In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

How did water get into gas lines? Did they rupture both a water main and a gas
main at the same time?
Sounds like a highly skilled team of craftman ! condensation is always in gas
lines so unless you turn burner on and water comes out I don't see how it could
harm anything. ( Remembers an old Three Stooges movie LOL! ) I would call the
gas company if you are concerned, but in MA code requires a drip on gas lines
to catch condensation. Maybe you could have a plumber drain them for you.

meirman wrote:
In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.


I don't know how it would damage most appliances, but I would guess it
could damage pressure regulators.

I don't know how water from a water line would be a problem, but we did
have water get in from a leak in the underground gas line once back in the
60's. We had the old gas line sleeved with a plastic pipe insert and that
took care of it. No damage to be repaired, but it had caused some
malfunctions at the time.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

In alt.home.repair on 27 Oct 2004 09:07:32 GMT
(Randd01) posted:

How did water get into gas lines? Did they rupture both a water main and a gas
main at the same time?

It seems so. Just heard on the news that the two companies involved
haven't decided whose fault it is yet. They plan to decide within 2
to 8 weeks.

Sounds like a highly skilled team of craftman ! condensation is always in gas
lines so unless you turn burner on and water comes out I don't see how it could

I think that is the situation! They showed a hole they were digging
in to repair this. It affected maybe 30 to 100 houses, I think. Some
say their insurance companies won't pay, or that there is a high
deductible, but I think one of the utilities will pay when they decide
which one it is. And of course, people with gas heat or hot water do
need to get things working.

harm anything. ( Remembers an old Three Stooges movie LOL! ) I would call the
gas company if you are concerned, but in MA code requires a drip on gas lines
to catch condensation. Maybe you could have a plumber drain them for you.

Well, I'm glad to say it's not my lines that have water. (In fact, the
builder didn't put gas in this development. I wish he had, but at
least the next townhouse won't have a gas explosion.)


Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

In alt.home.repair on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 10:34:22 GMT "Joseph Meehan"
posted:

meirman wrote:
In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.


I don't know how it would damage most appliances, but I would guess it
could damage pressure regulators.

They have those now? Inside the house?

I don't know how water from a water line would be a problem, but we did
have water get in from a leak in the underground gas line once back in the
60's. We had the old gas line sleeved with a plastic pipe insert and that
took care of it. No damage to be repaired, but it had caused some
malfunctions at the time.


Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

Two thoughts: 1) It might be easier to clean the scraps off of plates if
you could use the flame emitted from the kitchen faucet, and 2) I'd be
especially careful farting while your on the commode, especially if your a
smoker.

"meirman" wrote in message
...
In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

It sounds like a situation that occurred in Toronto Canada a number of years
ago. A gas company (I worked for the gas company, this is how I heard about
it) was tapping an old cast iron gas main for a new street line. It was
beside an old cast iron water main and looked identical. They apparently
look for condensation on the water main to tell it from the gas main.
However, they tapped the wrong main and sent city pressure water up the
small street's gas line. People were angry when water poured out through all
their gas appliances and flooded their basements. It cost the gas company
lots to make it all right.

"meirman" wrote in message
...
In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

The problems that come are the gas valves seats. If any debris (sand)
floating in the water gets caught under the seat of the valve, it could
prevent it from closing, opening or both. It also may damage a seat
designed to seal natural gas and cause permanent damage (gas leaking by the
seal at a small rate.) The water in the appliance pressure regulator also
plays havoc. The pressure regulator could become 'suggish' and may cause
further problems.

--
Zyp
"Eric Tonks" etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM wrote in message
. ..
It sounds like a situation that occurred in Toronto Canada a number of
years
ago. A gas company (I worked for the gas company, this is how I heard
about
it) was tapping an old cast iron gas main for a new street line. It was
beside an old cast iron water main and looked identical. They apparently
look for condensation on the water main to tell it from the gas main.
However, they tapped the wrong main and sent city pressure water up the
small street's gas line. People were angry when water poured out through
all
their gas appliances and flooded their basements. It cost the gas company
lots to make it all right.

"meirman" wrote in message
...
In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

Meirman

If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

Hey guys just a word of caution. I been in the utility constrution business
over 30 years as an equipment operator. People that don't have gas in their
houses think they are safe from a gas exposion. This just isnt true. Over the
years I have seen / heard of a couple of instances where houses were blown off
their foundations from gas and they didn't even have gas in their houses. What
happens is this. A crew digging in the street strikes a gas line. The proper
why to handle this is to rip it all the way out so the gas escapes into the air
until it can be shut down. But what happens a lot is the crew hits the pipe and
doesnt think they do any damage to it. They finish their work and backfill the
trench. Meanwhile gas can be escaping from anywhere along the pipe that got a
little tug. What happens is the gas will follow the path of least resistance
and this can be a couple of things. It has been known to follow up the water
service line trench of peoples houses that dont have gas. They come home and
smell gas but say we dont have gas it cant be gas. Then the furnace cycles or
they flip a switch, good night Irene. It can also follow up the trench from a
swer connection and leak into a basement around the castiron pipe where it
comes thru the floor or wall. I'm telling you this because if you do come home
and smell gas be aware that this can happen and call 911 or gas company from a
neighbors house. They will come out immediately. Tell your kids too!
Natural gas is pretty safe as it is lighter then air. Propane on the other hand
is heavier then air and collects in the low spots of your home. This is far
more dangerous. Just a little info for you non gas users.

