How to check for a gas leak at home: effective ways to check and deal with a leak

7 Prevention

Avoiding catastrophic consequences contributes to the prevention of leakage:

Periodically check the tightness of the joints at the inlet / outlet of gas appliances.
Pay attention to the integrity of the hose connecting the stove to the main pipeline, the gas bottle.
Regularly check the draft of the internal and internal ventilation ducts, chimneys. Clean if necessary.

In order not to be poisoned by toxic products of incomplete combustion, ventilate the rooms more often. Place large pots on special burners with high ribs

Incomplete combustion of household gas, when instead of an even blue light, the burner lights up in yellow-orange color, leakage is no less dangerous. In order not to be poisoned by toxic products of incomplete combustion, ventilate the rooms more often. Place large pots on special burners with high ribs.

Modern gas equipment is becoming smarter in terms of various degrees of protection. For the sake of saving your and other people's lives, health, property, update and repair gas-powered appliances in a timely manner. In the pursuit of savings, never neglect safety.

What does natural gas smell like?

If methane does not have a natural aroma, then what is added to gas for smell? This special substance is ethyl mercaptan, the aroma of which resembles the stench of paint mixtures. Often the smell of gas is confused with the stench of organic waste from a garbage chute.

Ethyl mercaptan is a clear, colorless, flammable liquid with a sharp, disgusting odor, which is found in very low concentrations (up to 2 * 10-9 mg / l). In nature, the "flavor" of ethanethiol can be smelled when a skunk releases its fluid to repel enemies.

Natural gas is always odorless and colorless, it is a safe and affordable source of energy in the absence of open flames nearby

However, it is a flammable and explosive substance that must be handled with care.

Addition to the gas for the smell of "rotten eggs" is necessary so that it can be easily recognized in case of exit from the pipe. If you smell gas in the apartment, then this is the main sign of its leakage.

Natural methane flows out very slowly, causing poisoning of humans and animals with carbon monoxide.You will not immediately know about the release of a dangerous mixture, but as soon as you feel that the house smells of gas, you need to take emergency measures.

You should also be wary of the appearance of strange sounds in the room, such as whistling and hissing. And if you saw that stagnant water suddenly began to bubble, then most likely there is a section of the exit of the gas mixture under it.

If there is a release of gas at home, then all households and animals will experience sudden dizziness, nausea, uneven breathing, chest pain, nosebleeds, suffocation and loss of appetite.

However, some consumers claim that natural gas smells like garlic, while others claim that its aroma is sweet and heavy. Thus, it is impossible to say exactly what natural gas smells like - each person has his own perception. One thing is clear - this is a bad-smelling substance, which is difficult not to notice.

Rules of conduct in the event of an accident with a gas leak

Natural gases in their majority are serious sources of danger for humans. However, the most common in use, and therefore the most dangerous, are liquefied petroleum gas, offered to consumers in cylinders for household needs, as well as methane flowing through city highways. It is they who most often cause damage to property and harm to health, and sometimes take life.

Gas leakage causes suffocation, poisoning, headache. But these are not its most terrible consequences. The result of a leak can be an explosion, the damage from which is incomparable even with a fire.

To avoid such unfortunate consequences, you should strictly follow all recommendations for the use of gas appliances, including stoves, columns, stoves.Carry out regular care for them, do not delay repair or even replacement.

If there is a gas leak.

If you smell gas in a closed room, the first thing to do is to stop its supply to the stove. To do this, turn off the tap. At the same time, in no case do not light matches, do not smoke, if possible, do not turn on the light and any electrical appliances. The best solution in such a case would be to completely de-energize the apartment using the electrical switchboard on the landing. This will eliminate the possibility of gas ignition from a spark, and, accordingly, an explosion.

Open all the windows in the apartment wide open, fix the doors so that they do not close with a draft. Ventilate the apartment thoroughly until the smell of gas disappears completely. At this time, it is advisable to leave the gassed room altogether.

If even with the tap turned off, the gas continues to enter the room, it is strictly forbidden to return to it until the rescuers arrive.

If your loved ones show the first signs of poisoning, immediately take them out to fresh air, lay them down so that their head is above the level of their legs. Do not put off calling a doctor even if the patient says that he is better.

Regardless of the time of day, call the emergency gas service.

Rules for handling household gas cylinders.

If you store the gas cylinder outside the home, place it in a well-ventilated area, always in an upright position. Do not put gas cylinders in the basement or bury them in the ground.

Protect the cylinder itself and its gas tube from direct sunlight and heat.

If you need to replace the gas cylinder, you must remove all sources of fire, burning coals, turn off electrical appliances. First of all, before replacing, make sure that both taps, in the old and new cylinders, are tightly closed. After replacement for tightness, all connections. at home, this can be done with a soap solution.

