close call for family

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Toolaholic

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Have an on going project in S.F. Neighbors wife comes over Gas leak! can I look at it. Husband[software Eng.] Hooked up new $5,000 range. He shut gas off at meter after leak. Where is the appliance shut off ,don't see one! Oh it's at rear of stove at floor!! Better call P.G.E. free service ,and they have a sniffer.Some how an elec. arc burned a hole through one of the soft lines somewhere!
Nice family 2 young boys. Hope They learned a lesson here. Now admittley I am a hard A$$ sometimes here. I feel in some cases the person just doesn't
have a clue ,by they way they ask a question! This often leades to a bad or unsafe situation for them or the next owner! In the future I'll just keep My big mouth shut. I repair and renovate homes. I get heart sick to see some starter family with little money inherit a bloody mess! Rant over :) in S.F.
 
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Rancher

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Because you spent 5K on a stove... my wife tells everyone the reason we have to eat out so often is, that I didn't build her a Kitchen... Go figure.

Rancher
 

Toolaholic

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THE'RE are a great little family that bought a large money pit. two weeks ago they paid $6000 for 30 ft of sewer lateral. That was the lowest bid [s.f.]
She didn't know I did plumbing. Woulda done it for $3500 [all sand fill]
including permit fees. Have backhoe. Hope He sticks to painting!
 

GrumpyPlumber

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Ironically I just had a lady who had me price out a kitchen remod.
She then asks "Is there any way you could give us a break on price if my husband does the work and you just pull the permits?...he IS a software engineer, this stuff is easy for him."

It doesn't look like I'll be getting that job.
 

Bassman

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toolaholic said:
Have an on going project in S.F. Neighbors wife comes over Gas leak! can I look at it. Husband[software Eng.] Hooked up new $5,000 range. He shut gas off at meter after leak. Where is the appliance shut off ,don't see one! Oh it's at rear of stove at floor!! Better call P.G.E. free service ,and they have a sniffer.Some how an elec. arc burned a hole through one of the soft lines somewhere!
Nice family 2 young boys. Hope They learned a lesson here. Now admittley I am a hard A$$ sometimes here. I feel in some cases the person just doesn't
have a clue ,by they way they ask a question! This often leades to a bad or unsafe situation for them or the next owner! In the future I'll just keep My big mouth shut. I repair and renovate homes. I get heart sick to see some starter family with little money inherit a bloody mess! Rant over :) in S.F.
Amateur question: are you ranting about the location of the shutoff, the fact he didn't know where it was, or the electric arc burning of the line? What exactly is the lesson? Thanks :)
Neil
 

Terry

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I didn't totally understand that on either.
Lot's of people, handymen, delivery guys, hook up gas stoves.

The thing you want to do, is soap test the connections.
Most are flex connectors.
 

Jadnashua

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For better or worse, to meet code, I had a shutoff behind the stove (didn't want to deal with cutting cabinets, and it would have been difficult at the time of installation since exact placement wasn't available), but since I had access from the basement, included one there right underneath, that was much more accessable. safer, too, since you would be going away from the potential fire to shut it off, rather than staying in the room. If it was in an adjacent cabinet, the potential to get it knocked around, or to have to remove contents to access it would have slowed things more than running downstairs (actually in the garage) works out better. Just hope it never needs to be used!
 

Toolaholic

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Lesson ! Are You Serious!

A nice little family could have died !

He had plumbed , wired and taken the oven igniter apart .He was clueless!

THE HOUSE WAS FULL OF GAS!

Do You both think this OK?
 

Bassman

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toolaholic said:
He had plumbed , wired and taken the oven igniter apart .He was clueless!

THE HOUSE WAS FULL OF GAS!

Do You both think this OK?

I'm not sure if that's directed to me, but with all due respect, nobody thinks people dying from incompetent gas plumbing is okay. What we don't, or DIDN'T understand is what the LESSON is. Lessons are supposed to teach something. So I gather the lesson shows us that incorrectly plumbing and wiring a range can result in a gas leak. I, for one, am going to make careful note of that.
The facts that he shut off at the meter, the shutoff was behind the range and that he called P.G.E. are not pertinent to the actual lesson.
Nor is the idea of DIY gas plumbing. I've done plenty, even passing inspection.
What I WILL agree with you on is that a lot of supposedly intelligent people should never get near a screwdriver, much less gas plumbing. :)
 

Terry

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One weekend I was staying with family.
I was supposed to sleep in the travel home that had just been repaired at the dealer.
When I picked it up, they filled the LP tank for me.
I looked out the window and told the guy,

"Hey, you got a big gas leak in here!"

He told me there wasn't, it was just LP gas from filling the tank.

I told him, No. I'm a plumber, and this thing is leaking.

Like an idiot, looking back, I drove it away instead of hopping out an making the guy recheck his work.

