Community Chat

[On It]

@cheriere Yes! There was snow, ice, and bitter cold. I was alone. No heat. No hot water. (The range and oven were electric so I could cook). I called the gas company, and they sent someone out. I could see him working for a long time. Another truck arrived. They replaced the connection valve at the main gas line with a new one. Then they had to come into the garage to check the hot water heater and the gas furnace to see if they were burning properly.  It was a major deal.

My advice if it is up to you, call the gas company. They were quick to respond.

Edited to add: If you own the well, are you the gas company? I would want to find a bunch of answers to whom to call. You are officially the only person I know who has a private gas well.

[SaveTheTurtles]

Yikes! Anytime you are dealing with natural gas like that is scary. I would have called the Gas company to come out I think. Sounds like your dad knows what he's doing luckily.

[Desert Lily]

I agree with @chessylady  and would hire a professional to do the job.

Otherwise, I'd likely move.

I know what I don't know and wouldn't take the risk. And I wouldn't be bothered by a look or a comment.

How long do gas wells last? 20-30 years? Would a new gas well with newer technology need to be drilled then?

[ROMARY]

Just yesterday someone we ran across told us that several, maybe many? (across the extreme cold front areas) electric cars' batteries froze and were inoperable.

Regardless, sorry to hear about frozen natural gas line problems.

Keep safe and well.

[cheriere]

@On It   First, let me start by saying how very sorry I am that you had to go through all of that by yourself.  God bless you!  I'm glad the gas company sent someone out quickly for you.  

As far as our gas well.  Yes, we own it.  There's a lot of gas underground so we only lease some of what's down there to a company, not local.  So, we essentially have free gas, but there's not really anyone I know of that we can call for general maintenance...but I'm going to talk to my dad a lot about this tonight.  I need some answers and phone numbers to write down in the happenstance he's no longer physically able to do this.  Believe me, this kind of talk about lots of things is LONG overdue.

[cheriere]

@Desert Lily   The gas well is not very old at all.  In fact, the company who leases some of our gas does come by and maintain it occasionally.  I would've definitely had to call someone to come and do this though.  Apparently, it's not a hard thing to do...if you know what you're doing!  I do not though lol.   I was telling @On It   It's time for me to talk to my dad and get some names and numbers of these companies and people to talk to for the future.

[1Snickers]

 @cheriere   I've heard of that happening but I don't have gas heat.  You are  correct you will need to know how to do it if they can't, or  have someone knowledgeable available to contact. 
   I've been a widow for 20 years and my husband always handled things. But, I watched my farther as I grew up. I'd help hand him tools as he repaired things. I'd hold a mirror so he could see the TV screen as he worked  from the back. 
   This morning it was 17 and I was enjoying coffee and I smelled oil. It came from the heat vent.  I went in the garage and it really smelled like furnace was running but no heat in the vents.  I pushed the reset button. Nothing. I have an underground tank that was supposedly filled in December. When the technician came he said the tank was empty! I was livid and asked if it could have a leak he said no. He filled it with two gallons of oil and I insisted that he get the truck here ASAP. I called and left messages at multiple numbers. The oil truck man came and didn't recall filling it in December and I had told them I wasn't left a ticket. 
  Heat works, but I really had to insist on help and am still concerned about a leak in that tank . If it has one they replace it free. 
   So, calmly explain to your Dad you are interested in learning. Even if you don't do the actual work you can be certain that another technician does.  Keep warm!

   😱  🥶   🔧🛠️🧰 🤗

[Allegheny]

@cheriere 

Oh yes.  I remember when the gas line to our house froze up.  We got free gas because the line ran through our property.  It was an agreement made many years back that was in the deed.  The line to our dwelling was our responsibility.   It was so cold that we had ice frozen on the inside of our windows.  Like yours, my Dad knew what he was doing and went out and took care of it.  It only happened once, and that was enough.

[monicakm]

@cheriere 

I had no idea that could happen...YIKES   What "can" happen here are electrical lines that get covered in ice and fall but that's rare.  It's happened but it's rare.  Our electrical company did a major update on the grid in our area a few years ago.  When we had the snow/ice storm of the century a few years ago, we never lost power.  Most of Texas, all the way down to the valley (in S. TX), was covered in ice.  Millions lost power for days.  We didn't.  I called our electrical company and thanked them for a job well done.

[cheriere]

@monicakm   Oh yes, I remember when that happened in Texas a few years ago.  I was a huge disaster!  Thank goodness they did an update in your area.  I can't stand to be out of power either.  That was really nice of you to call and thank the electric company for a job well done.  I'll bet they really appreciated that.  I'm sure those calls were very few too unfortunately.  My mom worked at our local electric company for years until she retired.  The stories she can tell about some customers are truly unbelievable lol.  She would've loved you ❤️💕😊