For under $35, you can pick up a pen-style gas leak detector that is easy to use and can detect the presence of natural gas, liquid propane, butane, and methane. While this is more limited in scope than some higher-powered gas leak detectors, it can help to detect some of the most common household gases.
The best option to detect harmful gas leaks is a hybrid alarm that detects both carbon monoxide and other explosive gases, such as methane, propane, and other natural gases. The First Alert Combination Explosive Gas and Carbon Monoxide Alarm can be plugged into any AC outlet.
In its natural state, natural gas is odorless and colorless. To make gas leaks easier to detect, gas companies add chemicals called odorants to create a natural gas smell similar to sulphur or rotting eggs.
The Natural Gas Detector will only detect the presence of natural gas. It will not detect fire, heat, smoke, or the presence of any other gases, including carbon monoxide (CO).
It's important to know that natural gas is different from smoke carbon monoxide. While smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are a critical part of protecting your home and family, they will not detect a natural gas leak; you'll need a natural gas detector for that.
You can find a damaged gas pipe, dead houseplants, and if a smell is present, it'll be rotten eggs and sulfur. Near the gas line, you might see a white or dust cloud, and a whistling or hissing sound. Since natural gas can enter your home from appliances or gas lines, it can increase your gas bill.
Natural gas is 30% lighter than air. If a leak occurs in an open area, natural gas will easily vent and dissipate into the atmosphere. When enclosed, natural gas will rise to the ceiling and fill the room from top to bottom.
Natural gas is odorless, but an additive called mercaptan is included to alert people of leaks. Mercaptan has a highly recognizable, sulfur-like, "rotten egg" odor used to help people detect a leak.
It's lighter than air.
Natural gas, specifically methane, is less dense than carbon dioxide, so it's technically lighter than air. In its gaseous state, it also takes up a great deal of volume, making it challenging to transport, so companies can pressurize it to allow transportation across land through pipelines.
Rotten Egg Odors
Natural gas and propane have a distinctive smell for a reason. For safety purposes, utility companies use an additive called mercaptan that gives colorless and odorless gases a smell that is hard to miss. Most people describe this smell as something like rotten eggs, sewage, or sulfur.
Gas detectors should be installed in the room where a gas escape is most likely to occur. Natural gas detectors should be installed above the level of a possible gas escape and near the ceiling (typically < 30 cm (12 inches) from the ceiling), in a place where air movements are not impeded by furniture and furnishings.
So, yes, it is normal to smell a faint smell of gas by the meter.
Natural gas has a flammability range of approximately 5 to 15 percent. That means that any mixture containing less than 5 percent or greater than 15 percent natural gas to air would not support combustion. Natural gas, when mixed with air and exposed to an ignition source, is combustible.
Natural gas is made up of a mixture of four naturally occurring gases, all of which have different molecular structures. This mixture consists primarily of methane, which makes up 70-90% of natural gas along with ethane, butane and propane.
Most gas passed during flatulence goes unnoticed because there isn't a smell. It may contain odorless gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane, but a small portion includes hydrogen sulfide, which causes it smell like rotten eggs.
Natural gas has no odor. Gas companies add a harmless chemical called mercaptan to give it its distinctive “rotten egg” smell. All natural gas and propane pipeline gas in Connecticut is odorized. If you smell gas near an appliance, it may be just a pilot light that has gone out or a burner valve that is open slightly.
Sometimes, gas is released from your furnace every time you start it. The odor is usually faint and should dissipate within a short time when you open the windows. If the odor seems to be spread across your house and does not go away, it is probably a leak.
It is predicted that we will run out of fossil fuels in this century. Oil can last up to 50 years, natural gas up to 53 years, and coal up to 114 years.
Natural gas is always lighter than air, and will rise in a room if allowed to escape from a burner or leaking fitting. On the contrary, propane is heavier than air and will settle in a basement or other low level. Incomplete combustion can occur when the gas mixture is richer than 10%.
Vapors may cause dizziness or asphyxiation without warning. Contact with gas or liquefied gas may cause burns, severe injury and/or frostbite. Fire may produce irritating and/or toxic gases. Wear positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
Unfortunately, natural gas won't always emit a smell when it escapes. That means you can have a leak in your home and not even know it!
Exposure to a slow gas leak in your house or apartment may cause deadly symptoms including sickness, weakness, nausea, suffocation, and headaches. If you feel sick or abnormal, immediately call an ambulance to confirm if you have been exposed to gas poisoning.
Immediately evacuate the area, and from a safe location either call 911 or SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200. Don't smoke, or light a match, candle or other flame. Don't turn electrical appliances or lights on or off, operate motorized equipment or vehicles, or use any device that could cause a spark.
Natural gas is extremely flammable and can be ignited by heat, sparks, flames, static electricity, and other sources of ignition, such as pilot lights, mechanical/electrical equipment, and electronic devices that are not intrinsically safe.