faint smell of gas at equipment pad

[rayzor1]

I have a 1-month old in-ground pool. I have been noticing faint smell of natural gas at the pad and my wife just independently reported same. I've checked all the fixtures and they're tight. I'm about to notify the pool builder but wanted to try my luck here and get more ideas before I approach him. Being totally new to pools I feel I've asked my fair share of "dumb" questions and I'm getting tired of calling him up for things I can handle. Thanks.

[kelemvor]

If you suspect a gas leak you should be calling the builder and possibly the gas company asap. That has the potential to be dangerous. The gas company will likely turn the gas off until the problem is corrected. Unfortunately they may charge you for the call. If you can get the pool builder out right away that might be a cheaper way to go.

[rayzor1]

Fixed! I called the utility co. and they sent someone STAT - sure enough he found a leak and fixed it. The leak was at the joint where they had tapped into the gas line to feed my pool heater. Scary stuff and I feel foolish for even thinking twice about it. Thank you.

[Watermom]

Good. Glad it is fixed. Gas leaks can have serious consequences!

[PoolDoc]

Yeah.

Having had a variety of martial arts training over the years, having been a licensed plumber for 30 years, and having worked around chemicals, gas heaters, and electrical controls for 25+ years PLUS having been a Georgia red-neck with all sorts of contact with guns, I have to grin at some of the safety notices I see about things . . . that overlook even more dangerous things.

Natural gas or propane? Natural gas + air makes an incredibly powerful explosive. The gas company KNOWS this, thus the urgent and appropriate response: they wanted to get there, before you took out the neighborhood!

The school system? Not so much. My wife (an elementary teacher) and I have grins and giggles at some of the super silly safety procedures her school dreams up. Schools worry about banning knives with a 2" blade, but ignore the fact that a 9" sharpened pencil is far more lethal weapon!

Bottom line? Don't worry about those 2" knives, but don't mess around with Jim . . . or with gas leaks!

Glad you got everything fixed.