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At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid, here is my issue: we rent a house, and ever since we moved in I could smell gas near the gas stove. Not every day, but often enough. My husband's sense of smell is shot, so he doesn't smell it. I mentioned it of course to the owners, and she came by, said she didn't smell anything, and told me that I must not be used to a gas stove (every place we've been in for the past 10 years has had a gas stove!)
I let it go, swearing that I must be crazy. But lately, in addition to the smell, there seems to be a problem with the adjustments. When I turn a burner on, the flame come shooting way out -- to the point that you have to keep as far away as you can in case it does that so you don't get burned.
Now, do I call a stove repair person or the gas company (it's a propane tank, not natural gas at the street)? Clearly I need to address this. Yes, I need to call the owner immediately and tell them, too.
Unlike the "piped" natural gas utility companies my experience is that the propane companies do not have a staff of technicians to come use sniffers to determine where the leak is (which sorta makes sense becuase it is not there problem if the gas you paid them for blows in your tank, whereas if you house blows up while it stlll connected to their gas line the natural gas utility has a bigger problem on their hands...).
I would LEAVE THE HOUSE. Call the fire dept. Call the landlord. Tell your don't feel safe. When the landlord gets the appliance fixed you can move back in.
Something is definitely wrong. Natural gas and propane stoves do not use the same nozzles - and this may be where your problem lies. Go to an appliance dealer (such as Sears, Best Buy, or better yet a mom & pop dealer if there are any left in your area) and ask some questions about natural gas and propane stoves. Most, if not all stoves come from the factory geared for natural gas. The nozzles (for lack of a better word) must be changed prior to set up if you're running propane because these two different gases do not burn the same.
Describe your problem to the salesperson and he/she should be able to give you some worthwhile suggestions. Then you can go back to your landlady and ask is this service was performed when the stove was purchased. If yes, then perhaps she has a receipt for the work. If not, then she needs to have the nozzles changed out for propane.
BTW - this is kinda important, as you have witnessed. Good luck!
The propane tank has a cutoff valve on it. Turn off the stove and any other gas appliance - including the pilot lights on water heaters, etc., and cut the valve off at the tank. Get the problem fixed, and until then use a hotplate. Some things just aren't worth trusting to fate.
Surprised no one mentioned it yet, but propane is heavier than air, so a leak down low will stay near the floor unless something stirs it up off the floor. See if you smell the gas more or less all the time if you sniff near the floor. Maybe you can get your landlord to do the same.
Agree, don't risk getting blown up, turn off gas and fix problem. This might be a good ground for getting out of your lease, your landlord is not the sharpest tool in the shed, since they didn't jump right on the issue.
Just a wild guess, but the flex line going from the gas tap to the stove itself is a good place to start looking for the problem. (BTW if you have other propane appliances in the house, turning the gas tap to the stove itself off may solve your problem with what is apparently a small leak on or near the stove, allowing you to stay in the house and use the other appliances in the interim, if you want to go that route.)
Lawmom, you have 3 options to have the property owner correct the problem.
The first is an emergency repair. This would require that someone like the fire department, police, or other "official" declare a gas leak. You let the property owner know of the leak and the need for emergency repairs. Since the gas would have been shut off by the "official" the property owner has 24 hours to make the needed repairs.
The second option is the fix and deduct. You will first need someone competent who can confirm there really is a leak and let you know if the repairs would be under $500 or 1/2 your monthly rent (which ever is higher). You must send the property owner a certfied letter outlining the defect and repairs needed and that of they don;t make the repairs, you will do so and deduct from the rent (Maine laws spells out the exact requirment and wording). If they dionlt make the repiatrs in aspecific time, you get it done and when you send in the rent you send them the bill you paid for the repars and deduct that amount from the rent.
The third method is to file a civi action. A judge will reveiw the situation and you proff and prior request and make a decission if the property owner will be ordered to make the repairs asap, compensate you for the hassel, impose a fine for them not fixing it when you first requested it, up toi and inluding allowing you to terminate the lease. Its the judges call but this route (versus the second option) is when you hope to get something out of it (compensation) for putting up with the problem.
I'd go with PacificFlight's option one. Call the fire department. If they detect gas, they'll shut it down. Your landlord will be required to fix it.
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