Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C in Plano, Texas provides maintenance & repairs for all brands of Central A/C, Gas & Electric Furnace, and Heat Pumps. Additionally we sell and install new HVAC Systems from American Standard (same company as Trane), Ameristar (same company as American Standard) and Coleman HVAC (same company as York HVAC).
Al’s also provides full service plumbing maintenance, repairs and replacements for every plumbing component in your home. Al’s sells and installs Rheem Professional Series gas & electric water heaters, and tankless water heaters. Al’s is near your home in Plano, Allen, and Frisco. We service all homes in southern Collin and Denton Counties with no travel charges.
Call Al’s today to discuss any concerns or problems you have with your HVAC System or Plumbing. We will arrange an appointment at your convenience and offer 24/7 Emergency Service.
Residential Gas Pressure Testing
Natural gas pressure determines how fast gas can flow into a gas-burning device. While most gas devices have the ability to regulate if gas pressure coming in is too high, they don’t have the ability to deal with gas pressure that’s too low. If the gas pressure is too low, it may affect the ability of the furnace and water heater to work correctly. In that case, they will shut down to protect themselves and your home. .
It’s very important the gas pressure entering the home and each gas device is correct. Gas pressure testing ensures the right pressure coming into the home or a specific gas-burning device. A gas pressure test requires a permit from your city. A city official will perform an inspection to ensure everything is up to code and safe. Once inspected and approved, the gas can be turned back on.
Al’s Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Performs Gas Gressure Testing For Your Home.
We Can Schedule An Appointment At Your Convenience — Call 972-225-5257.
Natural gas delivers to your home by pipeline. Compressor stations move the gas through major pipelines at approximately 750 psi (pounds per square inch). These gas pipelines deliver the gas to your utility’s gas-supply grid. From there, the gas pressure is reduced and fed into the gas distribution system. Then the individual service lines deliver gas to the structures. As gas enters your home, its pressure is typically around .25 psi (pounds per square inch). That is 4 ounces, or 1/4 of a pound of pressure.
How A Gas-Pressure Regulator Works
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SHOWN: Residential Gas Meter With Gas-Pressure Regulator (round) Left Of The Meter
There is a gas-regulator beside the gas meter to control the gas pressure coming into your home. The regulator is on the side where gas is coming into the meter from the buried gas line in the lawn. The regulator is typically round. The gas pressure regulator by the gas meter is designed to shut off the gas coming into the house when no gas is being used. When gas is needed, the regulator opens enough to allow only the amount of gas needed. The regulator can adjust to any gas demand.
The gas-pressure regulator can be adjusted to allow more or less gas into the house based on the number of gas-fired devices A home can have one or more gas-fired devices (furnace, water heater, clothes dryer, gas cooking appliances) so the gas pressure is adjusted to accommodate the number of gas-fired devices. It’s important for safety that the gas-pressure regulator is adjusted correctly , to ensure no gas enters the home when no gas is being consumed.
See How A Gas-Pressure Regulator Works
Photo Source: YouTube Embedded Video
What Happens If Gas Pressure Is Too High
The nozzles in the gas fired devices in your home are sized to permit a specific gas flow at a specific gas pressure. Too much gas pressure means too much gas flow. Too much gas flowing into your furnace causes more heat to be generated than the furnace is designed for. If a furnace overheats, it shuts down to protect itself. This is also true of your gas water heater and gas clothes dryer.
There is a risk of fire from any gas-fired device overheating due to too much gas flowing into it. For this reason, these products almost always have their own gas regulator (in addition to the one for the house by the gas meter). If the gas pressure is too high, the regulator can adjust the pressure downward to what’s needed. A furnace’s gas-pressure regulator can fail, and too much gas pressure would cause the furnace to overheat. As mentioned earlier, the furnace will shut down to protect itself and your home.
What Happens If Gas Pressure Is Too Low
If gas pressure is too low, the gas-fired device can’t work properly and will shut down. There are many safety devices to protect gas-fired devices in the event gas pressure is too high or too low. One device is called a “Flame Sensor”. If the Flame Sensor cannot determine a proper flame exists when gas is flowing, it shuts the gas off to the burners. If gas pressure is too low, the flame will be too small for the Flame Sensor’s requirements and the furnace will shut down to protect itself and your home.
WARNING: Improper Inspection & Testing methods involving gas pressure can create dangerous conditions with the risk of fire or explosion. A trained technician must perform gas pressure testing. The purpose of the city permit is to ensure the technician doing the test is qualified. Additionally, their work is inspected by a city inspector.
Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C in Plano, Texas provides maintenance & repairs for all brands of Central A/C, Gas & Electric Furnace, and Heat Pumps. Additionally we sell and install new HVAC Systems from American Standard (same company as Trane), Ameristar (same company as American Standard) and Coleman HVAC (same company as York HVAC).
Al’s also provides full service plumbing maintenance, repairs and replacements for every plumbing component in your home. Al’s sells and installs Rheem Professional Series gas & electric water heaters, and tankless water heaters. Al’s is near your home in northeast Dallas, Richardson and Garland. We service all homes in southern Collin and Denton Counties with no travel charges.
Call Al’s today to discuss any concerns or problems you have with your HVAC System or Plumbing. We will arrange an appointment at your convenience and offer 24/7 Emergency Service.