Water in gas pipes LOTS

PaulWojnicki

I had to purge out gallons of water out of a 2 story home gas lines. There is a new large gas main run down the street within the last month, 28 PSI. It looks like the low spot in the neighborhood. Gas company employee said the water came from the house. The only thing possible is a abandoned 3/8 copper gas line to a grill that runs under ground, it leaves the basement at grade. Employee said the gas valve was 3/4 open. It has been like that for years. I found no water in the line that was supplying that valve. It is a vertical pipe down to the water heater, drip leg was dry. So I don't think it came from the abandoned line. Its summer so no heating except hot water and clothes drier. The only thing left is the clothes drier. Has anybody ever had a gas cloths drier feed water into the gas pipe, it's a Bosch front loader. Crazy other thing is the 2nd floor A/O Smith power shot water heater tank started leaking with in days of this happening. The drip leg was dry, the drain in the floor caught the leaking water. I pressure checked the gas line, not bleeding into the drain. 2nd floor edition is many years old. If it did come from the gas main in the street, how can I protect this house from water again?

Zman

Water will not get into a pressurized pipe from the outside.
There are a few possibilities:

1. The gas company has an operational issue that is allowing water vapor into their system, it is then turning to liquid and showing up at your house.
   
2. Your house was left unpressurized at some point and the water leaked in.
   
3. Someone, intentionally or not, connected a water line of a higher pressure to your gas piping.
   

SlamDunk

I had number 3 happen to me while commissioning equipment. construction crew had trouble lighting the burner. No pilot flame, so I started dismantling pilot pipe train thinking clogged regulator, stuck solenoid. Turned out to be 90 psi water. Fire suppression was connected to my equipment's 2 inch gas supply. This was in Illinois. Funny thing was, both gas and fire suppression plumbing passed inspection! It can happen.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I think the gas utility is telling you a story to cover their ---. I doubt the water is coming from the house

unclejohn

A leak in a underground gas pipe can let water into the gas line. Maybe before the upgraded 28psi line water was in the old pipe and now got pushed into the gas distribution system.

Tim McElwain

I have had cases when I was with the gas company that someone in the neighborhood made a mistake thinking a gas line which was shut off as the house was vacant was the water feed and they connected the house water to it. When people moved in and everything was turned on we had water. It then actually feed out into the low pressure gas line (water pressure greater than gas pressure) what a mess.

EdTheHeaterMan

Has Moe Howard been doing any plumbing in your neighborhood? or maybe his partners Larry or Curley

Zman

EdTheHeaterMan said:

Has Moe Howard been doing any plumbing in your neighborhood? or maybe his partners Larry or Curley

For those who have not seen their handywork...
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5t53dy

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

The only water-in-pipe occasion I had was when some underground piping developed electrolysis. There was no dielectric union or coupling where the pipe went underground and the pipe looked like Swiss cheese; water was able to quickly fill up the line. Didn't take long for it to happen either; about 3 weeks.

dopey27177

Here I had experience with water in the gas line. I serviced an apartment complex with 3500 apartments at the low end of Brooklyn Unions gas supply to the neighborhood.

They were doing upgrades to a 80 year old 8" cast Iron service.

The upgrade was replace the existing pipe with new. At the point of connecting the new piping to the primary service there was a water main break and a lot of water got into the new piping.

Down at the lower end of the gas mains The utility had water collecting pots to collect any condensate or water that may enter the piping through normal manufacture and supply.

When water filled the pots the gas company was able to come and siphon out the water.

Unfortunately the development was shut down water removed and a massive gas out began.

It took nearly two weeks to restore service to the entire neighborhood. Each building went through testing the entire gas piping system for leaks.

It hundreds of men to test each building and light the pilot lights in the kitchens'

At that time I was the Lic. Master Plumber for the Hew York City Housing Authority, I had my staff 180 plumbers and helpers on site along with several hundred workers from Brooklyn Union Gas company.

You probably ran into a situation similar to this. When gas mains are worked on (usually by contractors for the utility) the gas company forgets to drain the pots or if you are at a low point to the gas service there should have been a pot at your building so water could be drained without having to have an open gas pipe where water would drain by gravity.

Jake