Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gas

Crystal substance near gas pipes

SRMorris — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:36:13 -0800

Can anyone help us identify this substance and whether we should be concerned for our health. Our kitchen fitter has recently hooked up our dual fuel cooker last Friday and we've only noticed this in the last few minutes. My fiancee and I are obviously concerned but can't ask until the fitter comes back tomorrow. In the meantime, is this something we should worry about?

The wall behind has been plastered 2 weeks ago and is an internal wall so no issues about the UK frost causing this. The substance has no smell and is crystalline in nature.

Close the door, you're letting the heat out!

hollisimo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:06:07 -0800

My new house came with a scary, creepy "Cozy" brand gas wall furnace. It's 15º right now. How much money am I burning by using it? This is my first house and I am new to gas heating. I moved in two weeks ago, so I'm pretty nervous about how much money I'm spending trying to keep the place habitable during this cold snap. I've tried researching operating costs for this type of furnace, but I'm not coming up with much. So I turn to you, the hivemind, for anecdotes of your own experiences with this type of furnace.

Potentially relevant house information:
- built in 1946
- 720 sq. feet, single floor, 100% crawlspace
- in Portland, OR
- insulation in the attic, not sure about exterior walls
- ancient, single pane windows

Main questions:
1. The furnace is probably 20+ years old and therefore, was not designed with efficiency in mind. Are my fears of a huge gas bill likely to pan out if I use the thing 8 to 12 hours a day?
2. Is it better to use it sparingly in favor of electric space heaters?
3. The controls are pretty basic and it's hard to keep it on a "low" setting. How can I use the thing as efficiently as possible?

When it's in use, I keep the house's two ceiling fans on the reverse setting on low and that helps move the heat down from the ceilings. I'm just terrified that I'm going to bankrupt myself by trying to keep my house warm.

How to make my dog have a solid stool?

jwfree — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:25:15 -0800

What type (not brand) of dog food is good for dogs with bad gas and soft stool? I have an purebred American Bulldog puppy that is about five months old. She has been on the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul (Large Breed) brand since I have owned her, which is about three months. This whole time her stool has had various states, ranging from diarrhea to normal. Along with this she has had very, very bad gas! The vet has checked her twice and assures nothing is wrong, she just has those two problems.

I am not sure if this is something that wears off in time since she is just a puppy or if I need to try a new food. It was suggested to me that I try a food without chicken and see where that gets us. The same feed store also informed me that Chicken Soup has been known to cause bad gas for American Bulldogs and Boston Terriers.

I am open to trying anything, even if it is a little pricier.

Automechanicfilter: The Case of the Thirsty Tank

desuetude — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:47:45 -0800

What could be some reasons why my gas mileage is very suddenly and dramatically craptastic? The decrease in fuel efficiency happened directly after I got stuck driving my car on a flooded road through deeper water than it should've been asked to handle. The car didn't stall, but it felt very close to stalling, and the steering was "stiff" for a few minutes. However, the functioning of the car returned quickly to totally normal. Except that my gas mileage is reduced by nearly half.

It's not running particularly rough or loud, using more oil than usual, running hotter than usual, or anything else that would signal an obvious "car is working too hard" issue.

The gas tank has been run down nearly to empty and filled, fuel injector cleaner has been used once. It's been a couple of months, so it's not resolving itself, that's for sure. And no, nothing's leaking when it sits.

It's a 1996 meticulously-maintained Neon. So yes, it's getting up in years, and I know that some cars lose fuel efficiency as they age, but this was a VERY dramatic change.

Could I be brain-dead?

scarylarry — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:06:54 -0800

Could I be brain-dead? My girlfriend and I just discovered that the gas on her stovetop had been turned on (without a flame). We don't know how long it was on, but possibly up to 24 hours.

Considering that we're both alive and "together" enough to type this question, can we conclude that we're safe?

Is Sears always the answer?

generic230 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:59:37 -0800

I have $2,000-$2500 to spend on a good gas range What should I get? In looking online, and reading Consumer Reports, the GE Cafe is rated highly. And I like it's looks okay and it seems to do what I want it to, but are there other, great stoves/ranges that I should look at?

