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Interior Of House Gas Shut Off Valves Question

Have just learned that a house recently moved into apparently has no gas shut off valves located inside the house for the gas dryer, or the gas kitchen stove.

There is one for the furnace and hot water heater.

Plumber says it would be a really good idea to install one for the stove and dryer, and, of course, it would be.

But was wondering how "necessary" this is. The expense of a few hundred dollars is a bit of a concern.

Is this a "must-do" kind of thing ?

Are many houses in this situation, where the mains shut off valve outside the house is the one that would have to be used in an emergency, or whatever ?

Also,

This is the first time with a house with gas for the dryer and stove. Was a bit surprised to see that these appliances are plumbed in pretty rigidly to the gas pipe. Would have thought a flexible hose would have been used for the last few feet or so to allow some positioning or movement of the appliance. But, I guess not.

Anyone care to explain this a bit ?

Thanks.

Reply to
Robert11
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You can get by with out the valves. But when you want to do anything with the appliances you will need to shut off the service and then re light all of the pilots if you have them. A couple hundred bucks for two valves?? Dude your getting ripped.

All of the home stores carry gas valves, not water valves but gas. I use Teflon tape and pipe dope tighten then turn on the gas with the valve off. Check for leaks with leak detector or liquid soap. No leaks then install the appliance. Make the flexible hoses for the stove and dryer long enough that you can get the appliance out of its installed position and get to the valve for servicing.

Heating is always better with gas and cheaper as well.

Reply to
SQLit

Jim Baber replies: (Even if it is not Home Automation, it is important) Since I live in California, I am very aware of earthquakes, I had significant damage in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Your plumber is quite correct even if he is overpriced. You do need a valve at the wall, with the flexible line that you wanted to go to the appliance. I personally want that appliance chained/strapped to the wall within a distance that limits any movement of the appliance to remain within the easy reach of the flexible line.

Do not assume you are safe from earthquakes! The 2 worst earthquakes recorded in North America were NOT in California, one was in Alaska, and the largest was in Missouri (it was felt in New York city), and there are several small, but active faults in New York state.

You do also need to consider other things that can physically shake your domicile up like severe storms (tornados floods hurricanes...), out of control vehicles (cars, trucks, trains, airplanes...you've seen them all in the news). What you do not want is to have anything break that gas line.

The valve is also a nice thing if you want to disconnect 1 item for repair or replacement without disturbing all the others. As yours is now, if you wanted to disconnect your stove because you smelled gas, you would also have to do without heat and hot water until the stove was either fixed or replaced.

Reply to
J Baber

Without cut offs for each device you'd have to relight each and every pilot should you need to service anything. Not a "big deal" but if you get it wrong then it's KA-BOOM.

It's generally not a good idea to take risks with gas. As such not being able to move the appliances around helps avoid trouble. There's something to be said for using flexible connections (helps cleaning behind/underneath) but not if it risks turning your house into matchsticks.

Reply to
wkearney99

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