Gas in the apartment: everything is under control

Now, not every teenager understands what the Behemoth cat from Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” was doing when he said: “I’m not being naughty, I’m not touching anyone, I’m fixing the stove.” Many years have passed since the first gas stoves replaced capricious, dangerous and smelly kerosene gas in the kitchens. Nevertheless, modern gas equipment, safe, environmentally friendly, equipped with reliable automation, also has to be “repaired”. Stoves and boilers, like any technical devices, need care, and it should not be a cat, even a talking one, but a qualified employee of a specialized organization. That is why the state obliged all owners of apartments and houses with gas equipment to conclude an agreement for its regular maintenance.

What is included in maintenance

All equipment from the point of connection to the gas network, including the final one – stoves and boilers in an apartment or house, is subject to regular scheduled inspection and maintenance. The only difference is that the owners of the apartments are responsible for the equipment in the apartments, and the management company or the HOA is responsible for the gas pipelines in the entrances and inside the apartment, up to the gas valve in front of the appliances.

“Under an agreement with apartment owners, we are obliged to check and carry out maintenance of gas equipment once a year,” says Alexander Rogachev, chief engineer of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz. – The list of works includes checking and maintenance of household stoves, heating boilers, water heaters, intra-apartment wiring, and valves. Our employee conducts a visual inspection of all parts of the system, controls the integrity of the elements, including painting and fastenings, the tightness of gas pipes and their connections, checks gas pressure, draft in the ventilation system, and performs preventive maintenance of shut-off valves (disassembly and lubrication). The visit ends with a briefing of users and drawing up an acceptance certificate.

Why checks are needed

By obliging the owners of gas equipment to conclude a contract for its maintenance, the state first of all took care of safety. After all, if specialists cannot get into an apartment or house to assess the condition of the equipment located there, the likelihood of an emergency increases many times over. “Our employees often face such an excuse: “I’m fine anyway, why do I need your checks,” says Alexander Rogachev. “And then, when we discover a leak, the same tenant is surprised: “Wow, but we don’t feel anything.” We have to explain that even the smallest gas leak can lead to trouble. We often hear: “What can break in this stove, we have been cooking on it for 15 years, and nothing.” People do not understand that any equipment wears out, seals become unusable. Another common mistake that one has to face is neglect of ventilation. You explain to people: yes, gas is not firewood, not fuel oil, it is the most environmentally friendly fuel, but toxic combustion products are still formed. Watch the draft, open the window when cooking, do not force your loved ones, especially children, to breathe this for years.

Something broke?

The first signs of a malfunction of gas equipment can be determined by its owner himself. If you feel even a slight smell of gas, then you need to urgently call the emergency dispatch service. After all, the presence of a smell is a serious sign of a malfunction. If the flame on the burners of the stove is yellow or red, this should also alert the owner.

From year to year, gas workers never tire of reminding us of safety rules, the importance of timely maintenance and replacement of gas equipment. Why are they so persistent? Because they know better than others what negligence and irresponsibility sometimes leads to when using gas in everyday life. Let’s heed their calls, because our safety depends on how conscientiously we follow these rules.

When will the gas be turned off?

By law, gas supply to an apartment can be stopped in the following cases:

• the consumer owes gas payment for more than two months;
• the subscriber refuses to let specialists go home to check the condition of the in-house or in-house gas equipment;
• there is no valid contract for the maintenance and repair of in-house or in-house gas equipment.

Also, the gas can be turned off temporarily, during scheduled preventive repairs and maintenance of in-house engineering systems.

Safety Checklist

• After the end of the use of gas appliances, it is necessary to turn off the taps on the pipes supplying fuel to household appliances.
• Gas stoves, water heaters and boilers must be kept clean.
• When a gas stove or gas column is running, the window or window must be open.
• Citizens are obliged to monitor the operation of gas appliances, the serviceability of smoke and ventilation ducts. Before turning on and during operation of gas appliances, it is necessary to check the draft, as well as periodically clean the chimney pocket (if any).
• If residents stay outside the house for more than a day, you need to close the taps on the gas pipeline leading to gas equipment.
• Consumers are obliged to monitor the condition of the flexible gas hose that connects the equipment to the gas pipeline. It must not be stretched and must not touch household electrical appliances. Do not kink, kink or pinch the gas hoses.
• Installation and repair of gas equipment should be carried out only by a certified employee of a specialized organization with which a maintenance contract has been concluded.
• It is allowed to use only gas cylinders that have passed a preliminary technical examination and are in good condition, the service life of which has not expired.

It is forbidden:

• Use defective gas appliances.
• Use gas equipment if you smell gas in the room.
• Place furniture and other combustible objects and materials at a distance of less than 0.2 meters horizontally from gas appliances. This does not apply to domestic gas stoves, built-in household gas appliances installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s technical documentation. The vertical distance between the gas appliance and the overhanging piece of furniture must be at least 0.7 meters.
• Use fans and hoods in a room where, in addition to a gas stove, other gas equipment is installed with the removal of combustion products into the smoke channel. Hoods create back draft and there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning for occupants.
• Independently produce gasification of an apartment or residential building, rearrangement, replacement and repair of gas appliances.
• Allow preschool children and citizens who do not know the rules for using the relevant equipment to gas appliances.
• Check the tightness of connections using open flame sources, including matches, lighters, candles.
• Use gas appliances for other purposes (for example, dry clothes over a gas stove or heat an apartment with a stove).

Attention!

If you detect the smell of gas in the room, first of all, you need to turn off the gas, and secondly, open windows and doors. You can not use switches, electrical appliances. It is necessary to leave the room in which a gas leak was detected and go to a safe place, from where to report the incident by phone to the emergency dispatch service of the gas distribution organization (when calling from a mobile phone, dial 112, when calling from a landline phone, dial 04), and, if necessary, to other emergency services.

A malfunction of the in-house and in-house gas equipment must be immediately reported to a specialized organization with which an agreement has been concluded for the maintenance and repair of this equipment.