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That sounds very high. Do you have any statistics or evidence to back up that claim?
Just that I see it in the news every few years. I don't make a habit of writing it down every time it happens. Believe me or don't, no skin off my nose. I'm not suggesting it's a reason not to get gas, we have gas in our own house for the stove. The point is the possibility exists for an explosion although the chances are pretty slim.
Just that I see it in the news every few years. I don't make a habit of writing it down every time it happens. Believe me or don't, no skin off my nose. I'm not suggesting it's a reason not to get gas, we have gas in our own house for the stove. The point is the possibility exists for an explosion although the chances are pretty slim.
People ask for statistics because it is very common for people to exaggerate things on these boards. Especially negative things that are dramatic. Thus, it is also common for people to ask for a source for information that seems contrary to their experience/knowledge. No need to get offended. He or she is probably just interested in checking their understanding.
For example, I have heard of this happening exactly once ever and I have been a construction lawyer for 20 years. Thus, if this is something that happened with any regularity, I would expect that I would have encountered it or at least heard about it. I have had several clients hit high pressure gas line and send fire spouting hundreds of feet into the air, but I do not hear of explosions nor of houses blowing up. You need a lot of natural gas accumulated to get an actual explosion that will blow up a house. Flame is easy to get, but an explosion is difficult. I have filled up a balloon with gas and ignited it. Flames come out, but no explosion. Even when an excavator hits a high pressure gas line, you get a jet of flame, but no explosion.
to get an explosion you would have to have a gas leak that accumulates with nothing to ignite it for a considerable time, and then a source of ignition that was not present before. That seems like an extremely unlikely occurrence. If it happens that frequently in your area, maybe there is a reason for it.
I would love oto see a source of such information or statistics, but it is not surprising that none is available if you are merely commencint on news stories of neighborhood discussions that you have seen/heard. Most people do not keep those kind of statistics. Maybe an insurance underwriter who has access to such statistics will let us know how often this actually occurs. Apparently, it is somewhere between less likely than a meteor hitting you on the head, to it happens a couple of times a year.
People ask for statistics because it is very common for people to exaggerate things on these boards. Especially negative things that are dramatic. Thus, it is also common for people to ask for a source for information that seems contrary to their experience/knowledge. No need to get offended. He or she is probably just interested in checking their understanding.
For example, I have heard of this happening exactly once ever and I have been a construction lawyer for 20 years. Thus, if this is something that happened with any regularity, I would expect that I would have encountered it or at least heard about it. I have had several clients hit high pressure gas line and send fire spouting hundreds of feet into the air, but I do not hear of explosions nor of houses blowing up. You need a lot of natural gas accumulated to get an actual explosion that will blow up a house. Flame is easy to get, but an explosion is difficult. I have filled up a balloon with gas and ignited it. Flames come out, but no explosion. Even when an excavator hits a high pressure gas line, you get a jet of flame, but no explosion.
to get an explosion you would have to have a gas leak that accumulates with nothing to ignite it for a considerable time, and then a source of ignition that was not present before. That seems like an extremely unlikely occurrence. If it happens that frequently in your area, maybe there is a reason for it.
I would love oto see a source of such information or statistics, but it is not surprising that none is available if you are merely commencint on news stories of neighborhood discussions that you have seen/heard. Most people do not keep those kind of statistics. Maybe an insurance underwriter who has access to such statistics will let us know how often this actually occurs. Apparently, it is somewhere between less likely than a meteor hitting you on the head, to it happens a couple of times a year.
People ask for statistics because it is very common for people to exaggerate things on these boards. Especially negative things that are dramatic. Thus, it is also common for people to ask for a source for information that seems contrary to their experience/knowledge. No need to get offended. He or she is probably just interested in checking their understanding.
For example, I have heard of this happening exactly once ever and I have been a construction lawyer for 20 years. Thus, if this is something that happened with any regularity, I would expect that I would have encountered it or at least heard about it. I have had several clients hit high pressure gas line and send fire spouting hundreds of feet into the air, but I do not hear of explosions nor of houses blowing up. You need a lot of natural gas accumulated to get an actual explosion that will blow up a house. Flame is easy to get, but an explosion is difficult. I have filled up a balloon with gas and ignited it. Flames come out, but no explosion. Even when an excavator hits a high pressure gas line, you get a jet of flame, but no explosion.
to get an explosion you would have to have a gas leak that accumulates with nothing to ignite it for a considerable time, and then a source of ignition that was not present before. That seems like an extremely unlikely occurrence. If it happens that frequently in your area, maybe there is a reason for it.
