CERT: FINALLY!

[Ron Mesic]

Hi Group:

 

FINALLY got a straight & clear answer from a Damage Prevention Field Leader as to why the gas company doesn't want you to turn gas back on if you turn it off... for handling "we do that all the time" and "why" questions in class:

 

1)  If you don't know what you are doing, you might turn the gas on too quickly causing damage to the regulator diaphragm. 

2)  Especially with older construction using pipe dope as opposed to teflon tape, there may be pinholes or joints where the gas pressure was holding in a "plug" of dope or corrosion that falls away once pressure is released - leaving a new pinhole leak when service is restored. 

3)  OF COURSE if you turned the gas off because of a leak or other unsafe condition, it should not be turned back on until that problem is corrected.

 

 

For CERT training - once off, Gas Company must return service.

 

 

Another interesting tidbit:

Call the gas company if there is a lightning strike.  Even to a tree out front... gas lines could be anywhere and it is better to have them check for damage sooner as opposed to later. (And, for some reason, tree roots seem to like gas lines - so I'm told)  Examples of burned and leaky supply line pipes were reviewed in the class - the gas company frequently has a wire running along the plastic pipes to make it easier to find breaks underground.

 

And finally:

Don't do this all at once, but as a responsible homeowner, you might call Miss Dig to have your services located purely as a precaution.  It could be a gas line runs beneath your garden and you have only been lucky so far.  I think I'm calling before I sink the ground rods for my new antenna...

 

 

Best regards,

 

Ron