Gas Venting

Tom Blackwell_2

I have been involved in two projects where there were explosions while venting new lines. In both cases the mechanic was venting the line inside and waiting to smell the odorant as a signal to stop venting. 35 years ago, an elderly gas co. employee explained to me that the rust on the inside of new piping would absorb the mercaptan and you could have flammable gas with no smell at first. I have found this to be true, and this information needs to be spread around as much as possible. Our standard now is to run a hose outside and vent through this, so a flammable atmosphere can't build indoors.

Tim McElwain

Odorant Fade

can happen also on new pipe which was just installed. It can also occur when gas lines underground leak and the soil into which it is leaking is very wet, the dampness will cause the odorant to fade.



Propane tanks which have not been properly purged can also cause odorant fade. 



This is why every plumber and heating person should have a gas detector to insure safety when working around gas. It also keeps you from being killed.



How many of you have ever gone into a building which has an odor of gas? Most of you I would assume. WELL IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU ARE STILL ALIVE!  Your nose can't measure percent of gas in an environment.



Proper venting requires the use of instrumentation not just bleeding into the air waiting for an odor. Venting should be done outdoors with a test instrument monitoring the gas/air escaping until it indicates a reading.



50 years in the gas industry I have seen it all.