Apparently fear of natural gas is quite common...

[NetWareHead]

Yesterday I had a friend over to help us in some home renovation projects around the house. I needed his help to remove an old gas fitting. We moved the kitchen stove to refinish the floor and we reinstalled and wanted to reconnect it yesterday. I needed some extra elbow grease to turn the old fitting which is why I called him over. He was pretty apprehensive about coming when I mentioned it was a gas line but agreed to help out anyway. Even his wife didn't want him to come, she was also scared of him getting hurt. After he left I remembered conversations with other people who said they are scared of natural gas in the house and even one guy who has it available on his street declined the utility's offer to extend the line for free to his house. He would rather pay for oil which is many times more expensive.

I grew up in NJ and natural gas is everywhere. Only after I moved to New England (my current location) did I see my first electric stove or oil furnace. In NJ everyone heats and cooks with natural gas.

Is this something common in other parts of the country? I'm so comfortable with NG that I didn't even think twice about working on the line. I'm not saying I'm reckless; I follow all instructions and test the line. I recognize that it could be potentially dangerous in the event of a leak and when working with gas always give it the full respect it deserves and be mindful of safety. I just don't know if it ignorance related to never having used NG or if the fear is well grounded in actual experience.

 

[xBiffx]

Too much television.

 

[waggy]

stupidity.

 

[CraigRT]

I love natural gas too... It is certainly the best for a stove in my opinion as well.

Yeah some people are scared of it.. I guess it is somewhat legit, but not much more than an electric stove starting a fire...

 

[Broheim]

stupidity.

this.


natural gass is perfectly safe and one of the more eco friendly ways of heating shit up.

 

[Harrod]

In college I worked unloading trucks at walmart, one day a pack of the coleman fuel canisters fell off of the top of a pallet and started rolling down the bed of the trunk. The guy next to me said "Run" and then ran out of the trunk. I asked him if he was joking later, turns out he wasn't.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[brainhulk]

No fart jokes yet?

I am dissapoint

 

[wirednuts]

its safe to work on gas lines in your house if you can smell good. there are tricks you can do to make sure you don't blow yourself up too.

what sucks is natural gas is inherently dangerous when unsupervised. couple that with old stoves and furnaces that don't have many safety measures built in and... kaboom.

but the gas line itself... u can light it with a lighter and watch it burn. its only like 3lbs of pressure... you just get a nice flame out the end

 

[Vdubchaos]

I used to be scared to deal with it, but quickly learned that it's no big deal.

We LOVE gas as well. It's great for cooking (would NOT buy a house with electric stove) and also pretty good on the Boiler.

Working with it is no big deal either, simply shut off the switch and smell. There is other ways to check for leaks as well. Just have to be careful (like with anything).

Mind you, most of my prior scares about came from Poland. I remember few blocks away from my apartment building a construction crew ruptured a gas line. They scrambled to get everyone out of the block but it was too late. Building exploded and 8 or so died.

It was devastating to say the least....

You can read about it here (will need translate)
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wybuch_gazu_na_osiedlu_Retkinia_w_Łodzi

 

[who?]

When to be afraid is when it's still naturally in the ground. It's colorless and odorless and if it seeps into your house you might not realize it until your house explodes.

 

[techs]

Perhaps the oil companies scare ads have something to do with it?

 

[MotionMan]

Growing up, our house had electric stove top and, I believe, so did my grandparents. So, I did not have any experience with in-home natural gas (I did use propane when camping).

It did take me a little bit of time to get comfortable with gas as an adult. It made perfect sense at the time, but, yes, it seems silly now.

MotionMan

 

[Fritzo]

its safe to work on gas lines in your house if you can smell good. there are tricks you can do to make sure you don't blow yourself up too.

what sucks is natural gas is inherently dangerous when unsupervised. couple that with old stoves and furnaces that don't have many safety measures built in and... kaboom.

but the gas line itself... u can light it with a lighter and watch it burn. its only like 3lbs of pressure... you just get a nice flame out the end

The thing with gas is the scent added to it is so powerful that you can smell even the faintest hint of it. Gas buildup doesn't actually get dangerous (ie- explosive) until that scent is so strong it makes you gag.

 

[waggy]

Perhaps the oil companies scare ads have something to do with it?

what scare ads?

 

[BurnItDwn]

I like natural gas. I lived as a child in a house which had gas heat and gas water heater, but electric stove, I hate the electric stove. In 2004 when I bought my townhouse, I made damn sure it had gas hookups and appliances.
In 2007 when I moved to a house, I also only considered houses which already had gas hookups.

 

[jupiter57]

I love Natural Gas!
We just bought the place adjoining our farm, gonna spruce up the house & live there while we rent out this monstrosity, which is far too big for us.
It is on the edge of the city limits & has Gas, (and cable!) wife & I are replacing the Oven/stove with a Gas stove, as we both love cooking with gas!
(Matter of fact, we were looking at them online not 15 minutes ago!)
I'm gonna convert my Gas Grill to Nat. Gas too.

 

[Mixolydian]

Natural Gas is amazing.

Cooking (stove and outdoor grill)
Central heat
Water Heater
Clothes Dryer
Pool heater

Everything runs better on natural gas.

 

[wirednuts]

The thing with gas is the scent added to it is so powerful that you can smell even the faintest hint of it. Gas buildup doesn't actually get dangerous (ie- explosive) until that scent is so strong it makes you gag.

yup. they add organic bacteria actually. its cheap and works really well.

 

[wirednuts]

Everything runs better on natural gas.

:/ only cause electricity is still more expensive per btu, which keeps everything at low performing levels.

 

[Baked]

Gas stove makes better food. Cheaper utility bill too. Wish my condo offers it.

 

[lxskllr]

Afraid isn't the right word, but as it stands, I'd be leery of doing my own work. I've never worked with gas lines aside from threaded fittings. I'd have to read up on installing them.

 

[kami333]

stupidity.

And considering how stupid the average person is, it's probably a good thing that they are afraid of it.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Afraid isn't the right word, but as it stands, I'd be leery of doing my own work. I've never worked with gas lines aside from threaded fittings. I'd have to read up on installing them.

My favorite is the type of person who uses matches to check for gas leaks.

 

[nickbits]

I used to be apprehensive about using gas and working on gas lines but now not so much.