In other news (apolitical thread)...

[FearlessF]

yikes
be careful out there
no gas or propane at my house

[847badgerfan]

I have a tank buried in my yard, for the generator.

[utee94]

We have natural gas.  Which isn't actually all that dangerous on its own, it's extremely low pressure, like around 1/4 PSI.   The danger for natural gas comes if there's a leak in an enclosed space, which traps the gas over time, and then you get some kind of ignition source.

[MikeDeTiger]

We have natural gas.  Which isn't actually all that dangerous on its own, it's extremely low pressure, like around 1/4 PSI.  The danger for natural gas comes if there's a leak in an enclosed space, which traps the gas over time, and then you get some kind of ignition source.

I don't know a lot about gas lines.  About 6 months ago I had the city run a line from the main for a our lot, which previously had no hookups.  We did it because we were installing a generator and I didn't want to get the version with tanks.  There were a lot of glitches with seemingly incompetent city workers, one of which was the generator's test-crank didn't work and it was found that it was supposed to be a low-pressure line and the city had installed a high-pressure line.  That's what they said, anyway.  I don't know the difference in pressure between the two, or why/how they messed that up.  They had to install some kind of limiter at the point of the generator to avoid digging up our yard again.  

A week or two after they were "done," we started smelling gas.  I called the city several times, they came to check for leaks, and their instruments apparently told them there weren't any.  One Saturday morning we went outside and it was significantly worse.  We called again and found out neighbors two and three streets away had called about a gas smell.  They came again, checked, and said we had a small leak, so they started digging.  They would up not having a part, so they ordered and overnight'd it and told us don't worry.  The following morning it was horrible.  When they came back that day they said it was bad.....real bad.  Really glad nobody on our street lit a match out there.

Anyway, they fixed it, but now I've got what is, according to them, a high pressure line running in my yard, which is not supposed to be a high pressure line.  

Generator works, though.  

[utee94]

Someone posted on surlyhorns a video from the house across the street.

https://media.surlyhorns.com/monthly_2025_04/0cb90501-5e90-4c90-9339-402d974d5b91.mp4.da8e4052f2b4cf59dab9ad14e0173c4c.mp4

[Cincydawg]

Natural gas doesn't smell naturally.

It has an additive that does.

[Gigem]

I don't know a lot about gas lines.  About 6 months ago I had the city run a line from the main for a our lot, which previously had no hookups.  We did it because we were installing a generator and I didn't want to get the version with tanks.  There were a lot of glitches with seemingly incompetent city workers, one of which was the generator's test-crank didn't work and it was found that it was supposed to be a low-pressure line and the city had installed a high-pressure line.  That's what they said, anyway.  I don't know the difference in pressure between the two, or why/how they messed that up.  They had to install some kind of limiter at the point of the generator to avoid digging up our yard again. 

A week or two after they were "done," we started smelling gas.  I called the city several times, they came to check for leaks, and their instruments apparently told them there weren't any.  One Saturday morning we went outside and it was significantly worse.  We called again and found out neighbors two and three streets away had called about a gas smell.  They came again, checked, and said we had a small leak, so they started digging.  They would up not having a part, so they ordered and overnight'd it and told us don't worry.  The following morning it was horrible.  When they came back that day they said it was bad.....real bad.  Really glad nobody on our street lit a match out there.

Anyway, they fixed it, but now I've got what is, according to them, a high pressure line running in my yard, which is not supposed to be a high pressure line. 

Generator works, though. 

Well, the difference between high pressure gas and regular may only be 2-3 psig. If it was mine I’d want high pressure with a restricting orifice at the distribution tie point. 

The smell is artificially added when they make it. It’s called mercaptan.The only thing that would indicate danger is called LEL. Lower explosion limit. You have to be over 100% LEL and under the UEL ( upper explosion limit) before something goes boom. 

[OrangeAfroMan]

Natural gas doesn't smell naturally.

It has an additive that does.

Chili WITH BEANS

[Cincydawg]

The compound properly is called methane thiol, the older name is methyl mercaptan, not that it matters really.  I used to use this stuff in grad school, a lot.  And it really stinks.  They use the ethane homolog in CNG and butane apparently.

CH3-SH.

It reacts strongly with mercury, hence the older name "mercaptan".  



Methanethiol is a byproduct of the metabolism of asparagus.^[7] The production of methanethiol in urine after eating asparagus was once thought to be a genetic trait. More recent research suggests that the peculiar odor is in fact produced by all humans after consuming asparagus, while the ability to detect it (methanethiol being one of many components in "asparagus pee") is in fact the genetic trait.^[8] The chemical components responsible for the change in the odor of urine show as soon as 15 minutes after eating asparagus.^[9]

[FearlessF]

I like asparagus, but prefer Brussel sprouts
perhaps for this reason 

[MrNubbz]

What, pee smelling?

[FearlessF]

some odors I find offensive

[Cincydawg]

Often things smell bad because they are bad.  Rancid meat smells bad as an alarm we shouldn't eat it.  We evolved if you will sensory detection mechanisms to allow us to avoid dangerous things, often as not.

Of course, some unusual gases with no odor at all are very dangerous too.  I recall using nitrogen tetroxide long ago that is very toxic and has no odor, which makes it quite dangerous.

[utee94]

Often things smell bad because they are bad.  Rancid meat smells bad as an alarm we shouldn't eat it.  We evolved if you will sensory detection mechanisms to allow us to avoid dangerous things, often as not.

Of course, some unusual gases with no odor at all are very dangerous too.  I recall using nitrogen tetroxide long ago that is very toxic and has no odor, which makes it quite dangerous.

In my semiconductor ion implant days, I used to have to don my SCBA and change out gas bottles including phosphine, arsine, and silicon tetraflouride.  They say that arsine has a mild garlic smell, but honestly if you're breathing in concentrations high enough to detect the odor, you might already be on your way to death anyway.