Bad natural gas?

[BrianB]

Can a utility company have a bad batch of natural gas?

Yesterday I walked into our kitchen while DW was cooking. The flames on the stovetop burners were flickering yellow / orange not the usual blue. We have natural gas (not propane). The range has worked fine for over 5 years. I pulled it away from the wall and all connections and hose looked OK. No gas smell, and we had windows open so plenty of air for combustion.

I thought that I could adjust the air valve (like on a propane grill) to correct the mixture. No luck. The range has "sealed burners" and uses small (3/8"?) tube from the control knobs to the burners. No adjustment at all. Youtube is my go-to source for home repairs but I couldn't find anything about this issue.

About two hours later I turned on the surface burners. While still yellow, there was a little blue in the flame. Checked again today and the flames are back to normal blue.

DW is concerned, but now that she is aware of what happened she will let me know if it happens again.

Bad gas? Crud in the line? Or a problem with the range? Could this affect our applliances (range, water heater and furnace are all natural gas in our house). I'm looking for ideas. Would prefer not to have to call a gas plumber unless it's dangerous or beyond my repair skills.

Brian

 

[HF63]

What about moisture in the line, it is possible that they where doing some work on the main line. You cal also check the P-trap for the gas pipe and see if has any moisture.

 

[ivinsfan]

I feel like this happened in the super cold wave of Superbowl week in 2019...I see you are in MSP...it's a function of demand or too many users, something like that. OTOH so many places are closed you wouldn't think demand would be a problem. Check your providers website and maybe try a live chat or text message.. I've noticed this kind of flamer variation at my DD's in SLP..

 

[like2]

I would call your gas company first if you have not done so. Also check with a neighbor if possible.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Short answer : Yes. AND AS LIKE2 SAYS , CALL AND DISCUSS WITH YOUR GAS UTILITY !

Pipeline quality of natural gas varies a lot , especially in winter. It is up to the local utility to verify quality , and do remedial stripping of excess impurities . Examples , Water , sulpher ,sand, CO2, Nitrogen, ethane, butane, propane, mercury, radon, are the usual suspects.

Many of these are very undesireable , but considered acceptable in surprising large %. The gas delivered can be as low as 88 % methane, and still be deemed as acceptable. 94% methane is the best I have seen.

Some utilities have used large % of propane in the natural gas as emergency measures in extreme shortages

Pressure can also drop below useable levels due to equipment failure or extreme local spot uses.

 

[BrianB]

An update on this.

Thursday I sent an email to our gas company through the non-emergency contact system. On Monday a Centerpoint truck pulled up and a fully suited up (haz-mat suit, gloves, mask, shoe covers and goggles) person came to our door. It caught us off guard and without thinking we let him in. He did show us his ID. He didn't touch anything in our house and his meter showed no leaks or problems with the range, furnace or water heater.

He didn't appreciate my questions about bad or dirty gas. He suggested that our house was dusty and that caused the yellow flame. Needless to say, DW was highly insulted as she keeps the house clean and dusted and we are not cluttery people! She wiped every surface he walked past and the floor he walked on with sanitizing wipes after he left.

He was the first person other than me, DW and DD who has been in our house in three weeks. DW & I agreed that we shouldn't have let him in, and we probably won't allow anyone else in for the foreseeable future.

The flames on our range are back to normal blue and no indications of any more problems. I'm still convinced it was contaminated gas that caused the problem.

 

[REWahoo]

The flames on our range are back to normal blue and no indications of any more problems. I'm still convinced it was contaminated gas that caused the problem.

If it happens again, try a little Beano on your range. Works for me.

 

[eytonxav]

Might have been a temporary drop in gas pressure. Does your neighborhood heat with natural gas and has it been cold lately?

 

[Winemaker]

In the early days of my mining career, all mine foremen and depending on which state you worked in equipment operators, were required to carry a flame safety lamp. It is a simple device, that used a failsafe method to detect methane gas and/or oxygen deficiency. Depending on the method used, a flame in the lamp wick burned naptha, and when held in a working place, a blue flame would determine the presence of methane and its percentage in the air. Anytime the flame elongated and became yellow, it meant that the flame was searching for oxygen, especially in low oxygen and black damp areas.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/koehler-mining-permisable-flame-249612907

Perhaps the air in your house has a lower amount of oxygen than usual (20.8%)? Some homes are "tighter" than others and O2 limits do decrease. That's why a lot of people need to open a window and get some "fresh air".