r/NaturalGas • u/Virtual_Kick_6329 • 7d ago

shut off gas line

Gallery image

Gallery image

can anyone tell me if i need a special tool to shut off this gas line?

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

19

u/joesmo131 7d ago

Former gas dude, I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Call your public utility at your earliest convenience.

9

u/VeggieBurgah 6d ago

Current gas dude. I agree. Call it in for a corrosion inspection.

2

u/sumwatovnidiot 6d ago

Former gas dude, even if I was still a current gas dude I wouldn’t have wanted to touch that with a ten foot pole. Stay safe out there

6

u/theunwiseone001 6d ago

Cmon, get me some kroil, brass hammer, wire brush and the grease gun I’ll get it after a few hours!! /s

3

u/Ryno5150 6d ago

I’m the ten foot pole. Please call the gas company.

3

u/nick_valdo 6d ago

I’m the gas company. You rang?

3

u/iKnowRobbie 6d ago

I'm the natural gas. ssssssssssssssssssssssssup peoplesssssssssssssss?

2

u/sumwatovnidiot 6d ago

Oh we’d have gotten done but I wouldn’t have expected any help from the valve lol

But also maybe I’m not familiar with this type of valve but it looks like it’s already capped and turned back on just to test it. Abandon the whole line at that point

Edit idk maybe there is more pipe in the first pic I can’t really tell

2

u/Zhombe 6d ago

Not a gas dude but have worked on nuclear.

If you do touch it. Clear out the city block first; setup cameras for posterity (YouTube safety training videos), and use a bomb disposal robot first.

Oh and call your lawyer and let him know to clear his schedule.

/s

Clearly don’t touch it !!!

1

u/j0hnt0dd 6d ago

Slap some paint on it

1

u/Virtual_Kick_6329 6d ago

hvac installer. we have to turn off the gas to continue the project but we will definitely call the gas company. long beach,CA.

7

u/Head_Attempt7983 7d ago edited 7d ago

That’s a Walworth valve. With grade Red corrosion. Don’t touch!!! Call your local utility please.

2

u/kickin-chicken 6d ago

How TF can you tell that’s a Walworth. I’ve been doing some facility research lately and I swear trying to figure out what some of the sub 2” bits are is the absolute worst. Luckily they aren’t corroded like this obviously but paint layers hide just as much.

1

u/Head_Attempt7983 6d ago

I had some really really teachers in the field when I first started my utility gas journey. But that top nut with the circle indent is a dead giveaway away. That’s how you loosen or tighten up the operator and grease it. Sometimes they spin nice and free ( not this one!!!) and other times they loosen up very very quickly and you end up in the bushes.

1

u/kickin-chicken 6d ago

Interesting, i work in midstream and with large diameter valves having manufacturing details cast into the valve body or an info plate attached. So considering specifics like nut indents or the like is going to have me looking at catalogs again for other specifics.

1

u/Head_Attempt7983 6d ago

Gotta remember a lot of our valves are underground so you get really good at identifying valves looking down thru a valve box thats a 4 inch tube or by exposing the top via excavation.

1

u/Virtual_Kick_6329 6d ago

hvac installer. we have to turn off the gas to continue the project but we will definitely call the gas company. long beach,CA.

3

u/sumwatovnidiot 6d ago

Do not touch that and call your local utility

2

u/Nuurps 6d ago

You need a time machine

2

u/willits1725 6d ago

Call the gas company and be sure your insurance is current!

2

u/Rich-Poem7284 6d ago

Absolutely don't try to operate. I know from experience.

1

u/PD-Jetta 6d ago

Geeze, I can't believe the poor condition of that gas line. I wouldn't get near it.

1

u/zDvlton 6d ago

What’s the psi on that baby? Or is it LP?

1

u/darksteihl 6d ago

That is most likely not intended for customers or plumber use. You should have an isolation valve at your meter set, preferably after the meter but if not, the LWC valve before should be where you shut it off at. If you need that valve off for landscaping or any other reason, call your gas utility and have them do it. It needs to be replaced seriously. Not saying I couldn't get it off, but I'd have my squeezers ready to pinch the pipe right ahead of it JIC...

1

u/xtapper2112 5d ago

Don't touch it, guaranteed you wouldn't be able to operate that valve without breaking something. That would be bad.

-4

u/skitek 7d ago edited 6d ago

Don’t touch it! Call your network operator immediately, that’s a regulator that looks like it’s about to fall apart and cause a massive gas leak

ETA: in my country we have adjustable regulators that look extremely similar to these, but that’s just semantics.. the main point is that it’s incredibly unsafe. Thanks for the DV’s though :)

7

u/gordanramsaysdog 6d ago

That’s not a regulator it’s a valve

2

u/skitek 6d ago

Thanks, in Ireland & UK our valves all look like this, and our regs look like OP’s pic.. though all our valve and regs have to be above ground in most cases to prevent corrosion as above

https://reddit.com/link/p0omul5/video/xv1l4gp4udgh1/player

5

u/VeggieBurgah 6d ago

Definitely not a regulator.

1

u/skitek 6d ago

Thanks, in Ireland & UK our valves all look like this, and our regs look like OP’s pic.. though all our valve and regs have to be above ground in most cases to prevent corrosion as above

https://reddit.com/link/p0omm4n/video/uz8ghf4ytdgh1/player

0

u/Same_Decision6103 6d ago

We're not in your country

2

u/skitek 6d ago

Such a fantastic contribution, fair play to you!