In order to connect the gas cylinder to the stove, it is recommended to choose a flexible rubber hose with a length of no more than one meter, specially designed for this purpose, and fix it for safety with clamps. Make sure that it is not stretched or pinched.

Checking, and even more so repair, of all gas equipment can only be carried out by a qualified specialist.

All cylinders that you are not currently using, both empty and filled, store outside the living quarters.

When cooking, be careful not to spill liquids from the pot over the fire, as this can cause gas to leak. After all the cooking work is completed, do not forget to turn off the tap.

Causes of a gas leak

The causes of gas leakage in your house or apartment are most often elementary negligence and ignoring the rules of operation. The main reasons are as follows:

1. Illegal installation of appliances: stoves and gas boilers.
2. Independent connection or connection by individuals who do not have permission to carry out this type of work.
3. Lack of a service contract with the owner of a private house.
4. Careless handling of gas equipment: lack of checking the tightness of connections, ignoring the rules of cleanliness.
5. Failure to follow the order of turning on and off the equipment.
6. Ignoring the timing of verification by the residents themselves or the managing organization: gas boilers are subject to verification once a year, stoves - once every three years.

Gas leakage may be caused by improper installation

Residents of apartment buildings through the management company enter into a contract for the maintenance of gas facilities, which guarantees periodic inspections and elimination of accidents. The presence of a maintenance contract does not eliminate the need for preventive measures by the residents themselves.

Electric ignition

The function is convenient, I will not argue. But this is the most unreliable part of a household gas stove. Firstly

, the electric ignition unit itself generates a high voltage for a spark to occur. If the spark circuit is broken (the spark does not jump), then the unit may fail due to overvoltage. Manufacturers categorically prohibit the use of ignition when at least one burner is removed, since the spark must jump right onto the burner body. If it is not there, overvoltage is very likely to occur.Secondly , the spark electrodes are wrapped in a very fragile ceramic tube. This tube is easy to break. When the burner is on, the tube is hot. In this state, she is afraid of liquid ingress, and immediately cracks from this.

When choosing a stove before buying, you need to make sure that the spark electrodes are installed inside the burner, protected from external influences and water ingress when the burners are installed. When washing the stove table when the burners are removed, one must be very careful not to break these electrodes.

Is it possible to connect the gas stove in the apartment yourself?

All works with gas are classified as especially dangerous. In accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, all connections, switching or repairs of equipment connected to pipelines distributing gas to consumers must be carried out only by employees of organizations that have licenses to carry out the relevant work.

Unauthorized connection of equipment, repairs on pipelines, replacement of valves is an administrative violation.

Penalties can be avoided if, before the start of operation of the equipment, a specialist is invited who will check the quality of the connections and, in the absence of comments, draw up an act on the creation of a new gas consumption facility and its registration.

Table grids

Grilles are installed above the gas burners. Firstly

, they may be crooked from the start.Secondly , from heating they can be deformed. I advise you to check the absence of deformation when buying. To do this, put a frying pan on the stove. The pan should stand on four points, and not swing on three or two. As for heat distortion. Check with the seller if the manufacturer's warranty covers this deformation, read the reviews on the Internet for the plate you have chosen regarding the deformation of the gratings.

Only cast-iron gratings are guaranteed against deformation, but they are now very rare. But it has become fashionable to paint light alloys under cast iron. Distinguishing cast iron is very easy. Cast iron is not painted, as it is very technologically difficult and pointless. Cast iron is black or dark dark gray (almost black) in color and is very heavy.Products painted in cast iron look have a lighter color or color shades, they are much lighter.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

The simplest and most affordable is the electronic version. It just plugs into an outlet. When a gas leak occurs, it lets you know about it with a sound and / or light signal. The main disadvantage is its uselessness in the event of a power outage.

The battery type assumes the presence of a battery with which the sensor can work without power for up to 2 days. Sensor systems are the most efficient and more expensive option. They include not only a device that reacts to gas vapor in the air.

However, household gas leak sensors are only able to warn of a situation that has arisen in time, and not to warn, and even more so not to eliminate it.

It is better to follow preventive measures that will help to avoid leakage and its consequences.

1. If there are heating stoves or fireplaces, check the intensity and quality of the draft, especially during the operation of gas appliances.

2. The room must be well ventilated. Open windows from time to time.

3. During cooking, do not go far from the stove.

4. Do not allow young children to use the gas stove in the absence of adults.

5. When leaving the apartment, close the gas supply valve, and it is also recommended to disconnect household electrical appliances from the mains.

There are also categorical prohibitions that you should be aware of. Without permission, do not start redevelopment or major repairs in a house where there are gas tanks. If you do not have special skills and abilities, you should not attempt to repair, replace or install such equipment yourself.Any wrong action can lead to disastrous consequences.

