Working or antique or abandoned gas piping & fixtures:

This article describes how to recognize & evaluate the safety of antique gas fixtures and piping that may be found in historic homes or other older buildings.

Gas piping in older buildings may have been cut-off from its source, re-used for electical wiring, or, surprise, antique gas piping is sometimes found still connected and "live"!.

Here we provide descriptions and photographs of unsafe gas piping, indications of unsafe or improperly operating gas appliances, gas meters, and other gas installation defects are provided

This document series on inspecting gas piping in buildings also provides free sample draft home inspection report language for reporting defects in oil and gas piping at residential properties.

How to inspect, report, & correct antique or old gas lighting piping & fixtures

Watch out: improper installation and even improper inspection and testing methods involving natural or "LP" gas can involve dangerous conditions and risk fire or explosion.

If you smell gas you should leave the building immediately and should do so without doing anything that could create a spark such as operating a light switch or telephone.

From a safe location, call your gas company's emergency line and/or your fire department.

Question: best way to close off abandoned electrical wires at old gas light pipes & sconce mounts

2019/02/23 Nick said:

I own a house built in 1928. Some rooms have what I’m told are gas sconce mounts that have been used for electrical wiring instead of gang boxes.

One is not in use currently and I’d like to close it up. What is the best way to address this? Should I open up the wall and try to mount a gang box that will accept a plate?

Reply: OPINION

Nick:

Indeed you want to install an electrical box to enclose those wires, even un-used, and close the box with a metal cover or plate.

You should be able to follow the gas piping in the basement or crawl area of the home to find that even if gas service remains in use it is not connected to any of the old pipes running through walls to now-abandoned gas lights.

Certainly as it looks as if there is an open pipe in your photo, if there were gas in that line you'd smell it and you'd also detect it with a combustible gas detector.

If there is a open, abandoned but dis-used gas line Iike to seal it with a suitable plug and sealant as insurance against some fool later connecting up gas pipes where he ought not to have done so.

Similarly where I have found abandoned circuits in old houses like the one in your photo, if the circuit is "off" and "disconnected" I tie the hot and neutral wires together so that if the same fool wires up the abandoned circuit in the future the breaker or fuse will blow immediately - a clue that something's wrong.

Naturally it's preferable to remove that old wiring but telling someone to do so is more CYA than anything practical as unless the walls and ceilings are being torn open for other reasons nobody is going to remove the old pipes and wires.

On 2017-02-04 by jane

I own a n older home that had gas lighting at one time . what should I do to make sure the gas lines are dead.

On 2016-11-23 by Nick palmisano

I am a tenant in a 100 + year old four stop brick building in new york.

The super never installed the the return pipe on my bedroom steam radiator after we relocated it several year ss ago.

After years of emptying buckets, I finally got him to install the return.

However, there is an old gas pipe under the floor which prevents an a proper and easy path for testing return.

It's active, since the super climbed a stepladdersforsale to prove such a an old exposed light fixture in my livi
ng room. Can hat pipe be eliminated..?

My gas supplier is con ed.

On 2016-10-03 by petrr

Our house was built in 1908 and we believe the upstairs was gas lighting is it possible to have gas lighting restored

...

Continue reading  at GAS LEAK DETECTION, LP / NG or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Gas Piping Articles

• GAS LIGHTING PIPES FIXTURES
• GAS LP & NATURAL GAS SAFETY HAZARDS
• GAS PILOT WON'T STAY LIT
• GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS - home
• FLARE FITTINGS
• FLEXIBLE GAS CONNECTOR INSTALL
• GAS PIPING CLOG REPAIR
• GAS PIPING CLEARANCES, CODES & DEFECTS
• GAS PIPING, FLEXIBLE CSST
• GAS PIPING SIZE & MATERIAL
• GAS LEAK DETECTION, LP / NG
• GAS PRESSURES LP vs NATURAL GAS

Suggested citation for this web page

GAS LIGHTING PIPES FIXTURES FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to PLUMBING SYSTEMS

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