I need the following: Gas, true simmer, extra high burners for faster boil, well insulated so it doesn't heat up the entire house (my 20 year old stove makes it massively hot in the kitchen), self-cleaning, bakes evenly, and it needs to be slide in, 30". The GE Cafe meets all these needs, except it's stainless steel is not treated so, it gets fingerprints and scratches way too easy. I have a feeling after 6 months it would look crappy.

Doe anyone have one of these or have any experience with one?

I love some of the pro ranges but they're so expensive, I might spend an extra $1000 if it was worth it, but, I can't find any reviews on the high end stoves. I love the syle of Elmira, for my 1928 Tudor cottage, but $6000? Come on!

Any recommendations? Thanks!

How to get 91 octane gas in an 87/89/93 area?

ish__ — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:56 -0800

How can I get 91 octane gas in an area that seems to sell only 87/89/93? What sort of damage might I have caused to a new vehicle by filling it with 87 for a little while? I recently purchased a 2009 Volkswagen CC VR6 (and am loving it). A few fill ups ago I realized that the manual & gas cover both say to be using 91 octane gas. The problem is there are no gas stations in the area that sell 91! Every station I've been to only sells 87, 89 and 93. I've been using 93 since, but I feel like I'm paying for more than I need to. Can I just half & half 89 and 93 and get a tank full of 91 - or is there a more complicated mixing method, or does it just not work this way and I'm stuck paying for 93 to get the 91? Does anyone know of a station or chain of stations in Northern Virginia (preferably somewhere along the Fairfax County Parkway) that sells 91?

Relatedly - how much damage could I have conceivably have caused by driving the first 3000 miles only filling with 87? It seems to me like the answer would be "not much, if any." I don't hear the engine knocking, I didn't feel any measurable loss of power while driving with 87, etc. But realistically what might I be looking at? Does it make sense to bring the car in for a once over just in case?

Also (love these multi-part questions); VW's Carefree Maintenance has free oil changes at 10k, 20k and 30k. Their documentation says that due to the synthetic oil being used, and the "advanced European engineering" that I don't need an oil change every 5k miles - that every 10k is fine. I'm planning to pay for a 5k anyway (until Carefree Maintenance came along, they were recommending 5k changes, so I think this 10k thing is a bit of bull) - but any thoughts on the validity to that claim?

What's up with my gas stove?

zembla3 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:07:43 -0800

What's the deal with my gas stove? When I turn on the left rear burner, it seems to ignite normally, but the right rear burner also sparks. The right rear burner continues make a clicking noise and spark, but doesn't ignite, and noise/sparking doesn't stop when I adjust the flame on the left burner. What's going on? Is this dangerous? When I turn on the right rear burner, everything seems perfectly normal. The front burners seem fine too. I turned all the burners off and I don't smell any gas or hear hissing, but I'm a bit nervous. This is the make/model of the stove.

Do we need to evacuate?

serazin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:36:31 -0800

name that mysterious acrid smell/taste! Over the last few weeks, my roommate and I have occasionally noticed a sort of smokey smell near the side of our house. Its nothing we can pin down exactly, and not very strong.

Tonight I was lying in bed and I had this sensation in my mouth as if it was being irritated by a chemical or smoke. Eventually my eyes felt irritated as well. I asked my roommate to smell my room and she said she smelled nothing. Then, 10 minutes later, she came to my room complaining that her eyes were itching and she could feel an irritating sensation/smell/taste in the her nose and throat.

We called the fire department and they've just left. They were only here for about 3 minutes and said they couldn't smell anything. Now PG&E (gas company) is here, and his little sniffer wand says there's no gas leak. The thing is, this sensation takes time to notice, so these folks aren't noticing anything in the short time they're staying.

What else should we consider might be causing the problem? Neighborhood meth lab? Broken sewer line? I'm at a loss. We're all asthmatics here - my roommate and I and each of our kids. I felt short of breath when I was lying in bed, but I know there's a certain power of suggestion that might partially be at work here...