Channels and hatches necessary for ventilation should not be closed or sealed, as well as changing their design. Do not make any changes to the design of the gas exhaust devices. If there are automatic control devices, do not turn them off.

Leaks occur due to the following causal factors:

· problems with the hose: the hose gasket was squeezed, damaged, burst, the hose connection nut was loosened, the hose itself is full of holes;

· problems with the faucet: the sealing gum of the faucet is worn out, there is no lubrication on the faucet plug, it is loose;

· the tightness is broken in the plate due to weakly twisted internal connections. By the way, a seal failure could also occur during transportation;

· incorrect installation, incorrect settings. On the one hand, safety precautions and household gas appliances do not allow for independent connection work;

· violations of operation: milk escaped in the stove without gas control, you are not around, the flame went out, and the gas goes on;

· the burner is faulty - there may be a factory defect, or natural wear and tear. In most cases, it is jammed or replaced with a new one.

HOW TO LOCATE A LEAK

Actually, the smell of gas may not be felt immediately, especially if a window is open in the room. But, during cooking - quite. In order not to miss this moment, an additional component is added to household gas - mercaptan. This fragrance is an extremely smelly compound. In theory, it should warn of a leak long before the concentration of blue fuel reaches an extremely dangerous level.But, in practice, anything is possible.

The fact is that natural gas in the bulk is butane, propane, in some quantities there is propylene, ethylene. All this explosive mixture has a psychotropic effect. The person loses sensitivity and does not hear the smell of the perfume.

If you smell gas, shut off the gas supply immediately.. You should not turn on the light, smoke and do anything that can cause a spark. It is better to de-energize the entire apartment altogether and ventilate it well. So at least nothing will blow up. It would be nice to take out all mobile devices, turn off the landline phone.

So, the main methods for detecting a leak are as follows:

· believe your eyes. This is the first and quite official method of detecting problems. The gas pipes leading to the burners are wetted with soapy water, including the places where the hose is connected to the stove, connections above and below the gas meter. The places where bubbles form are determined by eye. Most often, this is where there is a leak, which is caused by loss of tightness. If you see any slightest bubble, close the shut-off valve immediately and call the gas workers;

· trust your own ears. If the leak is severe, the blue fuel will whistle distinctly;

· by smell. Actually, this is where we started.

How to check for a gas leak?

How to check for a leak gas? There are a number of proven methods that will help prevent the consequences of a leak in a house or apartment. For safety, the timely detection and elimination of gas leaks at intra-house and external communications is of great importance.

Probable areas of leakage

Gas leakage usually occurs in certain places:

• leaky threaded connections;
• gas stove hose gusts;
• fistulas on gas pipes;
• valves on pipes inside and outside the house.

Connections loosen over time, pipes and hoses age.

Visual ways

A gas leak can be detected independently in several ways:

Aurally. The gas at the outlet emits a characteristic whistle.
For the smell. The smell can appear in an apartment, house, entrance, in the local area. Increases as you approach the leak.
Visually. If a gas leak occurs outside the home, the grass or snow on the site may turn yellow. A reliable method is to check for gas leaks using soap suds. Washing powder or shampoo is diluted in water, whipped into foam. Foamed liquid is applied to threaded connections, hoses, pipes

Particular attention is paid to connecting elements and valves. If there is a leak, soap bubbles appear. You can check the gas leak for smell

You can check for a gas leak for smell.

If a leak is detected, you need to shut off the gas supply, open the windows and call the gas service. Lights and electrical appliances must not be touched (turn them on or off).

Use of gas analyzers

Sensors are able to signal a deviation in the chemical composition of the air by giving sound and light signals. There are several types of gas analyzers:

1. semiconductor sensor. Works only from the network, very economical. The principle of operation is based on chemical reactions.
2. Infrared sensor. The analyzer is air, which is checked for the presence of gas by infrared radiation. The sensor responds to exceeding the reference level of methane. The sensitive element is a filament or an LED. The sensor beeps and starts flashing. The device works from a network and from batteries.
3. Catalytic detector. Air is analyzed by detecting the level of oxidation in an alkaline solution. The built-in microcircuit reacts to the excess of the gas content, signals with light and sound. The analyzer can operate on batteries or mains power.

It is important to observe the nuances of installing gas analyzers. In an apartment building or a village with a centralized gas supply, appliances are mounted closer to the ceiling. If a private house is heated with bottled gas, then closer to the floor

If a private house is heated with bottled gas, then closer to the floor.

This difference is explained by the different density of the gases formed. Natural gas from the central supply leaks upwards, while heavy bottled gas flows downwards.

It is desirable to install sensors in all rooms or at least on all floors. Before installation, you need to check the operability of the ventilation system. Appliances must be installed in open areas, not in contact with furniture or curtains.