I would love oto see a source of such information or statistics, but it is not surprising that none is available if you are merely commencint on news stories of neighborhood discussions that you have seen/heard. Most people do not keep those kind of statistics. Maybe an insurance underwriter who has access to such statistics will let us know how often this actually occurs. Apparently, it is somewhere between less likely than a meteor hitting you on the head, to it happens a couple of times a year.
Strange, we get them at least every couple of years around here. I already mentioned my granny and my friend's mom. On top of that there was one case where the house blew to smithereens and the resident was literally blown down the block. It is memorable because she survived w/o injury. There are others from time to time. One interesting case is where the folks did not have natural gas service their home but it went boom, see: Home Explosion Lawsuit Settled Over Leaking Natural Gas Main - AboutLawsuits.com Like the other poster, I tend to relay on news reports as well. Personally, I worry more about the chem plant down the street going boom (again) than my house going boom.
Every energy technology has risks associated with it. Electric and gas both can get out of their assigned channels and cause fire or explosion, probably the lowest-risk way to heat a house would be a ground-source heat pump, mostly water and very low amperage.
Gas explosions are quite rare and the few I heard about growing up around Atlanta usually involved unauthorized work on a system.
I was talking with a colleague long ago about selling him my house in Idaho, which had a natural gas furnace, he was planning to replace it with a straight electric furnace - this guy was a nuclear engineer no less - but he was just afraid of gas.
I wouldn't think the electric was any safer, really.
People who don't work with risk calculations don't generally understand this, but anything you do or decide not to do involves risk.
to get an explosion you would have to have a gas leak that accumulates with nothing to ignite it for a considerable time,
Again this is usually related to some type of work and I believe mostly on the street. We have a lot of old houses in this area that might be 100 years or older. The gas lines might be quite old as well. When we ripped the inside walls out of this house down to the studs there was pipes in the walls for gas fixtures for lighting. Edit: disconnected of course
Penetration of the foundations is quite easy because most will be rock. there's a lot of conduits for it. For example gas leaks into the sewer and it follows the sewer back to a house that might have a open sewer pipe that was never capped properly.
probably the lowest-risk way to heat a house would be a ground-source heat pump, mostly water and very low amperage.
I'd suggest a hand fired coal stove is or would be second, depends on your bias. The only danger involved with that is CO. Proper installation and maintenance will take care of that. A coal stoker would also be in that category but electric. Really splitting hairs....
Coal produces no creosote like wood and cannot burn unless in a specific environment. People have enough trouble getting it lit inside a coal stove let alone getting it lit on the ground.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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Originally Posted by Hopes
I'd be more nervous about having my own tank! I'll take my natural gas serviced through the public utilities any day!
A friend of mine was involved in a civil litigation over a home-service propane tank explosion around Brighton, CO. The tank in question developed a leak due to corrosion over time that was eventually severe enough to release a volume of gas sufficient to fuel an explosion with ignited by a cigarette lighter during a smoke break. As another poster mentioned, propane is apparently a dense enough gas to "pool" in low areas and I'm not sure that it contains a malodorant like municipal NG.
I also know a woman in Pasadena, TX who had some pothead serviceman accidentally puncture the gas line to her house with a ditch-witch. Rather than report it, this guy just re-buried the punctured line. I don't know how the fire started (definitely fire, not explosion), but they lost everything in the house.
There is certainly risk associated with gaseous fuels, but it isn't an unreasonable risk at all. Certainly not more than getting into your car and driving off into the wild, blue yonder everyday.
I've lived in Houston, TX (NG is piped into virtually every home in the metroplex) for my entire life and can recall no more than four instances of home natural gas disasters, most, if not all, being the result of human error. I have no idea what the rate of occurence is or what the per-capita odds would be, but they are extremely, extremely low. Not to patronize, but there are a multitude of more pressing concerns with home ownership and day-to-day life in general.
Propane does contain a malodorant, however it tends to puddle out below the propane in the tank if the tank isn't filled or agitated with some regularity. That is another reason why a gas detector is so important.
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The only danger involved with that is CO. Proper installation and maintenance will take care of that. A coal stoker would also be in that category but electric. Really splitting hairs.... 