Any good job ideas for quadriplegics?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:38:30 -0800

I am a 52 year old quadriplegic (C-4,C-5 incomplete) former oil and gas senior executive. Until recently, I've been able to both support my family and afford the post-Cobra health insurance premiums available through our Texas High Risk Pool. I'll will soon be overtaken by the myriad of expenses now beginning to snowball. Does anyone know of any legitimate stay-at-home jobs for people like me? While I can leave home occasionally for meetings, etc., realistically I need to find something (computer-based, in all likelihood) to do from my home. I would like to supplement my income by a minimum of $25,000/year.

in cars

bunny hugger — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:35:19 -0800

I am disappointed in my relationship with my 97 Honda Civic. Maybe you can give me some advice. YANMM. I’ve tried to talk it out, but it's just not hearing what I'm saying... I've got a 97 Civic AT (106K mil.) and after filling up with what I think was some questionable fuel a while back, it has started to “slip” when I go into 3rd. It feels like something is "whirring" trying to find itself. Once past that bumpy spot, it runs great. I have had regular maintenance on it – flushings, fill-ups, tuneups, etc. I even added some Lucas transmission fix to my tranny fluid (which is pink and not burnt). Also, when low on gas, I have trouble starting it. Could it just be my fuel line, or is the transmission in the crapper?

Mythbust supermarket petrol for me, please.

Lorc — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:18:19 -0800

Is supermarket petrol bad for my car? It seems to be common knowledge that supermarket petrol from Tesco, Asda or what have you stations is inferior to the stuff from a "proper" petrol station. That it damages the engine in the long run for any of a variety of vague and poorly explained reasons.

Is there any substance to this idea, or is it just superstition? Googling gave me lots of conjecture but nothing authoritative.

UK-centric in case it matters. Thanks.

emergency road trip on basically zero dollars.

SkylitDrawl — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:52:19 -0800

A friend has been in an accident and I need to get to where she is ASAP. Problem? I only have $150 to my name. Please help me figure out whether I can make this emergency road trip without (a) dying or (b) running out of money. Main issue: how much money will gas for this trip really cost? I know this question might seem dumb and a little bit, "duh!" but I am kind of freaking out right now, and need as much help as I can get.

One of my good friends has been in a car accident in a town around 400 miles away from where I am currently living. I want to go see her in the hospital. I hope to leave on Thursday morning. I am currently unemployed, have basically NO money at all, and am "mooching" off my parents (I feel horrible about it, but there it is). They are livid that I would suggest taking such a road trip when I have so little money, no matter the circumstances involved.

Here's the main issue: I currently only have $150 to my name. This is money I earned myself before my job was shortened from a 12-month job to a 9-month job. That's all the money I have right now. I managed to find a budget hotel in an area near my friend's home that is reasonably nice and only costs $50.00 (that's with taxes and fees added in). I will be staying in the hotel for a day, then going to stay at my friend's parents house for another day.

My main concern here is gas money. As far as food goes, I can eat cheap (fast food and can bring my own snacks). Food money really isn't THAT much of a concern for me, but I do know that I need to get to my friend's town and back with enough money left over to eat at least a couple of meals on. Online gas calculators suggest that I would have to drop around $70.00 round trip. Are these gas calculators accurate? (I need to travel approximately 392 miles, my car gets 25 MPG, and gas costs on average around $2.33-$2.40 both where I am living and where I am traveling to). My parents are claiming that making such a trip (to AND back) on only $70.00 is entirely ridiculous, and that it would really cost much more than that (they claimed that I would need $135 just for gas). I think they are trying to scare me (it's working because HELLO! I am asking this question) out of going on this trip and are not being honest with me.

Please tell me whether or not I can realistically make this road trip without dying or running out of money. Since I doubt my parent's sincerity, I need someone to be honest with me, so I'm relying on you guys.

Does high octane gas matter?

youcancallmeal — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:47:06 -0800

I have recently acquired a 1988 Toyota pickup with 126k miles. Is it worth it to use higher octane gas? It's been a while since I've had a car of this vintage. Will it make a noticable difference if I use better gas?

Gassy stomach and chest pains

lwclec072 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:38:25 -0800

Gas/Chest Pains?? I've been having chest/gas pains the last several days, I've tried taking ultra strength tums and gas x and nothing has seemed to help. The pain goes up to my breast bone and I feel a really sharp pain behind my breast bone nothing specific brings this on it just comes about suddenly. I've had a very gassy stomach and I can feel it into my back/shoulder, neck as well. No burps, just a very gassy upset stomach feeling. Has anyone else experienced this, if so what helps to relieve this pressure? I also have been having sweaty palms and all of a sudden get hot when this happens. I have anxiety, so I think that explains that. I'm hoping it's nothing to do w/ my heart, I'm young (25 yo) so for the most part I think that's out of the question, I just want to find something to make this less miserable for me.

