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Reliability of old gas valve?

Posted by grandmum (My Page) on
Tue, May 22, 12 at 20:33

I have an older nat'l gas valve in my crawl that control a grill that is not used. I want to turn it to the off position but I am leary to do so because of its age.

Its about 30 years old and is a quarter turn handle valve that looks to have oil packing and a nut on the other side of the handle.

My experience with old valves is once they are moved they leak. Do these oil pack valves have a tendency to leak if they have not been used in many many years if ever?


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RE: Reliability of old gas valve?

Most natural gas valves are reliable, although I've had more of an issue with these valves not providing positive shut off than leaking around packing.

Always cap a natural gas line, don't just rely on a closed valve when doing temporary servicing of appliances, etc.

To ease your mind, I would turn off the valve, and then test for leaks around the valve and packing with soap water.
Put some dish soap and water in a spray bottle or swab on with a brush or rag. You will see bubbles if it's leaking.


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