Gas Piping

Let’s talk inspection and testing of gas piping! Any code references I make are from the 2024 versions of NFPA 54/58; please check your state’s adopted version for current requirements in your area.

It should be common sense in our line of work that all installations, regardless of the installer, should be inspected and tested prior to putting them into service and taking on the liability of supplying a flammable vapor to your customer. But common sense can sometimes escape us, especially when returning to our own installation. I have heard many stories from Service Technicians who have put gas to a system just to either immediately hear the woosh of an open line or watch their pressure gauge hit zero immediately. It is important to inspect the installation prior to making it live.

Some key things to look for when doing a system inspection:

1.) Do all materials comply with required codes? i.e. no garden hoses, no copper fittings in concealed locations, etc

There’s more than one way to skin a cat! While preparing for this month’s newsletter, I did far too much research on the origin of this cliche...you see, I was thinking of all the options you have to choose from as a gas line installer and that phrase came to mind. Followed by the thought: where the heck did that saying come from? It turns out, no one seems to really know anything about it’s origins other than that it is centuries old and there are a lot of old cliches that deal with harming our little animal friends. There is evidence from 1832 that there was a debate on whether or not skinning a cat should be done while they are still alive or not, so that could be the beginning of this unusual  adage.

Now that I have gone way off-topic, and satisfied your new curiosity, let’s reel this back in. When you do a job, you may choose a certain material, while the next person may choose something totally different. The most important piece of any job