Maintaining Your Pipes

We diligently maintain company-owned pipelines to ensure safety and efficiency. It is important to remember, however, that as the customer of record, you or the property owner are responsible for customer-owned gas lines that begin at the outlet of the gas meter and extend — either above or below ground — to natural gas-burning appliances. Of such customer-owned gas lines, buried gas lines are notable because, if they are not properly maintained, they may corrode or leak. While most people do not own buried gas lines, the following are some examples where customer-owned buried piping may be involved:

• outside gas lighting

• gas heaters for pool/hot tub

• natural gas barbecue

• detached buildings with gas appliances, among others

These examples are not all-inclusive. You must make your own determination of whether you have buried piping extending beyond your meter. To properly care for a buried pipe, it is recommended that the pipe be inspected periodically for:

• leaks on your gas lines

• corrosion, if lines are metallic

If unsafe conditions are found, the pipeline should be repaired immediately. To have your gas lines checked, contact your local plumbing/heating contractor or a leak survey and corrosion expert. A fee is involved.

Certain older gas connectors may be dangerous

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, gas connectors are corrugated metal tubes used to connect gas appliances in your home to fuel gas supply pipes. Some older brass connectors have come apart, causing fires and explosions resulting in deaths and injuries. These older brass connectors have a serious flaw in how their tubing was joined to their end pieces. Over time, the end pieces can separate from the tubing, and cause a serious gas leak, explosion, or fire.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notes that to their knowledge, these dangerous uncoated brass connectors have not been made for more than 20 years, but many of them are still in use. The older these connectors get, the greater the possibility of failure.

Although not all uncoated connectors have this flaw, it is very difficult to tell which ones do. Therefore, any uncoated brass connector should be replaced immediately with either a new plastic-coated brass or a new stainless steel connector. Connectors should always be replaced whenever the appliance is replaced or moved from its location.

Moving the appliance, even slightly, whether to clean behind it or to inspect its gas connector, can cause the complete failure of one of these older weakened connectors, possibly resulting in a deadly fire or explosion.

Do not move your appliance to check the connector!

WARNING: Only a qualified professional should check your connector and replace it if needed. Do not try to do this yourself.

Never hang anything on gas piping

You should never hang clothing (or anything else) from gas pipes, because the added weight of clothing (especially wet clothing being hung to air dry) can weaken or break joints or fittings, resulting in a gas leak.