rawgerz
In Debt we trust
Premium
join:2004-10-03
Grove City, PA | reply to Sweet Witch
Re: And this is why
How can you pierce a iron/steel gas line with a 6 foot copper rod? And how did the gas get inside the house from outside? |
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alfnoid
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-18
| said by rawgerz  :How can you pierce a iron/steel gas line with a 6 foot copper rod? And how did the gas get inside the house from outside? Cause most gas lines put in over the last several years are plastic.
peace |
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DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Carrollton, TX
| reply to rawgerz
said by rawgerz :How can you pierce a iron/steel gas line with a 6 foot copper rod? And how did the gas get inside the house from outside? Incoming gas lines are yellow plastic of some sort, with only the risers at each end being metal. A metal spike hammered into the ground would easily go through this. Given that the ground rod would be within a few inches of the house I would have thought that it wouldn't be too hard for the gas to creep in somehow. |
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mwf
join:2000-11-26
Granite Quarry, NC | The yellow plastic is just sheathing, the actual gas line inside the yellow is metal and flexible. |
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DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Carrollton, TX
| said by mwf :The yellow plastic is just sheathing, the actual gas line inside the yellow is metal and flexible. Are you sure? I must admit I have never seen the inside of a gas line here, but I know in England the lines look identical and they are 100% plastic. Are you sure you are not confusing the meter-to-house connection with the main gas lines which can be metal coated in yellow plastic. Even if they are metal, the fact that it is flexible means it is also thin. |
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Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC | reply to alfnoid
Their using hard plastic for gas lines now? I wouldn't call that safe. |
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alfnoid
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-18
| reply to mwf
said by mwf :The yellow plastic is just sheathing, the actual gas line inside the yellow is metal and flexible. Sheathing is only on the tracer wire buried with it.
The lines that I have had exposure to are 100% plastic.
In fact, if the tracer wire has been cut you can't even locate the lines and you must dig until you can find the tracer wire to be able to locate it.
(I am a former locator and gas was one of my utilities)
peace |
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captokita
Premium
join:2005-02-22
Calabash, NC
| reply to rawgerz
said by rawgerz :How can you pierce a iron/steel gas line with a 6 foot copper rod? And how did the gas get inside the house from outside? Well, my guess would be, since the installer was injured as well, it happened as he was sinking the rod. When the rod pierced the gas line, it sparked and blew the thing up, since the line is attached to the house, the gas in the house went up as well.
Scary. It's possible (probable) the installer never knew there was a gas line there. Bad communications..... if you have to pound in a ground rod, you should ask if there's a chance you may hit something. (power, gas) - just as the homeowner should know where the lines come in. Again, they probably didn't know what the installer was doing either. |
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SteveCon
IBEW 2222 Boston, MA
Premium
join:2004-09-02
Burlington, MA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to rawgerz
A ground rod is copper plated STEEL. It's nearly impossible to drive a 5/8" diameter 100% COPPER rod more than a foot or two in most soils before it bends.
The gas piping around here (that's not some sort of plastic /PVC material) is black iron - (both of) which can be cracked or shattered when struck under the right circumstances.
CATV guys get to drive only 6 footers?? Those lucky bas*ards! The NEC specifies 8 footers for grounding electrical systems ::sigh::
--
United we bargain, divided we beg. |
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DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Carrollton, TX
| said by SteveCon :A ground rod is copper plated STEEL. It's nearly impossible to drive a 5/8" diameter 100% COPPER rod more than a foot or two in most soils before it bends. I believe that gas lines are only required to be buried 18" down so I'm sure that unless the soil was really hard a couple of good swipes with a hammer would have reached the line and gone straight through it. |
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DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Carrollton, TX
| reply to captokita
said by captokita :Well, my guess would be, since the installer was injured as well, it happened as he was sinking the rod. When the rod pierced the gas line, it sparked and blew the thing up, since the line is attached to the house, the gas in the house went up as well.] From the article, it sounds like the installer realised what he may have done and reported it, and subsequently the gas company came to investigate. It was then that the explosion happened. This does beg the question as to why the installer didn't immediately close the valve at the meter. Perhaps he was too busy smoking a cigarette! |
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bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here
| reply to SteveCon
BellSouth proper grounding specifies the equipment should be grounded to in order of importance the ground wire, ground rod, dedicated #6 ground wire set to ground bar, and the metal pipe or box. If a ground rodis placed it has to be bonded to one of the power grounding options. The telco equipment should not be on a seperate ground whatsoever from the power as the possibility of a diferential exists. |
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acid343211
Hallo lisa Aus Amerika
Premium
join:2001-08-31
Byron, GA
1 edit | reply to SteveCon
said by SteveCon :A ground rod is copper plated STEEL. It's nearly impossible to drive a 5/8" diameter 100% COPPER rod more than a foot or two in most soils before it bends. I had to ground my Dish with a 7 ft rod you can do it. not Impossible,
--
Visit-fromisrael2lebanon.info/
israel uphold un 242-338 resolution |
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backness
join:2005-07-08
K2P OW2 | reply to Corehhi
no spark, sparky |
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Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium
join:2001-11-29
Erie, PA
| reply to Corehhi
said by Corehhi :Their using hard plastic for gas lines now? I wouldn't call that safe. So you'd rather have the rusty metal?
I'm sure that if someone was really determined to drive that ground rod in they could puncture metal pipe too.
--
Early to rise, early to bed;
Makes a man healthy but socially dead. |
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Michieru2
zzz zzz zzz
Premium
join:2005-01-28
Miami, FL | reply to DMS1
Or he probably knew nothing in regards to gas and simply said "I am not touching anything". |
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rawgerz
In Debt we trust
Premium
join:2004-10-03
Grove City, PA
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to SteveCon
said by SteveCon :A ground rod is copper plated STEEL. It's nearly impossible to drive a 5/8" diameter 100% COPPER rod more than a foot or two in most soils before it bends. Really? I found some 6-8Ft grounding rods left by Verizon on my property, I cut some in half and made stakes. Guess what, solid copper. I think they had a sticker on them that said 'Grounding rod UL certified' too. |
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Shark_615
join:2006-01-17
Pickering, ON
| reply to Corehhi
You think using a heavy material that corrodes easily, can create sparks AND carry an electric current safer then a nuetral, non-corrosive and non-conductive material that will not create sparks under any circumstances?
Scary. Not to mention that the approved piping for this sort of thing is tested and certified under very strict rules right? |
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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03
 ·CableOne
| reply to rawgerz
I bet I know how the gas got inside the house. I have a funny feeling they probably had gas lines going to their stove, furnace, dryer and water heater. Maybe even to their fireplace.
Just a hunch, though  
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"I invented it, Bill made it famous." --David Bradley, the inventor of Ctrl+Alt+Del. |
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malvado6
I pee on Bushes.
join:2003-09-13
00001
| reply to DMS1
said by DMS1 :said by captokita : This does beg the question as to why the installer didn't immediately close the valve at the meter. Perhaps he was too busy smoking a cigarette! That wouldn't have stopped any explosion, since he probably hit the service line which is before the meter. |
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