On 2007-12-23 17:32:49 +0000, (Andrew
Gabriel) said:

In article ,
"John" writes:
In some countries (France being one), this will likely cause
the gas supply to trip off, and you won't be able to reset it.

That sounds interesting - is there some sort of cut-off device that shuts
off if the flow exceeds a certain volume?

It's built in to all gas cocks in France (at least, I think
you are required to use gas cocks with it built in). It's
also built in to the main regulator in at least some cases
(you can't reset that one).

This could be a life saver in areas where the theft of pipes is becoming
common place.

It way predates that. I suspect it's to cope with appliances
falling off the wall, or buildings collapsing, or some such,
leaving a ripped open full bore gas pipe.

I saw an interesting installation when passing a house in Bucharest in
a taxi recently (there was a traffic jam).

The house was set back from the road some 5-6 metres and there was a
front wall of about 1.5 metres in height.

The gas pipe (looked like yellow painted steel) came up out of a hole
in the pavement next to the wall and then horizontally across the
garden at 1.5m above the ground. It wasn't clipped to the wall but
just rested on top of it.

The meter was suspended from the pipe at a position mid way across the
garden and was supported by a couple of bits of wood stuffed into the
ground. The pipe continued through a hole in the front wall of the
house. Of course, the hole had not been made good. Oh, and the stop
tap was on the house side of the meter.

This appeared to have been there for years judging by the appearance
and certainly was not a temporary arrangement.