Gas Leak Detector

If you suspect that you have a gas leak in your house and you don’t own a gas leak detector you can detect one if…

You smell a rotten egg odor. Because natural gas is odorless, gas companies put in a foul smell into the gas so that we can detect it easier.

You hear a hissing sound or see dirt coming out of the ground (when you are digging around your house watch out for any gas lines, which you may end up hitting).

If you see a damaged connection to an appliance which uses natural gas (BBQ Grill, stove, etc.)

If you feel that you have a gas leak, before turning off the gas valve on your natural gas you need to find out where the leak is coming from. Apply a 50/50 mixture of dish washer fluid and water onto the connections. You will start to see bubbles at the source of the gas leak. If you see connections on the tub, you’ll need to replace the tube connection. There’s a very good chance that you’ll see bubbles between two connecting pieces. Fixing a gas leak in this situation involves nothing more than tightening the connection.

Although there are sources online, which say that you should evacuate your house and call 911 from your neighbor’s phone if you smell natural gas, there are also articles telling you how to repair a gas leak, similar to what I mentioned above with the soap bubbles. How can you repair a gas leak if you can’t be in the house? If the leak is really extensive, you should evacuate your house. If the smell of rotten eggs isn’t too overpowering, you can trying to fix the leak by yourself. Natural gas leaks are separated into grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 leaks, with grade 3 being the smallest. You have to use your own judgment in deciding whether or not to say. Most of the articles I’ve seen telling you to evacuate and call professionals are plumbers who want your business. Nonetheless, if you have a leak and don’t want to take care of it yourself, your local plumber of the gas company itself can repair the leak for you and offer you gas leak detector services.

Whether you plan on staying in your house or evacuating it, you have to make sure that you don’t turn on or off any electrical appliances (this even involves not using your telephone). When you turn on a light switch on or off, for example, there is a tiny electrical spark, which has the potential to ignite the natural gas and start a fire or explosion. This also means that you can’t smoke or light fires. In general, just don’t use anything.

What happens if you can’t smell the gas leak? How can you be 100% sure that you don’t have a gas leak? Sometimes people have a mild gas leak in their house for a long time and they don’t even know it because it isn’t strong enough to raise any red flags. This can result in carbon monoxide poisoning. Well, this is where a natural gas leak detector comes in. Although they won’t tell you the exact source of the leak (you can detect it by using the soap bubble method), they’ll tell you that you have one, which will give you a head up. A home gas leak detector is able to detect natural gas and carbon monoxide, which is a form of natural gas. You can buy these detectors at your local home improvement store (such as Home Depot or Lowes) or online at merchants such as Amazon. Whichever one of these gas leak detectors you buy, you have to make sure that you install it in a place, which will make you hear the sound or see the light it emits. If your hearing isn’t the best, go for a combustable gas leak detector, which will emit light in the presence of natural gas. If you house is big enough, you may have to purchase more than one gas leakage detector because they can only detect the gas within a specified range. How much will a gas leak detector cost? You can expect to pay around $50-$300 for one. Generally, a cheap gas leak detector will have a lower ability to change its sensitivity level. You want to buy one, which doesn’t go off at the slightest sniff of natural gas, giving false alarms. Preferably, you’d want one with a medium setting. I’ve seen some reviews for these detectors saying that they go off way to frequently and give off false alarms. As such, rather than reading ad copy, it’s a good idea to browse sites such as Amazon.com so that you can select the best gas leak detector that is right for you. Popular detection devices include a refrigerant gas leak detector (for the kitchen), a propane gas leak detector (another type of dangerous gas), and an ultrasonic gas leak detector (which detects gas by use of sound so that you can use it outside).

Article written by friends from How to File Bankruptcy.