When I got back, the relatives were trying to show me how safe it was going to be to sleep in there. I was telling them, "No Way!"
I would be dead in the morning.
So they proceeded to start lighting up everything they could to show how well the gas was working.
I was backing up and leaving through the door, when one of them opens the oven door.
Bang!
There was a huge blast of flame that came at me from the oven, but I had been leaving so the flames were coming around the body of Lowell.
When he turned around, his previously straight hair looked like an afro.
I pulled the two of them out through the door, they had this stunned look, staring at the flames, and then I shut off the LP gas.
I then hooked up a garden hose and started to put water on the flames.
At this point Lowell wants to go back into the travel home.
I tell him not a good idea, don't breath the fumes, they are poison.
He takes a big breath and coughs out saying how it's hurting his lungs.
Duh,
Now he wants the hose because that looks like more fun than watching.

$6000 dollars damage to the travel home.
I'm still alive.
 
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Cookie

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Geez Terry, you were so very lucky...

Although, I wonder if your relatives were after your life insurance money, :p Take separate vacations, lol and don't go to the Grand Canyon.
 

Toolaholic

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You betcha Baseman ,I'M talkin to you

Yes The lesson here is, He put His Family at risk . He never called P G E ,He knew He would get busted for the bootlegged job, He hacked. Save Money on the paint job,NOT LIFE safety work.

Glad You survived that one Terry
 

Bassman

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toolaholic said:
Yes The lesson here is, He put His Family at risk . He never called P G E ,He knew He would get busted for the bootlegged job, He hacked. Save Money on the paint job,NOT LIFE safety work.

Glad You survived that one Terry


O-o-h-h-h-kay. You sure it's TOOL-aholic? :)
 
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Verdeboy

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Terry said:
One weekend I was staying with family.
I was supposed to sleep in the travel home that had just been repaired at the dealer.
When I picked it up, they filled the LP tank for me.
I looked out the window and told the guy,

"Hey, you got a big gas leak in here!"

He told me there wasn't, it was just LP gas from filling the tank.

I told him, No. I'm a plumber, and this thing is leaking.

Like an idiot, looking back, I drove it away instead of hopping out an making the guy recheck his work.

When I got back, the relatives were trying to show me how safe it was going to be to sleep in there. I was telling them, "No Way!"
I would be dead in the morning.
So they proceeded to start lighting up everything they could to show how well the gas was working.
I was backing up and leaving through the door, when one of them opens the oven door.
Bang!
There was a huge blast of flame that came at me from the oven, but I had been leaving so the flames were coming around the body of Lowell.
When he turned around, his previously straight hair looked like an afro.
I pulled the two of them out through the door, they had this stunned look, staring at the flames, and then I shut off the LP gas.
I then hooked up a garden hose and started to put water on the flames.
At this point Lowell wants to go back into the travel home.
I tell him not a good idea, don't breath the fumes, they are poison.
He takes a big breath and coughs out saying how it's hurting his lungs.
Duh,
Now he wants the hose because that looks like more fun than watching.

$6000 dollars damage to the travel home.
I'm still alive.

I know it's serious stuff. But, it's also pretty funny. I bet you've told that one a bunch of times during fishing trips, and the flames and the afro get bigger each time.:)
 

Bassman

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toolaholic said:
Happy to say this is My 23 rd year of sobriety ,Thank's for asking :)

All bantering aside, after 23 years why are you still considered an "aholic". After that amount of time you're DONE and moved on in the right direction LONG ago.
 

Phil H2

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Inquirying minds have to know. Why would some knucklehead mess around with the ignitor on a new stove? They must be really lucky if electricity burned through a gas line without it igniting.

Around here, you can't beat The Gas Company's (So Cal Gas) price for connecting a new range. They charge about $50 and that includes a new connector and valve. They stopped installing seismic saftey valves a couple years ago. Rumor has it that people complained about unfair competition; they could install it before the meter without a permit.
 

Toolaholic

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Base, I have collected a fortune in tools over the years. Have a a large shop.
My son and I also weld do E. Q. RETROS. Now I remodeled One of the bedrooms into a killer area sewing room for the wife. I call Her a sewaholic!

Phil When this Man's wife fetched Me from next door ,I was amazed to see this beautiful Star Range,with It's innards apart! He said it was disscounted, because It was a floor model. I asked why Manuf. Didn't do this repair. He said there out of Penn. and don't have anyone in the area for service yet! Something is wrong with what His story. They have asked Me to do some roof work before winter. She'll probable let Me know the real story in time. If so I'll refresh thread
 

Verdeboy

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Bassman said:
All bantering aside, after 23 years why are you still considered an "aholic". After that amount of time you're DONE and moved on in the right direction LONG ago.
As a recovering person myself, I can tell you that even though you may have stopped drinking, using, etc., you are forever an alcoholic or addict. An alcoholic is always one drink away from complete ruination, no matter how many years of sobriety he/she has, or whatever his/her station in life happens to be.

That's why at AA meetings, whenever someone speaks, they say "My name is Joe Blow, and I'm an alcoholic. By owning up to that fact, you keep it in front of you at all times. Cuz, the moment you forget it--the moment you think you're all done with it--that's when you're most at risk for losing everything.

Now, let's all hold hands and recite the Serenity Prayer.:D
 
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