mark2741
New Member
Sorry in advance for long post. I'm at my wit's end with this and hoping for some guidance.
So about 6 or 7 weeks ago the local gas/electric utility came through and replaced the main gas pipeline that feeds the houses on my street. The original pipe ran underneath everyone's lawn. They rerouted it to the street. During that process they mistakenly ruptured my sewer line, causing a backup and, well, that's fixed now (they admitted fault and paid to repair it).
As part of the process they also replaced the meter that is positioned right in front of the house. After they replaced the meter I walked up my driveway and smelled gas. An hour later I smelled it again when I went out there. I called over one of the crew, who were working a few houses up by then as they proceeded replacing the line up the street. They checked it and eventually said something like, "At first we couldn't detect the leak but right before giving up we smelled it and tested again and it turns out it is a bad regulator. It is releasing gas intermittently. We need to call it in to get a replacement. It'll be replaced this afternoon. I said "great - thank you!" and went about my business. I continue to smell the gas intermittently over the next couple of weeks. The crew that was working on the street had long finished the pipe replacement and were gone.
Realizing this isn't going away on its own, I call the utility company's "gas leak emergency" line. They send out a guy within the hour. I explain the situation and mentioned the regulator that was replaced (or at least supposed to be). He dabs soap solution all over the meter and insists no leak. He then goes inside my basement and, with a leak detector, gets a hit on the pipe section that is connected directly the meter on the outside and runs in through my siding. He calls in someone else from his crew and they replace the pipe. They then tested the old section in their truck via pressure test and say it turned out it was fine. So the guy goes through my entire basement with the leak detector, testing every connection. He eventually gets a hit at my hot water heater. Tightens everything and insists all is good now, and that the only reason he fixed it and not insist I call a plumber and pay for it myself is because it probably happened as a result of the utility company changing the meter and rattling the pipes during the process. He leaves. I continue to smell gas outside near the meter....
A week later, we have a cold spell and my furnace isn't keeping up. Never had an issue with the furnace before. I call my HVAC guy. He comes and says everything seems fine and is perplexed. He then, since I told him how the util company changed the gas main and the meter recently, and also mentioned the regulator leak thing, he tests the gas pressure coming into the furnace. He does this from within the furnace itself, not at the meter or the gas pipe going into the furnace. He says the gas pressure coming into the furnace is way too high - well above the max rating for any furnace or appliance. He said he set the furnace to work with it but that I'll need to call the utilities company to fix the pressure, and then he would need to reset at the furnace to regulate based on the adjusted input pressure. Sounds reasonable. This was the day before Christmas Eve. Even though the smell of natural gas outside of my house has me stressed out, I figure I would have blown up by now if it was dangerous as it's been weeks. And I was busy with the holiday. I decide to not do anyting until after Christmas.
Yesterday morning, I go to HD and buy a cheap ($31) natural gas leak detector. I walk out to the meter and smell a little gas. I put it near the gas meter, specifially under the regulator, and it lights up as a small to medium sized leak. I go inside and call the utility company's emergency leak line. While waiting for the guy I go back outside about 10 minutes later and test again. I smell no gas, and sure enough - it doesn't detect any leak. Guy shows up 20 minutes later and no leak. Insists there is no leak. I tell him the story of what has happened up until this point. He of course looks at me like I'm crazy, puts his leak detector inside the furnace's PVC exhaust, which is located only a few feet from the meter. His detector lights up. He says the problem is my furnace and I need a new/better HVAC tech and they need to do an "efficiency test." He then insists that he's a professional, is using a detector that costs many thousands of dollars vs my $31 detector, and that I have no leak at the meter. He then uses another tool to poke some holes in my lawn to verify it isn't an underground leak. He begins to pack everything up and again tells me I need to find another HVAC guy. Just as he starts walking away I catch a whiff of natural gas. I beg him to come test the meter with his detector one last time. He obliges and sure enough - he looks up at me and says, "We have a gas leak." He then cuts the gas to the house and disassembles the meter and replaces the regulator. He said it must have never been replaced. He leaves after it's replaced, after using his detector one last time. He insists the gas pressure is the appropriate 6.5". I said "Awesome! Thank you!" thinking all was well.
I still smell a little gas out there but figure it is coming from the furnace exhaust being inappropriately set for the super high pressure from before. I put a call in to my HVAC guy, thinking he needs to come out and readjust. Told him to wait until after the holidays as no big rush. Furnace, BTW, has been running fine since the HVAC guy came out and adjusted. Probably very inefficiently, but fine.
While about to do some laundry, this morning, I open up my dryer and smell inside and notice natural gas smell inside. I start up the leak detector and put it inside the dryer (after calibrating the detector) and it detects a small/medium leak. Ugh!! I cut the gas to the dryer and turn it on air dry for 10 minutes. Then turn it on heat to hopefully expel any leftover gas. I then turn the gas back on and run it for 10 minutes. Still the smell of gas inside the dryer. Any advice before I give up and just live with this?
