See this photo:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/990857
The red ellipse shows where I smell the gas. I smell some at lower spots,
but it's not continuous, meaning when I go lower, I don't smell it, then I
smell it, ...
I assume it has been like this during the last year, and there is no
cumulation of natural gas (like I said, only can smell it within a foot). So
I wonder, is it normal for a water heater with pilot light to emit some
natural gas odor, or should I try to seal all the pipe joints?
How long has the water heater been there? Was it a replacement or a new
install?
--
Joseph Meehan
Dia duit
No, it;s not normal to smell any gas near a water heater. It needs to
be checked out. You can start checking yourself by applying some soapy
water with a brush to the pipe joints. If there is a leak, you will
see bubbles. It's most likely the problem is before the combustion
occurs, not the exhaust, because the combustion products are odorless.
I have a followup question to this answer - unrelated to water heaters,
but sort of on topic - is there a "safe" amount of natural gas to
smell? Reason: I can smell natural gas near my meter, but only when I
put my nose right near the pipes. Anywhere else along the ground
around the meter I can't smell it - and I can't smell it on any of the
pipes in my house that I could reach (my neighbors probably think I've
lost my mind). I've had the gas company out several times, each time
they told me they could smell it too (with their nose up next to the
pipe), but said that they couldn't find a leak. I watched the last guy
who came out and he soaped up the entire pipe & meter and found
nothing. None of them has given me a good reason why this is
occurring.
Thanks
Doug
Any time the gas does not explode could be considered safe in a loose sense
of the term.
The odorant that is put into gas can leave a residue over time. I've
sniffed pipes and fittings removed from gas service and months later and
could detect an odor. If their equipment does not detect any gas, it is
probably safe and the leak may be gone, but the residue remains. So, you
are not smelling gas necessarily, but the odorant. Natural gas has no odor.
You did the right thing having it checked.
I'm not saying this case is the same, but a few weeks ago, someone
died in a motel in Ocean City, Md. Apparently it was CO. About a
week ago, someone announced that it was because of "a missing pipe"
from a gas water heater. The motel said it moved the water heater
outside. It gets pretty cold some of the time in Ocean City, and I
don't think anyone else keeps their water heater outside, but they
have to do something to make people feel their motel is safe.
I installed a new gas waterheater and for weeks later kept getting a
faint smell of gas odor. Rechecked my connections and they were tight.
Finally checked the internal connections and found a loose one - came
that way from the factory. Tightened it and never smelled gas again.
Bob
As to whether it is normal or not, it can yes. I have spoken with people
who do home calls and people who do training for PSE (Puget Sound Energy)
and on certain gas water heaters it is normal to smell gas around the burner
control knob. But your circle doesn't indicate that location so in my mind
you should perhaps ask your gas supplier if they can verify the installation
for you. It's what I did when I smelled gas in and around my gas control
box. No reason to risk sending your water heater into low orbit.
It is a replacement water heater installed about 1 year ago. If I turn off
the gas valve on the water heater itself, then the smell is gone.
Then I turn it to the pilot lighting setting and lit the pilot. Immediately
after this I stuck my nose near the control box (where the valve, lighting
button, and the temperature control is mounted) and smell gas.
I think it's safe (dangerous?) to say the leak comes from that control box.
And it's only 1 year old. The water heater is made by state industries
(http://www.stateind.com/).
Did you call the gas company? There were a few people who suggested it and
it really is a good recommendation.
That eliminates what I was thinking of. I suggest that you call the
manufacturer or your local gas company. I would consider it a hazard.
I found the problem. There are two gas tubes coming out of the temperature
control box, a big one supplies the burner, and a small one supplies the
pilot light:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/990857/1/82458064
The installer did not use any joint compound on these tube fittings, so they
leak a little. Instead, he overtightened the large nut, but that still
doesn't work.
I bought some joint compound from HD (says ok to use on gas pipe) and put
them in the threads. That's the white stuff you see in the threads. This
eliminates almost all the gas odor. I no longer smell gas when standing next
to the water heater. I still smell a faint odor at the bottom of the control
box.
I think a little bit of gas is leaking out between the nut and the tubes.
How do you seal this? Yes, I know I can call the gas company, or call the
installer to fix it. That would be the last resort. I want to learn
something in the process if I could.
Then you need to replace the fittings--joint compound is for _threaded_
pipe fittings where the threads make the seal, _not_ for tubing
fittings. In a tubing fitting (or a pipe union, as well) the seal is
the mating between the taper and the sleeve _not_ the threads at all.
Sounds like they tried to reuse an old fitting that has either corroded
enough to no longer have a precise matching or, in trying to make that
connection, overtightned and likely crushed the ferule.
The real solution is to replace the fittings if you have sufficient
length to get a fresh tubing end or the tubing and fittings if not.