Unlit gas stove left on by housemate - advice

2»

Comments

  • susie-4964susie-4964 Posts: 23,143
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Modern gas is not harmful. As has been said, the main danger is of explosions if the gas-oxygen mix is correct, and even that is over a very narrow range. You could turn the oven on and go to sleep in there and you couldn't kill yourself. That's why they changed the type of gas many years ago - when I was a kid, "town gas" would kill you, and many people unfortunately took the opportunity. The old-type gas had its own smell, modern gas doesn't, but to make sure people could smell a gas leak, they put a "smell" into it.

    Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of the incorrect combustion of gas, i.e. if there isn't enough ventilation and oxygen coming in. Properly combusted gas should form carbon dioxide when enough oxygen is available. However, if, for example, you're running a gas fire in a fireplace with a blocked flu, there won't be enough oxygen and you'll get carbon monoxide instead. And that definitely IS dangerous.
  • Keefy-boyKeefy-boy Posts: 13,561
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    susie-4964 wrote: »
    Modern gas is not harmful. As has been said, the main danger is of explosions if the gas-oxygen mix is correct, and even that is over a very narrow range. You could turn the oven on and go to sleep in there and you couldn't kill yourself. .
    That really is a silly thing to post. Nobody with an accidental gas leak is regulating the gas/oxygen mix and at some point it is quite possible it will reach an explosive mix.

    And as for your point about sleeping in a room full of gas, methane displaces oxygen and if you stayed there you would be asphyxiated.
  • the chimpthe chimp Posts: 12,139
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    woodbush wrote: »

    You cannot turn gas on for a modern appliance without holding the knob in and a flame being detected. All the knobs on a cooker could be turned on full but without a flame being detected the gas would not be flowing.
    New gas hobs having to have thermocouples has been a rule for less than a year, there are plenty of old stock hobs without ffd's still being sold off.


    To the op, nat gas is totally non toxic and the risk of explosion from a hob burner is minimal, especially after having the windows open a couple of minutes.
  • chocoholic100chocoholic100 Posts: 6,411
    Forum Member
    the chimp wrote: »
    New gas hobs having to have thermocouples has been a rule for less than a year, there are plenty of old stock hobs without ffd's still being sold off.


    To the op, nat gas is totally non toxic and the risk of explosion from a hob burner is minimal, especially after having the windows open a couple of minutes.

    yep mines a couple of years old so I would class it as a modern appliance and gas would flow freely forever if turned on it doesnt cut out after a while if no flame is detected
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,442
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Irvine wrote: »
    Nope push knob, turn release gas still flows.

    Mine does too - very distinctive hissing - if I just turn it and leave it. The knob for the oven sometimes gets stuck between on and off when I try to turn it off as well, which is easy to miss and could be dangerous as it leaves it burning yellow. Don't know how old it is but :eek:
  • susie-4964susie-4964 Posts: 23,143
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Keefy-boy wrote: »
    That really is a silly thing to post. Nobody with an accidental gas leak is regulating the gas/oxygen mix and at some point it is quite possible it will reach an explosive mix.

    And as for your point about sleeping in a room full of gas, methane displaces oxygen and if you stayed there you would be asphyxiated.

    I don't see what's silly about it if it's true, which it is. Obviously, if you can smell gas, you're not going to light a match to check it out.
  • The TerminatorThe Terminator Posts: 5,312
    Forum Member
    Don't have to press anything on ours, just turn the knob and the gas flows. Terrible attitude from woodbush in general and a rather stupid (if not dangerous) assumption that the OP was just being paranoid when there was nothing to back up such a claim.
Sign In or Register to comment.