Could the bad regulator have caused a spike in pressure inside the house and caused the dryer internals to begin leaking gas?
So about 6 or 7 weeks ago the local gas/electric utility came through and replaced the main gas pipeline that feeds the houses on my street. The original pipe ran underneath everyone's lawn. They rerouted it to the street. During that process they mistakenly ruptured my sewer line, causing a backup and, well, that's fixed now (they admitted fault and paid to repair it).
As part of the process they also replaced the meter that is positioned right in front of the house. After they replaced the meter I walked up my driveway and smelled gas. An hour later I smelled it again when I went out there. I called over one of the crew, who were working a few houses up by then as they proceeded replacing the line up the street. They checked it and eventually said something like, "At first we couldn't detect the leak but right before giving up we smelled it and tested again and it turns out it is a bad regulator. It is releasing gas intermittently. We need to call it in to get a replacement. It'll be replaced this afternoon. I said "great - thank you!" and went about my business. I continue to smell the gas intermittently over the next couple of weeks. The crew that was working on the street had long finished the pipe replacement and were gone.
Realizing this isn't going away on its own, I call the utility company's "gas leak emergency" line. They send out a guy within the hour. I explain the situation and mentioned the regulator that was replaced (or at least supposed to be). He dabs soap solution all over the meter and insists no leak. He then goes inside my basement and, with a leak detector, gets a hit on the pipe section that is connected directly the meter on the outside and runs in through my siding. He calls in someone else from his crew and they replace the pipe. They then tested the old section in their truck via pressure test and say it turned out it was fine. So the guy goes through my entire basement with the leak detector, testing every connection. He eventually gets a hit at my hot water heater. Tightens everything and insists all is good now, and that the only reason he fixed it and not insist I call a plumber and pay for it myself is because it probably happened as a result of the utility company changing the meter and rattling the pipes during the process. He leaves. I continue to smell gas outside near the meter....
A week later, we have a cold spell and my furnace isn't keeping up. Never had an issue with the furnace before. I call my HVAC guy. He comes and says everything seems fine and is perplexed. He then, since I told him how the util company changed the gas main and the meter recently, and also mentioned the regulator leak thing, he tests the gas pressure coming into the furnace. He does this from within the furnace itself, not at the meter or the gas pipe going into the furnace. He says the gas pressure coming into the furnace is way too high - well above the max rating for any furnace or appliance. He said he set the furnace to work with it but that I'll need to call the utilities company to fix the pressure, and then he would need to reset at the furnace to regulate based on the adjusted input pressure. Sounds reasonable. This was the day before Christmas Eve. Even though the smell of natural gas outside of my house has me stressed out, I figure I would have blown up by now if it was dangerous as it's been weeks. And I was busy with the holiday. I decide to not do anyting until after Christmas.
Yesterday morning, I go to HD and buy a cheap ($31) natural gas leak detector. I walk out to the meter and smell a little gas. I put it near the gas meter, specifially under the regulator, and it lights up as a small to medium sized leak. I go inside and call the utility company's emergency leak line. While waiting for the guy I go back outside about 10 minutes later and test again. I smell no gas, and sure enough - it doesn't detect any leak. Guy shows up 20 minutes later and no leak. Insists there is no leak. I tell him the story of what has happened up until this point. He of course looks at me like I'm crazy, puts his leak detector inside the furnace's PVC exhaust, which is located only a few feet from the meter. His detector lights up. He says the problem is my furnace and I need a new/better HVAC tech and they need to do an "efficiency test." He then insists that he's a professional, is using a detector that costs many thousands of dollars vs my $31 detector, and that I have no leak at the meter. He then uses another tool to poke some holes in my lawn to verify it isn't an underground leak. He begins to pack everything up and again tells me I need to find another HVAC guy. Just as he starts walking away I catch a whiff of natural gas. I beg him to come test the meter with his detector one last time. He obliges and sure enough - he looks up at me and says, "We have a gas leak." He then cuts the gas to the house and disassembles the meter and replaces the regulator. He said it must have never been replaced. He leaves after it's replaced, after using his detector one last time. He insists the gas pressure is the appropriate 6.5". I said "Awesome! Thank you!" thinking all was well.
I still smell a little gas out there but figure it is coming from the furnace exhaust being inappropriately set for the super high pressure from before. I put a call in to my HVAC guy, thinking he needs to come out and readjust. Told him to wait until after the holidays as no big rush. Furnace, BTW, has been running fine since the HVAC guy came out and adjusted. Probably very inefficiently, but fine.
While about to do some laundry, this morning, I open up my dryer and smell inside and notice natural gas smell inside. I start up the leak detector and put it inside the dryer (after calibrating the detector) and it detects a small/medium leak. Ugh!! I cut the gas to the dryer and turn it on air dry for 10 minutes. Then turn it on heat to hopefully expel any leftover gas. I then turn the gas back on and run it for 10 minutes. Still the smell of gas inside the dryer. Any advice before I give up and just live with this?
Could the bad regulator have caused a spike in pressure inside the house and caused the dryer internals to begin leaking gas?
