Could an electric heater spark a natural gas leak?

[Xist]

So, I was getting ready to run my brother's bath. I plugged in the electric heater that Mom keeps in the bathroom.

Then someone kept banging on the door. Someone took out the natural gas line across the street. Everyone was walking down the street, but Mom was barefoot, so I had her get in her car, and I drove her and my brother to a parking lot on a hill.

The entire block could blow up and we would be safe.

Safe, but homeless, so I am hoping they get everything sorted safely.

[oil pan 4]

Sounds like the government needs to ban cars, natural gas and fire.

[ksa8907]

Yes.

If any device is not rated class 1 division 1, or zone 0, for intrinsic safety, it can ignite a combustible mixture.

[redpoint5]

Unlikely it would blow up much more than whatever was very local. The gas diffuses quickly in open air. It really has to be trapped to accumulate to explosive levels.

My wife sometimes leaves a burner on but not burning. Whenever the sitter smells the faintest amount of NG odor, she opens all the windows and leaves the house, as if it's going to blow up.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Unlikely it would blow up much more than whatever was very local. The gas diffuses quickly in open air. It really has to be trapped to accumulate to explosive levels.

My wife sometimes leaves a burner on but not burning. Whenever the sitter smells the faintest amount of NG odor, she opens all the windows and leaves the house, as if it's going to blow up.

4-15%
It's got a hell of a smell in large quantities, with a good sniffer it is impossible to ignore.

My previous job we did studies to determine how close the gas meter/regulator could be installed to other home features. I don't recall what the final measurement was but we learned that NG does infact dissipate very quickly in open air.

Propane on the other hand is heavier than air and will flow like water... except it's invisible. I.e., don't store propane tanks or gasoline in your basement.

[Xist]

As soon as I got us somewhere safe I asked in our Church Facebook page and someone was kind enough to give me information that I had already figured out on my own.

Mom had me park by the fire station, figuring that we would know when it would be safe to return home when the fire trucks returned, but then she demanded that I drove to Safeway so she could get gas.

Both Camries were at a quarter tank, so I wanted to fill up both cars with our $1 discount.

However, I wasn't getting my car from across the street from the huge gas leak.

Mom kept yelling at me to call the police and I finally asked if she wanted me to drive home and see how close we could get.

There was a work truck across the street and that family was still outside while their house aired out, but they said the rest of us were safe to go home.

I grabbed my phone, wallet, and keys. Mom grabbed her purse, but kept lamenting she didn't bring any of her devices--or her portable oxygen concentrator.

She wanted me to ask my sister in California how natural gas behaved and I kept asking if it was heavier than air.

Mom kept asking if it was heavier than air using many more words.

As soon as we got back I unplugged the heater and we kept telling my brother not to use the hair dryer after his bath, but he snuck around the corner and dried his pretty-dry hair.

We seem to have survived.

[freebeard]

We seem to have survived.

As well as anyone reading the post.

[Xist]

The neighbor backed into their gas meter and got bollards for their trouble, but someone on the next street said someone hit their gas meter and they didn't get a bollard.

How common is it for idiots to hit the same gas line twice?

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by Xist

The neighbor backed into their gas meter and got bollards for their trouble, but someone on the next street said someone hit their gas meter and they didn't get a bollard.

How common is it for idiots to hit the same gas line twice?

You'd be surprised, or maybe not.

This occurrence highlights the benefit of an excess flow valve, if I'm not mistaken they are now mandatory on new residential installations. Will take several years before the effort to upgrade existing services happens.