Water Heater gas control valve leak (furnace, smell, appliance, installation)
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So just to start, I've turned the gas off to the appliance until I can get someone in to look at it.
But in a nutshell, my fairly new water heater has what I would describe as a very faint, trace smell of gas from the control valve. It's using the new style Honeywell electronic controls.
It's very faint to the point that the only way to smell it is to put my nose down on the control unit and sniff around. 1-2" away tops to get a slight whiff. Any more and I don't smell a thing. Leak checking the gas line reveals no leaks. I have a handheld detector and get nothing. I have a gas detector over the heater/furnace and it reads 0 ppm. When you walk into the basement/utilitiy room, there is ZERO smell of gas, It's only within that 1-2" or so of the control valve.
Internet searching is inconclusive. Some suggest some venting from the control valve is normal, while some say none should be detected. I plan to call the manufacturer today to see what they say. Asked a few friends to smell their valves over the weekend and they said they could smell a faint smell when they put their nose on it.
Anyone have any experience this this sort of thing?
A "pro" will use a soap bubble solution and/or an "electronic sniffer" to detect a gas leak. If the valve is seeping, then it will need to be replaced. If the gas supply line to the valve is seeping, it may be tightened/sealed up.
FWIW, I replaced a HWBB heat boiler last year in my house and it has the "new style Honeywell electronic" valve on it. Per the manufacturer's installation instructions (and good practice), I leak tested the gas line installation with the soap bubble solution. There were zero bubbles and no gas smell. This was an especially critical test because it's a propane appliance located below ground level. We would not want an accumulation, no matter how slight, of propane in the area.
I agree with you. I'm in the mentality that if I can smell it, it's too much. Hence why the unit is turned off at the moment.
Call to MFG for tech support and was told all valve leak to some degree. They want me to call the gas company to get someone out there to inspect and then if they find it is the valve they will send me another valve, and then I can get someone to install it. In the meantime..no hot water.
Last edited by BostonMike7; 07-09-2018 at 08:47 AM..
I purchased the heater on my own and hired a plumber to install it. In hindsight, I'll never do that again. Lesson learned and next time i'll just have the plumber handle the whole thing so I can just call him up and have it be his problem.
I only noticed it because I was being nosy and poking my head down to peek in at the pilot and happened to catch a small whiff. That's what got me smelling around and doing my own leak checking. I might be a tad paranoid about this.
I might just go ahead and have the valve changed out and have them sniff test everything vs dealing with trying to get a valve under warranty from the manufacturer. Might get me up and running faster. Cost me more in the long run, but i'd rather be safe than worry about the $$.
Last edited by BostonMike7; 07-09-2018 at 10:19 AM..
When you say 'plumber' do you mean one of those guys on craigslist?
Something like a cross threaded fitting or a nipple not tightened enough
is the likely problem and even if not it's the place to start checking.
Ask your handiest neighbor to look...
and if needed to recommend someone for you to hire.
False alarm. no leaks. Little embarrassed to what it was. Apparently I don't smell enough natural gas.
It was the new black iron pipe fittings used. Apparently they have an odor that I mistook for gas. I confirmed this by smelling a new, but never installed fitting. Same smell. If you warm them up a tad with a torch, smell gets stronger (I did this to a loose fitting not my gas line)
So yeah, a bit paranoid but better safe than sorry I guess. I work with hydrogen at work, so leaks are always a major concern to me. That's why I started poking around with soap, a meter and my nose. I should ignore my nose I guess. Two different meters and soap never found any leaks.
Last edited by BostonMike7; 07-09-2018 at 04:20 PM..
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