Yup! That has happened more than once to the company I worked for.

"Randd01" wrote in message
...
Hey guys just a word of caution. I been in the utility constrution
business
over 30 years as an equipment operator. People that don't have gas in
their
houses think they are safe from a gas exposion. This just isnt true. Over
the
years I have seen / heard of a couple of instances where houses were blown
off
their foundations from gas and they didn't even have gas in their houses.
What
happens is this. A crew digging in the street strikes a gas line. The
proper
why to handle this is to rip it all the way out so the gas escapes into
the air
until it can be shut down. But what happens a lot is the crew hits the
pipe and
doesnt think they do any damage to it. They finish their work and backfill
the
trench. Meanwhile gas can be escaping from anywhere along the pipe that
got a
little tug. What happens is the gas will follow the path of least
resistance
and this can be a couple of things. It has been known to follow up the
water
service line trench of peoples houses that dont have gas. They come home
and
smell gas but say we dont have gas it cant be gas. Then the furnace cycles
or
they flip a switch, good night Irene. It can also follow up the trench
from a
swer connection and leak into a basement around the castiron pipe where
it
comes thru the floor or wall. I'm telling you this because if you do come
home
and smell gas be aware that this can happen and call 911 or gas company
from a
neighbors house. They will come out immediately. Tell your kids too!
Natural gas is pretty safe as it is lighter then air. Propane on the other
hand
is heavier then air and collects in the low spots of your home. This is
far
more dangerous. Just a little info for you non gas users.

This JUST happened on Long Island... note - the building has no natural gas
service, but a leak followed a water main into the basement.


Explosion collapses car dealership in Huntington Station; nine injured


Play the video (10/12/04) HUNTINGTON STATION - There was an explosion at the
Habberstad Nissan car dealership at 850 East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington
Station late Tuesday afternoon. Fire officials are speculating that a natural
gas leak caused the blast, but they are still trying to determine the exact
cause.
The building partially collapsed, and some of the debris fell onto Jericho
Turnpike. The road was closed overnight.

Firefighters say all the people working in the dealership were able to safely
escape. Nine people suffered minor injuries, and five of them have already been
released from Huntington Hospital.

Police, arson squads, K-9 units and ambulances responded to the scene, and
emergency workers are still at the scene investigating the cause.


Investigators say gas leak to blame for Huntington Station dealership blast


Play the video (10/13/04) HUNTINGTON STATION €“ Investigators say they have
discovered the cause of an explosion that destroyed part of the Habberstad car
dealership in Huntington Station.
According to authorities, a natural gas leak was at the heart of the blast.
Keyspan Energy officials say an oil burner ignited the released gas and caused
the explosion.

Nine people were hurt, none seriously, when the incident occurred on Jericho
Turnpike Tuesday afternoon. The collapse occurred at approximately 3:45 p.m.
Tuesday and forced authorities to close the turnpike. Firefighters, police
officials, medical workers and some Good Samaritans helped pull people from the
building to safety.

Jericho Turnpike was reopened Wednesday morning.

The blast leveled part of the car dealership.

Related Story:


From:


Hey guys just a word of caution. I been in the utility constrution business
over 30 years as an equipment operator. People that don't have gas in their
houses think they are safe from a gas exposion. This just isnt true. Over
the
years I have seen / heard of a couple of instances where houses were blown
off
their foundations from gas and they didn't even have gas in their houses.
What
happens is this. A crew digging in the street strikes a gas line. The proper
why to handle this is to rip it all the way out so the gas escapes into the
air
until it can be shut down. But what happens a lot is the crew hits the pipe
and
doesnt think they do any damage to it. They finish their work and backfill
the
trench. Meanwhile gas can be escaping from anywhere along the pipe that got a
little tug. What happens is the gas will follow the path of least resistance
and this can be a couple of things. It has been known to follow up the water
service line trench of peoples houses that dont have gas. They come home and
smell gas but say we dont have gas it cant be gas. Then the furnace cycles or
they flip a switch, good night Irene. It can also follow up the trench from
a
swer connection and leak into a basement around the castiron pipe where it
comes thru the floor or wall. I'm telling you this because if you do come
home
and smell gas be aware that this can happen and call 911 or gas company from
a
neighbors house. They will come out immediately. Tell your kids too!
Natural gas is pretty safe as it is lighter then air. Propane on the other
hand
is heavier then air and collects in the low spots of your home. This is far
more dangerous. Just a little info for you non gas users.

On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 23:31:59 -0400, meirman wrote:
In Baltimore a few days ago, water from the city water supply leaked
into gas lines, and it apparently damaged some gas appliances. (Not
mine.)

Any idea how water in a gas pipe would damage a stove or other
appliance? Maybe I'm still living in the 50's but I would think one
just takes the burners out of the stove and lets them dry, and the gas
company could do whatever it does to get the water out of the gas
lines. Force hot dry air through the lines? Or just regular air if
that is too hard.

I imagine it could cause problems for gas meters or pressure regulators.
It was really a problem in a north Chicago suburb during a recent winter
when a water main break got into the gas lines. The gas meters are
exposed, so when water got into them they froze. They had to replace
about 1000 gas meters, which took at least a week or more.