[askbob]

I'm sure the default answer here is 0%, but hear me out...

I just replaced the hose on my gas dryer. The original was removed a few months ago, and we used a small cap to seal up the gas until we could replace the hose. Thus far, we've had no issues with gas smell or leaks.

A few days ago, we removed the cap and tried replacing it with a standard universal gas dryer hose kit (smaller/thinner than the previous). We had gas hissing out as well as the smell filling the upstairs. We finally took it off and just re-capped it.

Today we tried again, using the larger "pro" kit, that is the exact same size that was there before. I was able to stop any noticeable gas leaks or hissing, but we can't seem to get rid of this very faint gas smell that still resides.

Now let me be clear. We have tried EVERYTHING. We worked all day swapping out every different size and type adapter for the hose and the gas line, we used pipe thread (from small amounts to lots), and we made sure all the nuts/fittings we're as tight as humanly possible (using a larger pair of players to where they could not possibly tight another inch, almost to the point of stripping). And again, the hose is the largest they had.

You can't smell gas in the upstairs at all anymore, or even if you just stand over the pipe. You have to get right down to the fitting and sniff to get any kind of whiff. We also did the soap bubble test, which it passed.

I'd say it's 98% sealed up, with only the faintest hint left if you really get down close to the pipe. But there is virtually nothing else we know to do, and I never checked to see if this was normal from the previous installation.

So is this acceptable/safe? The other dryer hose sat like this for years apparently.

 

[chandler48]

Use a spray bottle with soapy water in it and spray the connections you made and the ones inside the dryer. It will indicate if you have a leak or not. Posting a picture of the connections may help garner better answers than mine.

 

[jmon]

Agree with chandler, check all the connections with the soap test especially where it connects to the dryer inlet. I'm sure you probably did all that.

That's strange, cause all those kits come with the proper adapters you need for your particular connection. Don't over tighten, this may cause other issues as well, like stripped/cross threaded.

There may be a stripped thread that's allowing a small amount to leak through or an issue with the dryer's gas valve itself not closing properly after it turns off. You will have to investigate a little more and try to locate exactly where it's coming from.

How old is the gas dryer?

 

[Nik333]

In regard to you initial question - have you called the gas utility to check how much gas is in your home? They will do it for free.


Gas leaks are insidious. You become accustomed to the smell. I experienced one last year and although I'm heavily trained in safety, I just became more and more dopey each day, not realizing that it was the gas. I attributed it to not enough sleep, or taking a Benadryl. . .while it was small but a deadly gas leak.


So, please either call them or get the more sensitive gas monitor that reads at a lower gas level than your alarm.

 

[dj3]

This is an example why unqualified persons should not do any work involving gas.
Simple question: Don't you have a shut off valve on your gas pipe near the dryer?
If YES, then use it. If NO, why not? it's code.
Please, do yourself, your neighbors and your insurance company a favor, and call a plumber.
Your gas company may come, look at what you have, conduct tests, write a report - but they won't do any repairs, installations, etc.
Again, get a plumber, don't underestimate "what if" when it comes to gas.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

I retired from the natural gas compression industry without Mercaptan and still alive, i think, through skill and perseverance, so no gas smell is allowed in our house. Let's not forget how many parts of the system you are working with are made in different countries with very little to 0.0 quality control and it remains our problem to be safe with gas.


If it were mine and i couldn't locate the problem, that dryer and all the associated components would be disconnected and moved outdoors until the problem could be located and corrected. Yes, i'm not close to town with a laundromat but we have a clothes line until the problem could be resolved.:wink2:

 

[Colbyt]

If the dryer is connected with a flex connector, spay soapy water along the entire length of it and all the connections. Every great once in a while they have pin holes or bad seams right off the shelf.


If you mix your soapy water wrong it gets to heavy to blow a bubble. I found stuff online says 1-1 and I know it only a teaspoon to pint or quart. Go buy a kids bubble solution.


Also if you used the good pipe dope it has a smell that resembles gas when fresh.

 

[3onthetree]

My guess is it has nothing to do with the flex line, but rather your connections. Probably not seating your flare connections correctly, or putting a reducer over a flare, or mixing NPT with NPS thread, or something like that. Over doing pipe dope ain't enough, any gas is dangerous, that is why they put the smell in it to begin with. Ditto shut the gas off there and take it all off.

 

[bruceb3]

Yup, my pipe dope (Select Unyte) will set off my gas detector, but it doesn't smell like gas. I agree, no gas smell is OK. I don't know what type of connector you are using, but with flare fittings, I always carefully put a little pipe dope at the mating surfaces of the connector. Havent had a leak in years. When you first make the connection, you will get a smell at the connection for a little while. Wave something around to get the residual smell off. and then smell it again. If you still smell it, there is most definitely a leak.

 

[snic]

In regard to you initial question - have you called the gas utility to check how much gas is in your home? They will do it for free.


Gas leaks are insidious. You become accustomed to the smell. I experienced one last year and although I'm heavily trained in safety, I just became more and more dopey each day, not realizing that it was the gas. I attributed it to not enough sleep, or taking a Benadryl. . .while it was small but a deadly gas leak.


So, please either call them or get the more sensitive gas monitor that reads at a lower gas level than your alarm.

We moved into a house recently, and from the beginning noticed an odd smell in the laundry room. Kind of musty, we couldn't figure it out. A few weeks in, it dawned on me: that's natural gas! The laundry room has both a gas dryer and the gas meter. It was such a tiny leak that the smell didn't seem similar at all to that brief but sharp gas smell you get when you turn the stove on and it doesn't light.

That smell was there even when we were house hunting, which means the home inspector we hired missed it, too. I wonder what else he missed?

(So I called the utility and they made me swear to vacate the premises until their technician arrived. Which he did 10 minutes later, lights flashing. He swapped out the meter, mis-wrote the meter reading, and my next gas bill was $7,000. But at least that nasty smell is gone.)

 

[SeniorSitizen]

We moved into a house recently, and from the beginning noticed an odd smell in the laundry room. Kind of musty, we couldn't figure it out. A few weeks in, it dawned on me: that's natural gas! The laundry room has both a gas dryer and the gas meter. It was such a tiny leak that the smell didn't seem similar at all to that brief but sharp gas smell you get when you turn the stove on and it doesn't light.

That smell was there even when we were house hunting, which means the home inspector we hired missed it, too. I wonder what else he missed?

(So I called the utility and they made me swear to vacate the premises until their technician arrived. Which he did 10 minutes later, lights flashing. He swapped out the meter, mis-wrote the meter reading, and my next gas bill was $7,000. But at least that nasty smell is gone.)

Good job and that's quite an investment. We sure hope you have stock in that utility.:smile: