Gas leak for years????

I know this is a strange question but is it possible that gas could be escaping from a kitchen appliance for years without ever being detected and how much gas does it take to affect you mentally? If anyone can answer these questions or put me in touch with someone who can Id be grateful, thanks.

well... normally there should be a distinct smell in gas, which is put in specifically so you can smell it when it leaks....

so unless that substance which makes the gas smell was not present, then it could have been leaking for years....

but IF it has been leaking, and it has no smell, then go off and take the company which provides you with gas to court....

but i don't think the possibility is ver great that it has been leaking for a long time.

if it has, and you have consumed it the whole time, it depends on what kind of gas it is to see whether it is hazardous to you or not.....

hope it's not the case.

any more info, pm me.

later.

Make a bucket of soapy water and brush the solution all over your gas connections and gas lines. If there is a leak, you will see bubbles.

Yes, its possible for something to have a really slow leak and not be detected. But if its a real slow leak, there wouldn't be enough natural gas to affect you.

Thanks for that. I only ask because i work in a kitchen and an engineer recently condemned our griddle (hot plate) because it was leaking gas on one side but we could never smell anything? He also said that when we turned of the extractor (after the chef`s finished at four o clock) the pilot lights would go out on the griddle but when the extractor was put back on (it controlled the gas flow) it would just leak gas because there is nothing burning it off, but that would mean that it was like that for a very long time, going unnoticed, is it possible?

yeah avman's right...

another thing, if it was a rather big leak, which was big enough to leak gas in amounts which would affect you, you would have noticed because when consumed, you would have thrown up/puked... however you wanna call it.

later.

actually I was gonna say thats why Im asking because for a long long time I have been having headaches, drowsiness, mood swings AFTER work all consistant with a gas leak and now its been condemned I dont get any? Thanks

Agreed. You would get light-headed and sick from the gas.

Here in the U.S. they are required to add scent to the gas so you notice it. But I don't know about the UK.

Its unlikely there was a large leak when the pilot lights were turned off. Otherwise, when the pilot light finally did come on - there would be an explosion.

i just have one more question, how would the pilot light come back on after the gas is turned off and then back on? And also if only one main light is on the engineer said the other side was leaking, but weve always used it with just one side on, so how could it be leaking undetected, thanks for your replies.

I'm afraid you are beyond my engineering skills now. I'll have to defer to someone else who is more of an expert.

Thanks anyway, even Im confused now!!

I think Ive worked it out now! What was happening was the chefs would use one side of the griddle all day thus gas was leaking out of one side BUT was being extracted at the time. When chef goes and the extractor is turned off the extractor was not shutting off the gas like it was supposed to thereforeeee leaking gas int the kitchen maybe slowly enough to not be concerned with because it was periodically on and off before the end of the day (usually 5pm). We would turn it back on to cook chips for 5 mins then off again mainly because it was too noisy. I could always smell fumes from the fryers and assumed that was the smell but maybe it was gas all this time. The griddle has been condemned and I will personally ensure it is burned alive and goes to hell. I feel a headache coming on...........

I am a fire fighter here in the US and a gas leak is noticeable. What is not noticeable is Carbon Monoixde/Dixoide fumes. There are several companies now that make detectors for just that purpose. There is no smell or anyway to know what is happening. You will get what they call the dizzies and disoriented before you black out. It can give you severe headaches and over time can kill you.

If you need more information please PM me.

-Hubman

Hubman you see to be knowledgable in this (for obvious reasons)

with all those burners going, wouldnt that lower the oxygen levels in the room, if there is poor circulation? (inlets)

I know people get sick and tired on jets because of the lower oxygen levels.

I also read that the smell in propane gas is added to it (sulfer) and put in for this purpose, so people would know when there was a leak.

natural gas taken from the ground has no smell.

Id have to guess that the, low amount of gas vapors couples with low oxygen and high monoxide/dioxide (as stated by Hubman)is what was getting you dizzy

Gilgamesh,

Well I would have to agree that if there is not enough ventilation (exhaust vents) then there could be big problems.

Natural gas when taken from the ground does not have any smell. They add a distinct smell to help you identify that there is a leak.

I would have to agree that there might be enough evidence here to have a C.O. dectector put into the kitchen by the grills and fryers.

-Hubman