Choosing A Natural Gas Leak Detector – How To Make the Right Choice

Natural Gas Leak Detector

If you use natural gas to heat your home or water, or to fuel your appliances, then you most likely already know that you need to install a
natural gas leak detector to keep your family and your home safe from potentially explosive or deadly gas leaks. Whether you’re buying one for the first time or replacing an old one, here is what you need to know to make the right choice.

Methane is the most common component of natural gas, and it’s important to know a little about it. Methane is extremely combustible and flammable…if enough of it is in the air and you light a match, things will go boom. That nasty boiling cabbage smell is an additive that is put in as a way of warning you of a leak.  Without it, you could be in a whole room full of methane and not even notice. While many people rely on the smell alone to detect leaks, it isn’t enough.

Before you settle on a natural gas leak detector, ask about its trigger effect…how likely is it that the sensor will trip to other sources of fumes, such as household chemicals, other fuels or even humidity.

The most important factor to consider is the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) of the detector. This tells you how much gas needs to have leaked before the alarm will go off. The lower, the better! An LEL of 15%, for instance, means that the accumulation of gas only has to reach 15% of its dangerous level before you are alerted.

An alarm is no good if you can’t hear it, so be sure that the natural gas leak detector you choose has a loud enough sound that you can hear it from every room of the house, and that it will wake you up in the middle of the night. If you have a home security system, you may want a detector that hooks in to it directly.

Some natural gas leak detectors come with multiple sensors, which is ideal if you have more than one source of natural gas in your home. make sure you follow the instructions as to where the sensors need to be placed. Natural gas rises, so you want to make sure they are placed near the ceiling.

Like smoke detectors, natural gas leak detectors do need some maintaining. If it runs on batteries or has a battery back-up, you need to perform regular tests. Find out of the detector has a button that will test the batteries, and if it will alert you when they need to be replaced.

Some natural gas leak detectors need to be calibrated, but many don’t. If it does, find out where you can have this done, how much it costs, and how often it needs to be recalibrated. Also, ask about the life expectancy of the sensors, and whether or not you can replace them when they wear out. If not, you will need to replace the entire system.