. If it goes off call 911 and wait outside your home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many people have gas. Get CO detectors and check/test them monthly. I do ours on the 1st of the month so I don’t forget.

Someone checks our furnaces, HVAC, water heaters, and gas stove. The people who check the furnaces and HVAC come 2x a year and the rest usually come once. I do it through the gas and electric company, but many heating and plumbing companies have this sort of maintenance you can pay for. It can be pricey so check around. I think it’s worth it because they also check for CO and any damage that can possible cause an issue.

If you smell gas get out of your house and call the gas company or the fire department. Will say we had a CO detector go off and my spouse was home and called the fire department. It ended up being faulty alarm and not a problem, so we bought a new detector (get new detectors every few years should say on box) but the police told us if it happened again and it ended up being faulty we would be fined! For something you can’t smell or see! I told the cop next time I would call the gas company and he told me
I should call the fire department. 🙄 Luckily we haven’t had that issue again.


If you’re worried you can probably call the gas company and have them look at things (but you’ll be charged unless you smell gas or something). When we first bought our home the laundry room closet smelled like gas so I called the gas company and they came out, fixed it and checked everything else. They ended up redoing the entire gas main line and it all was no cost to me.

The ignorance about natural gas astounds me. Did you all fail high school chemistry? Natural Gas is NOT CO. Natural Gas is mainly CH4 which is Methane. I guess this is why grills have warnings not to use them idoors. People are zero awareness of the world around them.

When I lived in a rental the gas furnace had a leak and our CO alarm went off and probably saved lives. But hey, you do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a HVAC Contractor/ Master Gas Fitter:

-Don't be afraid of gas; its used everyday 70 million homes in the US.

-Don't DIY gas appliance repairs/ installations

-Natural Gas is odorized with Mercaptan which has a pungent sulfur smell. You can kick a burner on your stove on for a second without igniting it to get a whiff of what it smells like. If you smell it call 911 or the gas company.

-There's a very narrow window of conditions that need to occur for a natural gas leak to explode. Its incredibly rare for it to occur and in a majority of cases someone who didn't know what they where doing tampered with or disabled safeties built into the appliance.

-Have a CO detector on each floor; keep them lower vs higher. Make sure to change the batteries; they inevitably go bad in the middle of a cold night scaring the hell out of everyone. If it goes off call 911 and wait outside your home.

THIS. Check them every month and change the batteries every so often so you don't get woken up by a beep every 60 seconds.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I am a bit confused - do I need to buy gas detectors linked above only or also buy additional CO detectors and position them close to the ground? The gas detectors above seem to be plug-in - is that ok?

Thank you all - you have been very helpful.

[Anonymous]

I have never owned natural gas detectors-- your nose can smell it before it gets to dangerous levels (and I am not even sure what situation would cause uncombusted natural gas to be released in your house).

I also don't "test" my CO detectors monthly-- they are plugged in outlets and I might look at them once in a while as I pass by but that's it.