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Location: Splitting time between Dayton, NJ and Needmore, PA
1,184 posts, read 4,030,089 times
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With all of the below freezing weather, aging pipes, and sudden warmup, this isn't totally unexpected. It just reinforces the absolute need for building owners, association boards and management companies to get back into the practice of conducting the following actions:
After a flood or other disaster, check for the odor of gas before entering any area. If gas is detected, leave the area immediately and call (800) 477-5050. Replace any appliance submerged in water
Use a broom to keep gas meters, pipes and other service equipment clear in winter. Gas-appliance chimneys and vents must be cleared after snow and ice storms to ensure proper venting and prevent carbon monoxide accumulation.
Don’t use fuel lines for storage. Heavy coats or other items hanging from a fuel line (often located near the ceiling in basements) can stress the joints in the pipe and cause gas leaks.
Don't allow children to swing on the pipes, either.
Replace flexible connectors. Cracks can form and cause serious gas leaks in these flexible pipes that attach appliances to fuel lines. Limit the number of times you move natural gas appliances, and replace flexible connectors at least every 10 years with an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved model.
Approximately 26 million people use propane in their homes. By comparison, more than 100 million people use natural gas.
However, you are four times more likely to be involved in a fire or explosion using Propane vs. Natural Gas.
You are 13 times more likely to be severely injured or burned with Propane vs. Natural Gas.
You are more than 100 times more likely to be killed or severely injured if there is a product failure using Propane vs. Natural Gas
Regarding electricity, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 400 people are killed annually by being electrocuted in their home or their workplace.
Gas explosions are spectacular, uncommon, and unremarkable in the scheme of disasters. Gas is still eminently safe, like flying on planes. And still will be, even if we have lots more gas explosions that splash across the news.
Bigjake -- that's some poor logic. Those people in E Harlem lost their lives for no reason. There shouldn't be any explosions if the gas companies are doing their jobs. Give me the more expensive oil or electric heat any day of the week.
Bigjake -- that's some poor logic. Those people in E Harlem lost their lives for no reason. There shouldn't be any explosions if the gas companies are doing their jobs. Give me the more expensive oil or electric heat any day of the week.
Who said anything about small electric space heaters? Not me. I am talking about electric baseboard heat or #2 home heating oil versus natural gas. What's the difference in safety? Well, with electric or oil I maintain control. If I keep my systems checked once per year and well maintained, I'm safe. With gas I am depending on big business to maintain their lines correctly and/or my neighbors to smell gas & report a problem. Or as you pointed out -- I'm depending on the water company, etc not to dig into gas lines. As I'd rather not depend on other people, I stand by my original statement. Natural gas is not safe.
Also note this item from one of the articles that you posted:
OPINION: the risk of fire or explosion from normal use of No. 2 home heating oil inside private residences, including during oil tank fill-up, heating system service procedures, or minor drips at an oil pipe fitting, is asserted by home heating oil delivery companies to be very low, and we agree that it is likely to be considerably less than the hazards discussed above where larger storage facilities and a variety of fuels are involved.
Who said anything about small electric space heaters? Not me. I am talking about electric baseboard heat or #2 home heating oil versus natural gas. What's the difference in safety? Well, with electric or oil I maintain control. If I keep my systems checked once per year and well maintained, I'm safe. With gas I am depending on big business to maintain their lines correctly and/or my neighbors to smell gas & report a problem. Or as you pointed out -- I'm depending on the water company, etc not to dig into gas lines. As I'd rather not depend on other people, I stand by my original statement. Natural gas is not safe.
Also note this item from one of the articles that you posted:
OPINION: the risk of fire or explosion from normal use of No. 2 home heating oil inside private residences, including during oil tank fill-up, heating system service procedures, or minor drips at an oil pipe fitting, is asserted by home heating oil delivery companies to be very low, and we agree that it is likely to be considerably less than the hazards discussed above where larger storage facilities and a variety of fuels are involved.
Life is not safe... The numbers clearly show that natural gas heat is safe. And oil furnaces cause fires and blow backs, even if they are well maintained. Plus oil is way more expensive. Plus over time heating oil refineries are going out of business as customers switch to gas. Plus it's getting difficult to sell homes with oil tanks. Nearly impossible if they are buried. But many buyers are now specifying "no oil heat" when searching for a home. The odds of dying in a gas explosion are almost nothing.
Yes, when it infrequently happens, it is more dramatic. But it is ultra rare. Overall, it is irrational to avoid natural gas out of fear of an explosion. Oil heat is dirty, antiquated, and dangerous. Over time, it will be marginalized to remote areas, even more expensive, and will ultimately be eliminated in all urban and suburban areas. This is not a prediction, it is an observation. I see gas conversions happening at a very fast clip. And I literally never see a gas to oil conversion any more.
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