Should we bother with a dishwasher and a portable stove?

tavegyl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:35:23 -0800

Should we look into compact dishwashers and portable gas stoves for our newly rented flat? We're soon to move to a lovely new flat which has one glaring flaw: an electric stove. I can't abide them, but the flat isn't hooked up for gas. Is it practical to have a small countertop propane or other kind of compressed gas stove for wok cooking? Would our landlord object? (We don't want to scare him off by asking but I suppose there might be insurance issues). We don't have a balcony or outside space, just large windows some distance from the open plan kitchen. Any recommendations would be gratefully accepted.

As a reward for finding this lovely place we're also thinking of buying ourselves a slimline or compact dishwasher. I've read through the earlier posts, but -- any recent recommendations or contra-recommendations from the UK? We're skint, and would prefer something inexpensive but which doesn't leak all over our solid wood floors. Our usual dishwashing load: 2-3 each of dinner plates, quarter plates, mugs and bowls plus cutlery and cooking implements. Should we bother? Should we risk Gumtree?

Propane grills with less-than-high-grade propane?

phantroll — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:41:16 -0800

Is my propane grill going to work if the gas supply isn't up to U.S. standard? I bought a propane grill in Mexico City, and the fine folks at Home Depot also sold us a 10-liter propane tank (which, incidentally, doesn't fit on the little shelf parts on the grill and has to rest on the ground).

The only way we've figured out to fill the propane tank is through the guys who drive trucks around the neighborhoods here selling refills of the tanks some people use for cooking and water heating here. (We have natural gas lines in our apartment so haven't used the gas truck before.) We gave our propane tank to the gas guys and they returned it, filled, two days later.

The Wikipedia entry on propane notes that in other countries, particularly in Mexico, the "propane" typically has a higher butane content than the standard requires in the U.S. I have no idea what exactly these gas dudes in Mexico put in my tank, and I would really like to avoid setting myself on fire. Think it's OK to use what they gave me?

The grill is made by Brinkmann, a U.S. manufacturer, and the same model is sold in the U.S.

(Side note: I did connect the tank to my grill already, did a leak test as the owner's manual instructs, and found a leak in the regulator. I'm hoping that this doesn't have something to do with the gas mix and is an honest-to-goodness manufacturer's defect. I'm ordering a replacement part.)

How do I clean under this grody gas stove top?

jennyb — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:05:04 -0800

How do I safely clean under the cook top of my gas range? We have this high quality Tappan stove in our apartment. The range top lifts up to reveal two little open flames and a lot of crumbs and assorted grossness. How do I clean that without setting myself on fire or putting out the pilot lights and asphyxiating myself?

(I don't have an owner's manual and I can't find one online, but manuals for similar stoves aren't very helpful.)

How large should the orifices on my BBQ be?

aquafiend — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:31:07 -0800

How large should the orifices on my 52,000 BTU (4 burner) natural gas BBQ be? How long should it take to heat up to 500F? I know you may not be a gas fitter and you are definitely not my gas fitter, but I am trying to convert my new propane Broil King Sovereign XLS 90 (http://www.broilkingbbq.com/grills/series_15.html) to natural gas. Google has told me that the orifices on the valves need to be widened, since NG is regulated at a much lower pressure than liquid propane. I've had a gas fitter friend of my dad come and swap the propane regulator for a NG hose and hook it up to my supply, but he only widened the orifices from a #57 bit size to a #55 bit size.
Each of the main burners are rated to output 13,000 BTUs, while the side burner is rated at 10,000 BTUs and the rear is rated at 18,000 BTUs. What bit size should I use so that I get the proper power out of my shiny new toy?

Finally, I came across this semi-helpful chart on the web (http://www.joppaglass.com/burner/lowp_chrt.html) but I believe my gas line (Toronto, Ontario) is regulated at 2.5" WC.

So, is there anybody knowledgeable with gas and BBQs that can help me crank the power of my grill without melting the entire box?

Disherwasher vs. hand washing

markcmyers — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:18:25 -0800

Dishwasher vs. hand washing. Assuming we run the dishwasher only when it's full, which method uses less water and fuel?

