Any Natural Gas product experts around?

[Boatcephus]

Need some advice diagnosing a dodgy Residential pressure regulator. I bet someone here is knowledgeable in the oil and gas arts.

We have a natural gas well that runs our furnace. I went to open up the gas at the cutoff outside, and the gas blows straight out the vent of the regulator, instead of passing on through the orifice. I took it apart and inspected the diaphragm; looks ok to me, but I'm no expert.

The regulator is only 2 years old, I expect those things should last for decades.

Any ideas before I order a new one? Mine is this model: http://www.peconet.com/products/Sch...etins/Residential Regulators/B31/B31 Spec.pdf

I fidgeted with the safety rod (the doohicky under the screw-off cap) and, under pressure, it didn't seem to want to reset. maybe I don't have the touch, though.

Thanks!

 

[kbales]

Check your diaphragm once more. Take a look at your attached diagram, note that high pressure inlet gas (red) is indeed passing through the orifice, traveling through to the low pressure side (blue). But because you have a failed diaphragm the gas in the blue area is able to travel to the yellow area (atmopheric pressure). Could be loose where the diaphragm is connected to the center actuator area too but not likely.

 

[Boatcephus]

Good info.

What's "normal" pressure at the wellhead? Mine is only 15psi. I'm wondering if ours has finally exhausted itself. Though the issue at the regulator seems to be an overpressure problem, not underpressure - I noticed today that if I turn a release valve to bleed off some pressure BEFORE the regulator, the plunger will float between low and high pressure shut off and actually allow gas on through to feed the house. I briefly ran my furnace for a while but shut the gas off out of safety concerns.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Is there a company that operates the well? If so, did you get your pressure reading on your own? The company may have shut the well in. Did you get the reading at the wellhead or at production equipment? The gauge maybe incorrect. If you can loosen the line off from the valve (OUTSIDE) and put a new gauge in, to see what pressure you have. If the well is operated by a company, you should try contacting them to see if they can tell you how much pressure you should be getting. If this is a company operated well, you shouldn't mess with any equipment on the location. If they can assure you have sufficient gas volume to run your house, your best course of action would be to purchase a new regulator. There is no guarantee how long they will last. Older lines often have rust particles that can travel into regulators and plug orifices. Often times, down time is bad because moving parts can seize up. This is your house and your safety, that alone should be worth the cost of a new regulator, if the well can provide the necessary gas.

Good info.

What's "normal" pressure at the wellhead? Mine is only 15psi. I'm wondering if ours has finally exhausted itself. Though the issue at the regulator seems to be an overpressure problem, not underpressure - I noticed today that if I turn a release valve to bleed off some pressure BEFORE the regulator, the plunger will float between low and high pressure shut off and actually allow gas on through to feed the house. I briefly ran my furnace for a while but shut the gas off out of safety concerns.