Why Can’t The Gas Company Find These Gas Leaks?

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I find a lot of gas leaks, and I always try to make it easy for a repair technician to find the leaks.  I take a photo of the leak with a bunch of soapy bubbles coming out of it, I mark the exact location of the leak with orange tape, and I write “Gas Leak” on it.  You can't miss it.




So why is it so difficult for the GAS COMPANY to find these leaks?
Ironically, I’ve found that almost every time Centerpoint Energy comes out to repair a gas leak that I've found during a home inspection, they end up leaving the house without fixing the leak.  I’m not alone in my findings – I’ve heard this same sentiment expressed by many other Minnesota home inspectors, and this last month has been particularly frustrating.

Example #1: I inspected a home that had already been ‘pre-inspected’ by another home inspector.  The other home inspector had identified a gas leak and marked it with masking tape.  The photo below shows what the gas valve looked like at the time that I did my inspection.




After the first home inspector identified this leak, Centerpoint Energy came out and said there was no gas leak, and went on their way without fixing it.  I knew exactly what happened, because it happens to me all the time.  The photo below shows the same gas fitting with my gas leak solution bubbling.  Granted, it’s a very small leak, but who cares?  Fix it!




Example #2: At another home inspection I did last month in Bloomington, I could clearly smell gas while standing at the water heater.  I bent down and smelled a significant leak at the union.  I put some leak solution on the union, and it quickly blew a bubble about the size of a quarter.  This was so obvious that I didn’t even bother marking the location of the leak… but I’ll never make that mistake again.  The seller called Centerpoint Energy, who came out and said there was no leak.  We then called Centerpoint Energy, talked to the technician that went out the first time, told him exactly where to find the leak, and he still couldn’t find it the second time he was out.  Unbelievable.

These experiences drive me crazy.

My advice: If your home inspector tells you that you have a gas leak, hire a private contractor to fix it if you want it fixed.  I’ve never had experiences like these with a plumber, only the gas company.


Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Home Inspector



    

Where To Look For Gas Leaks

The one home inspection item that consistently causes home buyers to 'freak out' more than anything else is a gas leak. Gas explosions like the ones that recently happened in Edina and Saint Paul are probably the main causes of all the paranoia about natural gas.  Believe it or not, small gas leaks are actually quite common at old houses, and they're usually simple for a plumber to fix.  Today I'll share the most common locations for gas leaks, and I'll share my home inspection techniques for finding gas leaks in old Minneapolis and Saint Paul homes.

The most common place for me to find gas leaks is at gas valves.  Older style gas valves that aren't allowed any more today are often referred to as lube valves or plug valves.

 

These valves are easily identified by a nut or spring on the valve, across from the handle; newer gas valves don't have these.  I would estimate that I find leaks at about one out of every five of these valves.  Gate valves, which should only be used for water, are also common offenders.



The repair is always simple - replace the the valve.  In Minneapolis, if the appliance being served by an improper valve is replaced, the valve must be replaced at the same time.

The second most common location for gas leaks is at unions.  A gas union is a fitting that provides a disconnection point for a gas appliance.  If the union doesn't get tightened enough, it will definitely leak.  Notice the bubbles in the union below?  That's a small gas leak.



Flare fittings are the last common offender.  Here in Minnesota, soft copper gas tubing is allowed just about anywhere, but it takes a little more skill to properly install soft copper than other types of gas piping.  For a flare fitting, copper tubing gets flared out at the end and connected with a flare nut.  If this connection gets bent or isn't tight enough, it will leak.

  


To find these gas leaks, I mostly rely on my nose.  If there's a gas leak, I can almost always smell it.  To pinpoint the location of a gas leak, I use a combustible gas detector.  If I see any suspicious work or I run across old or improper gas valves, I just go right to my gas detector, and I quickly check the fittings.

I truly believe that my nose is just as accurate as my gas detector, but I look a little silly running my nose along gas pipes to find leaks.  That's why I use a tool.  If I find a leak with my combustible gas detector, I confirm the leak by using a gas leak detection solution; it's just an expensive blue liquid that does about the same thing that dish soap would - it bubbles if there's a leak.  To make it easier for the repair person coming in behind me, I also mark the location of the leak with orange electrical tape, and I write "Gas Leak" on the tape, along with an arrow showing exactly where the leak is.

I've heard stories about appliance connectors leaking, but I've never found one that leaked. Next week I'll talk about defects with appliance connector installations.

RELATED POST: Natural Gas Leaks

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Home Inspector Twin Cities
   

Gas Leaks

On Sunday, September 21st, a gas explosion demolished a vacant fourplex in north Minneapolis.  This was the second north Minneapolis home to have this happen since March.  I’ll go out on a limb and say I’m sure both explosions were caused by natural gas leaks, which were both the results of copper thieves doing their thing.  In both cases, neighboring residents reported strong natural gas odors before the explosions.  Natural gas is obviously dangerous, but really, how dangerous?

I believe that the utility companies cater to the lowest denominator when it comes to public service announcements about gas.  I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying; “If you smell gas, get out!”  I’ve heard the same radio commercial many times saying not to turn on a light switch, use the phone, a computer, etc… just leave the area immediately.  I’m not going to say this is bad advice – better safe than sorry, I’m sure, but I’d like to share some of my experiences with natural gas.

To start, I find gas leaks in about one out of every three houses I inspect.  These leaks are very small – sometimes so small I can’t smell the leak unless I’m very close to the pipe.  I use an electronic gas detector to find these, and I spray the suspected leak with a soap and water solution to verify that it’s really a leak, and not just a false reading by my detector.  If I see little bubbles, I report it as a minor leak, and recommend repair by a plumber.  I’ve never evacuated a house because of a leak, and I’ve never called the gas company.

How serious are these minor leaks?  To find out, I did a little testing at my own house.  I feel like I need to preface this with Don’t Try This At Home (there).  I started my test by spraying soap and water on a gas fitting and slowly loosening the connection until bubbles started forming (pictured below, left).  At this point, I could barely smell gas by putting my nose to the pipe.  I held a lighter to the gas leak… nothing.  I opened the nut more and more, and was finally able to get a small blue flame about half the size of the flame on my lighter.  At this point, I could faintly smell it from a few feet away, and got a bubble about two inches wide (pictured below, right).

 

With this much gas coming out, about half of what a cigarette lighter would emit, I would recommend immediate repair and would also notify the owner of the leak so they could get it fixed right away.  For the smaller leaks that are barely noticeable, I note them in my inspection reports and recommend repair, but I don’t consider them an imminent safety hazard.  So there, I said it; not all gas leaks are hazardous.  If you walk in to a room and smell gas, that’s a problem, and you should heed the gas company’s advice.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minneapolis Home Inspections