Preventive measures

If you follow precautionary measures, you can save yourself from the problem of gas leakage at home:

• Children should not be allowed near gas equipment.
• Gas cylinders used for repair work must not be stored at home or in a garage.
• Filling household cylinders is possible only in specialized points.
• Do not repair or connect gas equipment yourself or with the help of unauthorized persons.
• Observe the sequence of turning on gas stoves: first bring a source of fire, then turn on the gas.
• The equipment must be closed in the absence of the owners and after the end of operation.
• The room where the stove is installed must be ventilated. Adequate exhaust ventilation is required.
• It is necessary to regularly check the tightness of the pipe connections with soap suds.
• The hose going to the gas stove must be certified. The hose must not be painted to avoid premature cracking.
• Gas communications should not be blocked with decorative panels and sewn up with drywall.
• You need to watch the nature of the flame. The burners must not smoke and the flame must not escape from its source.
• Old equipment needs to be replaced.

To prevent gas leakage - fill household cylinders only in specialized points

Compliance with preventive measures for the operation of gas equipment, checking gas leaks in a house or apartment, installing sensors can increase the safety of residents and even save their lives.

How to identify a gas leak

A gas leak is one of the most dangerous household threats to human life. The thing is that the gas is invisible and odorless. But at gas stations, before it is supplied to our homes, the gas is odorized so that you can smell it in case of a leak.

Smell detection is the surest way to know when it's time to sound the alarm. You can detect a gas leak by sound. Gas supply systems that are equipped built-in gas ovens and other gas equipment working under pressure. Therefore, in the place of a breakthrough, the gas will come out with a characteristic whistle. It is also possible to detect a leak visually, despite the fact that the gas is invisible. Use the old tried and true method: apply soap suds to the suspected leak. If gas escapes, bubbles will begin to appear in this place.

What to do if a leak is found? In no case should you light matches (some, by the way, in this way are trying to detect the leak itself - with a well-known sad result of their activities). As soon as possible, turn off the gas pipe valve, which is located in the kitchen and goes to the gas surface. Then open all windows to ventilate the room. Ideally, it is best to arrange a draft. Also, never turn on the light in such a situation - a spark in the switch box can lead to instant ignition. If the gas leak came from the switched on gas hob burner, then it will be enough to turn off the burner and ventilate the kitchen for an hour in order to completely eliminate the smell of gas. But if it was not possible to find the place of the leak, then you should call the emergency service.

It should be noted that when buying kitchen appliances, you should pay attention to modern models that have an increased security system. The advanced built-in gas oven has a gas control system and automatic electric ignition

The latter eliminates the need to use matches, and the gas control automatically turns off the gas supply if the burner goes out or the pressure in the gas supply system begins to fall due to a leak.

The smell of gas can sometimes be found in the basement, where pipes with gas pass. In this case, do not show any initiative, but immediately dial the emergency number. It is also necessary to try without panic to bring all the residents of the house outside. Remember that in the event of a gas leak, as in any emergency, your life will depend on your correct actions.

Rules of conduct in the event of a gas leak

Many natural gases are sources of danger to humans. However, the most dangerous are methane (city main gas) and liquefied petroleum gas (in cylinders) used in everyday life. When leaking, they cause suffocation, poisoning and can lead to an explosion, so you need to know and strictly follow the rules for using gas appliances, columns, stoves and caring for them.

How to act in case of main gas leak

If you smell gas in the room, immediately shut off its supply to the stove. At the same time, do not smoke, do not light matches, do not turn on the lights and electrical appliances (it is best to de-energize the entire apartment by turning off the power supply at the switchboard), so that the spark cannot ignite the gas accumulated in the apartment and cause an explosion.

Thoroughly ventilate the entire apartment, not just the gassed room, by opening all doors and windows. Leave the room and do not enter it until the smell of gas disappears.

If people around you show signs of gas poisoning, take them to fresh air and lay them down so that their head is higher than their legs. Call an ambulance.

If the smell of gas persists, call the emergency gas service (tel. 04), available 24 hours a day.

Rules for handling gas cylinders

Outside the house, store the gas cylinder in a ventilated area, in an upright position, do not bury it or put it in the basement.

Take measures to protect the cylinder and gas tube from heat and direct sunlight.

Refrain from replacing the gas cylinder in the presence of a nearby fire, hot coals, or switched on electrical appliances. Check before replacing. that the valves of the new and used cylinders are closed.After replacement, check the tightness of the connections with a soap solution.

For connecting a cylinder to a gas stove, use a special, marked, flexible rubber hose with a length of no more than a meter, fixed with safety clips. Do not allow it to stretch or pinch.

Trust the inspection and repair of gas equipment only to a qualified specialist.

When not in use, both filled and empty, store outdoors.

When cooking, make sure that boiling liquids do not flood the fire and cause gas leakage. At the end of the work, close the cylinder valve.

Clean burners regularly, as clogged burners can cause trouble.