SHingTF in Lawrence Mass.

[spencer rifle]

The one linked above is aluminum, so it's not only sparkless, it's also doesn't rust.

 

[actaeon277]

The one linked above is aluminum, so it's not only sparkless, it's also doesn't rust.

I didn't look at the link.
The stuff I've used at work while working on gas was all brass.

Except that time I was working on a 10 foot diameter Coke Oven Gas main, that the offtake for the pressure sensor had frozen up.
It froze so hard, I kept bending brass rods with the sledge hammer.
So I used stainless steel. Which REALLY was stupid. Cause stainless WILL spark.
But I was running out of options, and I was spending 16 hours outside freezing my moustache to my face mask.
I shoulda called for management to make a SJP (Safe Job Procedure), but back then safety was more lax, I was young and invincible, and I wanted to finish the damn job.
But, since the boss wanted me just to hurry up and used a torch to thaw it... at least my idea was better than his.
He told me, since the pipe was pressurized, I had no worries of blowing the place up. It would just shoot flame out.
So I looked at him in my best "are you a ****ing idiot" look, and asked him what would be our options when the flame started shooting out?
The valve was removed to get at the impulse line.
So, this flame was just going to keep shooting out, and we'd NEVER get the valve on?
I could see the gears turning in his head as he realized he had not even thought that far ahead.

 

[dudley0]

Had an HVAC guy check for leaks in a residential gas line with a lighter. Same thought process, smaller scenario.

Still made me suck underwear up my butt when he did it the first time.

 

[actaeon277]

Had an HVAC guy check for leaks in a residential gas line with a lighter. Same thought process, smaller scenario.

Still made me suck underwear up my butt when he did it the first time.

Actually, that happens a lot.
Though, probably better outside than inside.

A gas line under pressure will only make a "puff" with the flame, then it will go out. Small leak will burn off the available gas faster than it is supplied, flame goes out.

My problem was I was on a pipe big enough to walk through, and the impulse line was 1/2 inch, completely open. So it's not "leaking".


Most problems with the lighter, would be indoors.
After awhile, your nose becomes insensitive to the gas "smell" (actually added, because NG doesn't smell).
So, you could be in a room filled with a large amount of gas at the correct gas/air ratio.

Inside, it's best to use soapy water. Spritz on the joints. Look for the bubbles.

 

[dudley0]

It was inside, natural gas, afterwards he talked about being almost smell blind from the years he has been around it, and it scared the crap out of me.

Pipe big enough to walk thru.... no thanks.

 

[red_zr24x4]

I work with natural gas every day, it has to be just right for me to smell it anymore.

 

[actaeon277]

Too much exposure to the mercaptan can cut down on your ability to smell it. Short term effect. And long term effect.




I have pics and a video of the coke plant, but I never digitized them.
But, it looks like this

the big pipe going left/right on the top of this.
This is the pipe for 1 Battery.
When you tie them into the Coke Oven Main, it can get a LOT larger.
Coking produces a lot of COG as a byproduct.
And, when we ship it out for use in heating (no longer done), the amount of gas required is a LOT, so the pipe must still be huge.

Coke Oven gas's heat content is 1/2 that of natural gas. Meaning you need twice as much gas to do the same job.

 

[actaeon277]

It was inside, natural gas, afterwards he talked about being almost smell blind from the years he has been around it, and it scared the crap out of me.

Pipe big enough to walk thru.... no thanks.

Yeah, inside with a bad sniffer, not a good idea.

 

[lonehoosier]

.

 

[lonehoosier]

https://www.nwitimes.com/lawsuit-fi...cle_39fcdedd-3ad4-5327-9a8f-a9a7cc95443c.html

[h=1]Lawsuit filed against Merrillville-based NiSource after Massachusetts gas blasts[/h]

 

[Dead Duck]

So Safety wise-

Is there an "Auto-Shutoff" Pressure Valve System that exists that you can install for a house that would prevent the spike from doing any damage?
Basically installed on the inlet just after the city's meter/pressure valve?

I'd buy one.