How to Fix Low Natural Gas Pressure
Natural gas is the preferred heating element in many homes, giving your home heat, hot water and sometimes even electricity. If you find that you have low natural gas pressure in your home, it can lead to a lot of problems, ranging from not being able to keep the heat on to a potential gas leak.
Once the problem has been located, though, it can be repaired.
Things You Will Need
- Natural gas gauge
- Natural gas detector
- Hand held torch
- Solder
- Copper pipe
- Safety goggles
Warning
If you aren't familiar with the proper methods for installing or repairing natural gas pipeline, then allow a professional to do it. Always check local regulations and rules with the natural gas provider to be sure that you aren't violating any laws or rules of safety.
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Check the natural gas pressure against what you're supposed to have. A natural gas gauge can be found at your service line, or you can call your gas service provider and get an updated account of what your current gas pressure is. Often gas pressure issues come from the gas company, and if that's the case then the gas company has to fix the gas problem from its end.
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Turn off all extraneous uses of natural gas. For instance, if you have a gas stove, hot water heater, fire place and house heater all working at once, that might result in low pressure. Leave on only one device at a time and then check the pressure again to see if it rises. Overuse can cause the pressure to drop since you can only bring in so much gas at once.
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Check for gas leaks in your home. Use a natural gas hand-held detector and go from room to room, checking to see if there are any levels. Additionally, examine the natural gas pipes and see if there are any smaller leaks at the joints, or if there is a small hole or crack in the line.
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Shut off the gas, drain the system and replace the damaged part of the pipeline with a fresh section. Cut out the section of pipe where the hole is with a hacksaw, place a fresh section of pipe into the gap. Turn on your hand held-torch and melt a line of solder all around the connections, forming solid joints. Allow the joints to dry before restoring pressure.
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Check your natural gas levels again once the pipe has been fixed. Make sure the levels don't increase, and check the pipe for pressure. If the pressure still doesn't go up there could be additional leaks that you'll need to find.
The Drip Cap
- Natural gas is the preferred heating element in many homes, giving your home heat, hot water and sometimes even electricity.
- If you find that you have low natural gas pressure in your home, it can lead to a lot of problems, ranging from not being able to keep the heat on to a potential gas leak.
- Shut off the gas, drain the system and replace the damaged part of the pipeline with a fresh section.
- Check your natural gas levels again once the pipe has been fixed.
- Make sure the levels don't increase, and check the pipe for pressure.
References
Writer Bio
Neal Litherland is an author, blogger and occasional ghostwriter. His experience includes comics, role playing games and a variety of other projects as well. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Indiana University, and resides in Northwest Indiana.
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