Dirty Gas

j a_2

j a_2

This is a fairly common problem in low pressure areas south of Boston..
It plays hell with gas valves, there fix is to blow out the line and or install a filter inline...

BobC

The gas company had to replace the line coming into the house a few years ago because it was full of crud. In the last 4 years they have replaced a lot of the lines into houses on my street.

Bob

EBEBRATT-Ed

Talked with a rep who sells gas boosters in the Boston area a couple of years ago.

He told me that Boston still has some underground gas pipe made out of WOOD. Hard to believe that could be true

j a_2

BobC said:

The gas company had to replace the line coming into the house a few years ago because it was full of crud. In the last 4 years they have replaced a lot of the lines into houses on my street.

Bob

Are you in a low pressure area

BobC

I'm in Quincy. In my case I noticed what seemed like gas pressure fluctuations so I put a manometer on the gas line at the boiler and found the pressure was dropping from 7+ to 4 inches when the 96,000 btu boiler came on.

I called the gas company and they confirmed the problem, they reamed out the gas line but decided to replace the line - that happened two days later.

Bob

kcopp

What does a gas filter look like? Wouldn't that be more restrictive and make the low pressure more of a problem?

j a_2

My friend is having a filter installed so I'll try to get over to take a picture for you

Tim McElwain

Not unusual in the northeast with very old gas lines and yes there are still some places with the old wooden gas mains still in the ground and working. Few and far between. I actually had a piece of old wooden gas main at my training center that the owner of "Gas Doctor" had loaned me. He has since taken it back.

Yes eventually the filer will have to be replaced, much cheaper however than having to change gas valves.

These piping systems really screw up the negative pressure gas valves and systems on Mod/Cons.

hydro_newbie

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Talked with a rep who sells gas boosters in the Boston area a couple of years ago.

He told me that Boston still has some underground gas pipe made out of WOOD. Hard to believe that could be true

Always amazed at (and grateful for) what I learn on this site.

j a_2

In this area, being a low pressure area, they did try to up the pressure and it caused debris from the old mains to find there way into homes...the gas company acknowledged this and recovers losses.to home owners.they as well install a filter and maintain it at no cost...it's why in this area you must be very careful of the appliances you install. The gas company will only guarantee you a min of 4.5 inchs ...That there can be a real issue, if one is not careful...

NYplumber

Owww, sludge.
I would like to see what a gas line filter looks like.

I service many modcons that have issues where high CO in low fire, or on a recent boiler, rumbling. The shavings from the poly gas lines from when the utility company runs a new line to a home end up in the first gas valve down the street.
I just started enlarging all gas lines near the boiler (residential) to 2in steel pipe for a lower velocity. Time will tell if this method proves itself.

M

j a_2

> @NYplumber said:
> Owww, sludge.
> I would like to see what a gas line filter looks like.
>
> I service many modcons that have issues where high CO in low fire, or on a recent boiler, rumbling. The shavings from the poly gas lines from when the utility company runs a new line to a home end up in the first gas valve down the street.
> I just started enlarging all gas lines near the boiler (residential) to 2in steel pipe for a lower velocity. Time will tell if this method proves itself.
>
> M

j a_2

The above pictures are for a single appliance, in most cases here in the Boston area they will install a whole house filter on the inside fit close to meter...we still have many inside meters but the movement is to put them outside...they also will automatically request a repipe should your gas supply run in your home longer than approx 12 feet before it hits the meter bar...it can be costly to the owners....and man do they get pissed.when you go into a upgraded low use to high use when you tell owners what's involved...they think your scamming them, when your just doing what's required ....by gas company and fire department......I hated back in the day when I had to explain to the customer the additional work required for conversions....

Tim McElwain

Keep in mind the filter is temporary and must be replaced every so often. They tend to be forgotten once they are installed and then down the road they get plugged. Of course it is still cheaper than replacing gas valves.