You spin me round right baby right round, like a record...

emjay — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:15:09 -0800

Need to get Excel to ROUND properly in a custom way, details inside... I have a spreadsheet that pulls gas price data from a database (which comes from to me in the form of an .xls spreadsheet)

Sample Data shows as an average of several prices:

A 2.096
B 2.085
C 2.137
D 1.991
E 2.013
F 2.034

I need to round these numbers in Excel to:

A 2.099
B 2.089
C 2.139
D 1.999
E 2.019
F 2.039

So always rounding UP to the 9-Thousandths.

I've tried ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, CEILING, MAX, MOD and various combinations.

So far, the only way I've found to do it has been:
=ROUNDDOWN(2.034,2)+.009

I'm concerned that the ROUNDDOWN function may not always work properly as ROUNDUP sometimes has anomolies for Thousandths <> 5

Is there an easier formula to use tha doesn't require adding back in the .009?

My gas grill has low flow.

rocketman — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:26:10 -0800

My gas grill is broken. Why would the gas flow decrease so that I can only get one burner to cook on high? My grill is two years old, used semi-regularly for a few summers. I'd really like to use it near-daily this summer. The problem is that late last summer, the gas flow reduced severely. I can get a single burner to cook on high, but when I turn on additional burners, the flame immediately goes down, as though the gas flow is being divided among the extra burners without getting more gas into the grill.

At first, I thought my LP tank was low, but replacing the tank with a new one didn't change the problem. Could the regulator valve be broken? If so, is it as easy as removing the existing valve and replacing it with a new one?

Thanks.

Do I have a gas pressure problem in my apartment?

hoobichu — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:51:23 -0800

My gas stove doesn't burn hot enough, and my gas water heater can't fill a bath tub with enough hot water to bathe. Do I have a gas pressure problem in my apartment, and what can be done to fix it? I have a General Electric gas stove that takes forever to boil water. I've seen many gas stoves and this one has a noticeably small flame on its strongest element.

I also have a gas water heater, that has a tank. It has enough hot water to have a shower, but when you try to fill the tub, the water gets cold before it's filled.

I'm not sure where the setting for the hot water heater is, as it's above the very high bathroom door in my apartment and I can't get to it. It seems though, that the gas stove not cooking hot enough, would indicate a gas pressure problem in my apartment.

Is there a way to turn up the gas pressure in an apartment, typically? I live in a renovated toy factory in Brooklyn, and the owner doesn't seem to know about any of these sorts of things. The plumber is coming in a couple of days, so what should I have him check?

How does conditioning work in sports?

wastelands — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:33:33 -0800

Uh oh! He's "out of gas"! How does conditioning work in sports like MMA and boxing? In the color commentary for UFC, you often hear them say a fighter is "out of gas." The fighter appears slow, tired, and doesn't move much.

My question: is this expression literal? I mean, does it mostly have to do with oxygen intake? And how do you deal with this problem... just do a crapload of cardio exercise before fights to improve your lungs? What exactly do they mean when they say "conditioning"?

Help make sense of my house's gas bill

rachaelfaith — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:09:05 -0800

What is wrong with the electric and gas in my two-family house? Our bills are incredibly lopsided. Some background information: I live in a big ol' college house in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The house has three floors- the first floor is one 'apartment' and the second and third floors are the second 'apartment'. There is a large basement.

Our heating and electric bill has skyrocketed this year. This month, we were asked to pay $803.65 for gas and $144.28 for electric, for the occupants of the second and third floors.

The first floor's gas bill was $54.00.

We keep our heat set to 60 degrees in an attempt to keep the bill down, and they keep their heat at 72. We use space heaters to make it comfortable, but we're not as concerned about that since the gas is the part that is astronomically high.

Things we found out:
1. There is only one boiler for all three floors and we pay for it.
2. They have forced air heat and we have steam heat.
3. We pay for heating the very large basement where there are two broken windows. (Asked the landlord to fix them and they were simply boarded up)
4. We pay for the washer and dryer, which is accessible to all occupants of the house.
5. PSE&G cannot look at the boiler and such because they did not install them.

What recourse do we have here? Our landlord is pretty much throwing his hands up at us and saying he doesn't have to do anything, even though the house's floors aren't equally equipped and the bill is not shared correctly.

We called an electrician today to look at the house, but I'm not really sure what to ask them. Suggestions?

I am at the end of my rope trying to sort this out between PSE&G, my landlord, and the residents of the house.

Help!