# Why do they say this? Turning gas meter back on only by a professional



## diymonkey (Jun 23, 2007)

According to this site and various others, once you turn off the gas as the meter it has to be "safely" turned on by a professional. Why do they say this? Is there a procedure you have to do when turning the gas on? I need to turn off my gas so I can plug off a pipe. After I plug the pipe off, can I just turn the gas back on by rotating the valve horizontally?

http://www.terasengas.com/_Safety/SafetyHomeWork/CareOfYourMeter/HowtoturnOffYourMeter/default.htm


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

Yes you may, BUT when you do you MUST go back to your capped off gas port and carefully check it for gas leakage. Also you must relight all appliances with a standing pilot light and verify that all intermittent electronic start pilots can be restarted also. Opening any gas line with no gas pressure on the line will allow a bubble of air into the pipes as the lighter-than-air gas escapes, so restarting any buildings gas service can be a hair puller if not done carefully and safely.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Didn't someone say that newer meters stay shut off & won't turn back on? That the Gas Co then has to come out?


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## al's sewer (Apr 7, 2009)

Grampa Bud said:


> Yes you may, BUT when you do you MUST go back to your capped off gas port and carefully check it for gas leakage. Also you must relight all appliances with a standing pilot light and verify that all intermittent electronic start pilots can be restarted also. Opening any gas line with no gas pressure on the line will allow a bubble of air into the pipes as the lighter-than-air gas escapes, so restarting any buildings gas service can be a hair puller if not done carefully and safely.


thats if you don't singe it off :laughing::laughing:


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## diymonkey (Jun 23, 2007)

Well the gas company came out today to turn it on for me. Its not the turning on part they came for really its the pressure testing of the system. First the checked all the appliances/devices that used gas. The tech then hooked up a gauge to the outside line and blew into the gauge. He said it was 5 oz, not sure what that means since I always thought gas was in PSI. The gauge was closed off and we watched it for a couple of minutes. The needle didn't move so he said the lines were ok. He also lite my pilot light on the water heater for me. Not bad for customer service of a utility company that has a monopoly. 

So what exactly is the 5 oz reading he was talking about? I would like to learn more about this.


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

diymonkey said:


> Not bad for customer service of a utility company that has a monopoly.
> 
> So what exactly is the 5 oz reading he was talking about? I would like to learn more about this.


He's leak testing the lines with air at the working pressure of the gasline. Most gas systems only have about 1/2psi of pressure, which is just a whisper of pressure that won't create a visible or audible leak. The code requires an airtest equivalent to twice the working pressure, but that varies in different areas. Since the pressure test is a little higher it'll make leaks more apparent. Here we require 10psi air tests on gaslines.


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## kenmac (Feb 26, 2009)

same here 10 lb for 10 min.. Don't know about oz.. When I worked for the local gas utility ( some years ago ) they supplied either 6'' wc or 2 lbs psi inside a home. It takes 27.7'' w.c. to make 1 lb


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

Hey guys Ifollow all that you are saying, but your gas utility requires retesting on every addition/deletion of any appliance??? DIYmonkey was only disconnecting one 1/2" line and plugging it. Up here Nicor does require airtests on new buildings and we follow that, however some building departments tend to go over board. We have been required in some places to do 100 P.S.I. for 24 hrs. on a residential home. That bit about 2 P.S.I. inside a home is considered a high pressure main and requires a 1/2 P.S.I. step down requlator at every appliance even a gas fireplace or a BBQ gas line.


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## kenmac (Feb 26, 2009)

Here they call it medium pressure because the main only has approx 60 psi on it.. High pressure main is considered anything over 60.. The 2 psi systems do require a pounds to inches regulator at the appliances.. Usually 1 lbs. to ins. reg. will serve an adverage furnace & water heater with no problems.. Just to have that added pressure to play with is nice.. When you add an appliance you don't have to cut & thread 1'' pipe.. Here the gas co. would like to turn the gas on ... If it's turned on fast. You could blow the diaphram in their regulator


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

That's OK. That's what keeps them in business isn't it???


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## kenmac (Feb 26, 2009)

Grampa Bud said:


> That's OK. That's what keeps them in business isn't it???


 

Here they would charge the homeowner / plumber ,etc, for the regulator & hr rate for replacment.. If they didn't know who did it .. The homeowner got charged or no gas


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

All gas companies screw the homeowners anyway. It's just their nature.


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## kenmac (Feb 26, 2009)

Grampa Bud said:


> All gas companies screw the homeowners anyway. It's just their nature.


 

What utility doesn't


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

ComEd and I don't even work for them. In fact I'm working on taking my place off the grid.


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## al's sewer (Apr 7, 2009)

This thread reminds me of a joke.
A guy was parachuting for the first time. when he went to open his chute it wouldn't open. he looked off to his right and to his surprise he saw a man going up instead of down. He yelled to the man hey do you know anything about parachutes and the guy going up said no but do you know anything about lighting gas water heaters.:laughing::laughing::laughing: think that says it all :yes:


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