Gas Meter Change

jackchips_2

time we've had a meter changed out (there are two because of my Mother-in-laws unit) Com Gas has always re-lite everything.

I have no idea what Com Gas is callned now but have a good idea what Susan would call them. :-)

Shame on them Brad.

Jack

Brad White

Here is the story guys

and I do not mean for this to be a gripe about the utility but wondering what is normal practice.

I just got a call from my Susan, who just had a meter change-out this morning.

She showed the meter contractor all of the hooked up appliances (Viessmann Vitodens, gas oven/range, the dryer and a convective space heater in the rear playroom.

The fellow checks the range, vented air and light-off but apparently forgot the space heater. Susan calls me, I figured that one out (the only standing pilot in the house).

Now she is back in line as a service call. I could re-light the pilot but not until later.

To those of you that do routine service where the gas service is cut out, what is the procedure for full check-out? I think I know the answer but want to hear it from those on the front lines..

Thanks in advance-

Brad

Unknown

The procedure is

they are supposed to relight all the pilots and prior to doing so test the piping with a tight test or pressure test for any possible leaks. If he was shown the appliances there is no excuse for him not lighting the space heater. You should not have to wait in que until they get to you. They caused the problem they should return immeditely and light the equipment. Call and ask to speak the superintendent of customer service.

Gordy

Not on the front lines

But I had to have the regulator that was leaking replaced on my gas meter this past summer. NICOR relit the pilot on the water heater (only pilot I have), and turned the water heater down to 120* before he could leave ( their protocal).


Gordy

scrook_2

Irony is cosmic...


Irony is cosmic... and indiscriminate

This bugger didn't deserve what he got either

http://forums.invision.net/Thread.cfm?CFID=4444765&CFTOKEN=82774-130c79e4-0c81-4ea7-83f8-dd9937a8909b&CFApp=2&Thread_ID=52423&mc=2

kevink1955

We had a plumber doing some gas work that required 5 or 6 shutdowns. He would relight all standing pilots every night but would not touch the 1.2m conversion burner on the boiler. I think he tryed to fire it 1 time and could not get it to go.

He did not know it had a low gas pressure lockout that needed to be reset after every gas shutdown.

Shark

Gas Meter PT

When a meter is changed out the meter bar is checked for leaks (swivels and shut off)If its a medium pressure service a "regulator inspection" is done(about 6.5"wc no load)A complete "turn on light up" is performed. All appliances must be venting properly (no flue gases dumping)And if there is a bad pilot safety found its the company's duty to call and have it replaced at no charge to the customer. The customer should of dialed up the company to get the service rep back out there and if that didn't work then they should call the Public Service Commission. If the customer gets a bill from a contractor to come out for a service call(for work that should of been done by the utility) the customer needs to call the claims department.

Unknown

Shark, you mean that if

they could not get the pilots to light and the valve (pilot safety) was defective they replaced it for free, parts and labor??? WOW that is really something. The utility I worked for would replace the thermocouple if it was bad but not the entire pilot safety system.

Unknown

Comm Gas is now

NSTAR Gas.

Shark

Pilot Safety

Hi Tim .. yes just the thermocouple would be changed, if it was anything else the appliance would be red tagged. Sorry about that.

Bob Harper_2

Inlet pressure change?

Timmie, et al, If the utility changed the inlet pressure to 12.2 wci or even 2psi without changing the meter itself or making any adjustments to it, what do your local utilities do about a correction factor for the increased gas volumetric flow?
TIA, Bob

Brad White_2

Thank You All

Thank you all for your comments. This all had a happy ending in that Keyspan did send out a very nice woman tech in a reasonable amount of time to check out the entire system. I think Susan got to feed her too but am not sure. Anyway, that comes with the package for showing up.

All is well but was thinking, "what if?" and that raised a flag. Happy ending, that is the bottom line.

Thanks again.

Brad

Unknown

The 12.2 inches is not a problem as the

meter index will handle up to 1/2 pound pressure about 14" WC. The index will only record what goes thru the meter in cubic feet and inches WC will not affect that measurement.

The 2 pounds is a different problem, I am assuming you are talking about a 2 lb system actually going to a system manifold and then reducing at the equipment to inches pressure. The 2 lb system would require a meter designed and indexed for pounds pressure measurement.

On commercial systems with high flow rates on large boilers with say a rotary meter a corrector will be used to calculate correct measurement. This is really to protect the utility so that the customer does not get free gas.

Meters do not run fast they always fail on the slow side to the customers advantage.

Unknown

Late but...

I recently had two gas co start ups. The first one the guy opened the gas and did a start up on the new unit before I got there. The second was just a couple days ago and I WAS there. It was more than ok with him that I did the start up and he did a visual inspection of my work and then clocked the meter with everything off for 15 minutes to prove there were no leaks. In the past, to the best of my knowledge, the gas co always relit all pilots after an interuption of service.

Timco

when I got a new meter for my duplex and when the gas line was swapped over to the new line on another rental of ours, the gas company (Questar) hot swapped the meter and the gas line and service was never interrupted. Is that just in certain situations? Here there is always a tee where the piping turns into the house just for this...

Tim

Bob Harper_2

higher inlet pressures

Not sure what bug got into me or this as something changed my info last time....

Timmie, you're saying that as long as it doesn't go over a 12.2 wci system, the meter will still provide the proper volumetric flow and the utility uses an index to make the correction on the billing?

Another question: I did not see anything on the DOT site about date coding or limited lifespan of meters, regs. or their fittings. Any info.

Last Q- If I find my meter's riser is rusty and the utilit doesn't want to paint it up, what sort of paints are compatible? I'm especially curious about any worries over cathodic protection when using cold galvanized paints.
Thanks again. You da' man.
Bob

Unknown

meters

Timmie, you're saying that as long as it doesn't go over a 12.2 wci system, the meter will still provide the proper volumetric flow and the utility uses an index to make the correction on the billing? WHAT I AM SAYING IS 12.2 IS LESS THAN 1/2 A POUND OF PRESSURE SO THE METER DOES NOT CARE. LOW PRESSURE CAST IRON MAIN SYTEMS IN THE MAJOR CITIES OF THE NORTHEAST MAY VARY FROM 6 TO 12 INCHES PRESSURE COMING INTO THE METER. THE EXISTING INDEX (METER DIALS) ON THE METER WILL RECORD THE USAGE AND IT WILL BE BILLED WITHOUT CORRECTION.

Another question: I did not see anything on the DOT site about date coding or limited lifespan of meters, regs. or their fittings. Any info.DOT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT IT IS UNDER EACH STATES DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES AS IT HAS TO DO WITH RATES AND BILLING. DOT ONLY HAS TO DO WITH TRANSPORTATION OF GAS THROUGH PIPELINES

Last Q- If I find my meter's riser is rusty and the utilit doesn't want to paint it up, what sort of paints are compatible? I'm especially curious about any worries over cathodic protection when using cold galvanized paints. Thanks again. You da' man. Bob THE PAINT WILL NOT BOTHER CATHODIC PROTECTION OF ANY OF THE ABOVE GROUND PIPING. CALL THE LOCAL UTILITY AND THEY WILL ACTUALLY TELL YOU WHAT PAINT THEY USE.

Unknown

Timco

Some meter bars have a bypass function available for the purpose of changing the meter without interupting service. That may be how they were able to change your meter without shutting you down.

Timco

Actually, they swaped over to a new line entirely and used a tank mounted on their truck to supply the house. I have never seen that but that's what happened. No interruption. Is this not typical?

Tim

Unknown

That is very unusual,

I have never seen that done, a new one on me. Hey something new every day.