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Natural residential gas

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steve from staten island

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My gas company is installing new lines and new meters in homes. From what I'm being told (and there working on my street and coming into my home tomorrow) the gas pressure is now listed as "high pressure". They have a regulator installed in the line and new meter. Now I'm being given a choice as to have this new arrangement installed in the basement were the original meter was or right outside next to the foundation. It would be in front of the house and I'm not that crazy about seeing it. However I'm more not happy about a higher pressure entering the house and going to this regulator. Could the regulator ever leak, as in say the diaphragm fail? I dont like the idea of it being in the house. What i would like to know if anyone has ever encountered a situation like this and I'm wondering what the pressure now will be. Before it was low pressure. Thanks
 
Steve I just started doing HVAC work a couple months ago and from what I’ve seen and heard you want it out of the house. We are doing an apartment building with about 70 units in it and there is no high pressure lines going into the units. The project manager was pretty adamant about that. We’re also doing a dollar tree store with 4 industrial YORK units that all have high pressure and relief valves and you can get a good whiff of the gas once in a while, when I questioned it I was told it’s normal but I don’t like it one bit.

D232FC1B-8C7F-4779-94AC-172AE10B3E05.jpeg
 
Have it mounted outside you can mask it with fencing or landscaping.

Be sure to check the mounting of the unit before they leave it amazes me what they consider acceptable. I bumped into a brand new meter on a job site and damn near broke the thing off.
 
steve from staten island said:
My gas company is installing new lines and new meters in homes. From what I'm being told (and there working on my street and coming into my home tomorrow) the gas pressure is now listed as "high pressure". They have a regulator installed in the line and new meter. Now I'm being given a choice as to have this new arrangement installed in the basement were the original meter was or right outside next to the foundation. It would be in front of the house and I'm not that crazy about seeing it. However I'm more not happy about a higher pressure entering the house and going to this regulator. Could the regulator ever leak, as in say the diaphragm fail? I dont like the idea of it being in the house. What i would like to know if anyone has ever encountered a situation like this and I'm wondering what the pressure now will be. Before it was low pressure. Thanks
Click to expand...

I don`t know about n.y., but around here we have low, med. and hi pressure lines. If they put a reg. in ur basement, I`d ask if it will have a blow off line to the outside. I have never seen a hi pressure line in side a house, it is for transmission lines only, usually broke down at the house before entering. Mine is out in the yard, w/ a reg. before entering the meter, it`s probly med. pressure to the reg. I don`t think I`d want it in my house either ! You could always paint it green and grow some hedges around it to hide it, they probably have remote readers on them up there anyway don`t they ? I have seen hi pressure coming to underground installations w/ hi pressure for big apartment jobs and such, in cement vaults.
 
Thanks. The more i thought about it the more i want it outside. My neighbor had hers inside and they run a vent to outside but still i think better off to have it all outside
 
Outside so it’s easier for them to get to in case of an emergency or routine maintenance.

Never, never, never, block a meter with foliage, fencing or any other obstruction. It’s a safety issue for you and the utility.

It is likely against you utility’s operating procedures or rules of service to block a meter. If it is against their service rules, they can trim the foliage or remove the obstruction with or without notice. It would suck to spend a weekend putting up a fence just to see them rip it out with a back hoe.

“Your land. Your fence. Like to see them try?”

Their meter, their service, their electricity, their gas, their water. You’ll lose or have to explain to the wife why your pride is more important than lights, heat, or water.
 
Just to be clear with my earlier post I was not recommending to block the meter, I think we all know better than that. rather mask it, possibly a bush blocking it from street view but still have access to it.
 
when i had gas run into the house they mounted the reg outside against the wall. a bunch neater than a meter.
 
50yrs with them outside, always a green color. You never notice after awhile. Put some small bushes nearby.
 
1967coronet440 said:
Just to be clear with my earlier post I was not recommending to block the meter, I think we all know better than that. rather mask it, possibly a bush blocking it from street view but still have access to it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Just to be clear, I was responding more to Not So Famous Bob.

I work for a utility and we just had a round of obstructed meters.
 
I have scrubs in front already and a Japanese maple right in the middle were I'm guessing the meter would go. I would not surround the meter with foliage but I'm not looking at it in front of my house either. These are small yards with houses very close, this thing will stick out like a sore thumb and were particular the way the house looks. So I'm thinking of re-landscaping the front to block view of meter but still give some sort of access.
 
I would want meter outside as most are plastic housings and would melt in a fire
The new service should have 60 psi city pressure then dropped to 7 in wc or 1/4 psi
best kept outside
 
Just use common sense. Imagine someone trying to find the meter in an emergency on a dark rainy night. I think i would want it somewhat visible.
 
In most areas by code all meters are to be outside, and have been since the 80's.The high pressure is normal, don't worry about it. The regulator does it's job well. Natural gas is transported at a very cold temperature,and by Increasing the pressure it helps warm things up, and easier to regulate. A real thrill is to stand on a road that passes over a 36 inch pipe when the main from Omaha sends a jolt to Davenport and chicago. the Road rises up, and you can hear the gas coming miles away. Makes you feel pretty small. I used to service all those little heater stations people see outside town. The have huge boilers filled with antifreeze in them that pre heat the gas coming out of the ground before the gas is metered. If the gas is too cold, the utility can't measure it, and can't charge for it.
 
monaco66coupe said:
In most areas by code all meters are to be outside, and have been since the 80's.The high pressure is normal, don't worry about it. The regulator does it's job well. Natural gas is transported at a very cold temperature,and by Increasing the pressure it helps warm things up, and easier to regulate. A real thrill is to stand on a road that passes over a 36 inch pipe when the main from Omaha sends a jolt to Davenport and chicago. the Road rises up, and you can hear the gas coming miles away. Makes you feel pretty small. I used to service all those little heater stations people see outside town. The have huge boilers filled with antifreeze in them that pre heat the gas coming out of the ground before the gas is metered. If the gas is too cold, the utility can't measure it, and can't charge for it.
Click to expand...

Northern Natural?
 
I can't believe they would even suggest installing that INSIDE your house! I have never seen a gas meter inside a structure and I was in the remodeling business for my whole life. When I was a kid, a 3 story house blew up about 2 miles away from me. It had been tented for fumigation, there was a gas leak somewhere and they "forgot" to turn off the electricity. Refer kicked on and BOOM. about 8 housed were totaled. The house that blew was nothing more than a hole in the ground! Do NOT mess around with this.
 
Keep that meter and connections outside. About 20 years ago we had a house in a local large sub division explode and it took half the block out. It had a meter fitting leak in the basement and fill the house with gas when no one was home. The house was empty as the owner family had just moved out and the new owner had not moved in thankfully. The only thing left of the house and surrounding homes was the foundations. Blew windows out of about 30 surrounding homes. Also make sure the line coming through the foundation is tightly sealed so gas cannot follow the line through the ground into the basement.
 
Outside.
I deal with propane regulators and heaters.
I have probable 30 of them, and I've one ever seen 1 fail. When it failed it didn't start leaking, it just quit allowing gas to flow.
If your concerned, keep a cheap plastic squirt bottle with soapy water. Squirt connections, ect. Same as you would checking a tire for leaks.

Also I imagine the meter readers want the meter in a place where they can see it from their vehicle
 
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