From time to time, you may find it necessary to turn off the gas to a furnace (or other appliance) heated with natural gas or LP (Liquid Propane) gas. Several common repairs to stoves and other appliances may require you to turn off the gas. You also need to turn off the gas if you notice a faint smell of gas in your home.

Furnaces, water heaters, space heaters, gas stoves, ovens, and cooktops can all be powered by gas, so it's good to know the location of the gas shutoff valve on these appliances.

It's a good idea to know the location of the gas shutoff valve on your cooktop and all other gas appliances in your home. If you smell gas, don't spend a lot of time looking for equipment shutoff valves if you don't already know where they are.

Building codes now require gas shut-off valves to be located within 6 feet of equipment and in the same room. If you notice an inappropriate condition that does not meet specification requirements, it is best to have service personnel install the appropriate shut-off valve. The shut-off valve for a standard (free-standing) gas stove or range is usually located behind the appliance.

Anytime a gas leak occurs in one of your appliances there is the potential for an immediate catastrophic explosion or fire, so the official advice from most utilities is to leave your house immediately if you smell gas and call a public utility company. Only if the smell is weak should you take the time to find the shut-off valve of the appliance to stop the flow of gas. It is only safe to turn off the gas from the stove yourself if the gas smell is faint and clearly coming from the stove area.

If the entire house smells of gas, or if you notice a strong smell when you walk into your home, leave the house immediately and call 911 from a distance from your home.

If the gas smells faint and is contained in a small area, you can turn off the gas yourself before calling the utility company or a plumber. In many cases, the location of the gas smell will give you a strong hint as to which equipment is malfunctioning or where the connection is bad. For example, if you smell gas in the kitchen, chances are the problem is with the stove or stove. When gas odors are located in this way, quick action can often be taken to shut down the gas supply to the appliance itself, but always use your best judgment and err on the side of safety.

Flashlight

Work gloves (optional)

If you smell gas, open the windows to ventilate the room. Do not turn on ventilation fans or even operate light fixtures until the gas is turned off and the room is ventilated. If the gas is dense in the air, there is a small but real possibility that an arc from flipping a wall switch could cause an explosion.

Make sure all burner controls for the furnace are in the off position. In surprising numbers, slightly open burner valves can allow gas to seep into the kitchen. If this is not the problem, go to the next step. 

Carefully pull out the drawer below the oven compartment and empty the drawer of all items. Remove the drawer completely. Shine a flashlight into the open drawer space and check the gas shut-off valve. Older cooktops were installed so that the gas shut-off valve is accessible through the drawer compartment; this allows you to easily turn off the gas without moving the stove; this may not be the case with newer models.

If the shut-off valve is not accessible behind the drawer compartment, look for the gas shut-off valve behind the stove; if it's there, you'll have to pull the stove out of the wall to access the valve. If you don't see the shutoff valve behind the stove, look for it under the floor (in the basement or in the crawl space below the stove location) or in an adjacent cabinet.

If the shut-off valve is behind the stove but not accessible from the drawer compartment, carefully pull the stove away from the wall to gain access to the gas valve.

When moving the stove, be aware of the flexible gas pipes. The connection on that pipe is most likely where the gas leak occurs, and you don't want to exacerbate the problem by pulling the stove out too quickly or stressing the pipe or connection. Do not unplug the stove from the electrical outlet as there is a small risk of sparking by pulling the plug from the outlet.

Find the gas valve handle and turn it a quarter turn until it stops. Typically, this is a ball valve with a lever handle. However, sometimes the handle may not turn easily, especially if it hasn't been touched in a while. You may need to use a wrench or pliers or call a pro (it's always a good idea to call a pro when using gas, especially if you're not sure or things aren't going as expected).

When the gas is on, the knob of the shut-off valve will line up with the gas line. When it is in the OFF position, the handle will be perpendicular to the direction of the gas line.

Turn on one of the stove burners to verify that the gas is off. If you want to unplug the furnace cord from the electrical outlet, wait until the gas smell is completely gone.

If you still smell gas after turning off the gas in your furnace, call the gas company immediately and have them shut off the gas supply throughout your home and check for leaks. Move out of your home until a service worker has clearly told you that your home is safe.

For cooktops set in the countertop opening, shutting off the gas is very easy because the shut-off valve is usually located in the base cabinet below the cooktop. Just find the valve and turn it a quarter turn so the handle is perpendicular to the gas line. (Again, when the gas is on, the handle will line up with the pipe.) In rare cases, you may need to lift the cooktop unit from the countertop opening to reach the shutoff valve.

Wall ovens installed in permanent wall cabinets usually have a gas shut-off valve installed under the cabinet or in the cabinet to the side of the oven for easy access. This has been a code requirement for some time, but in older installations, it was difficult to find a shut-off valve for a fireplace. It might even be in another room or in the basement space below the oven.

Call the gas company or a plumber to find the source of the problem. While it is possible to inspect flexible gas lines and tighten connections or replace gas lines yourself, the potential danger here is great and it is best to have the gas company or a plumber do the inspection and work. In many communities, homeowners are discouraged or prohibited from working on natural gas lines themselves due to the inherent dangers.

The above describes in detail what to do if you smell gas at home. If you still have questions or want to buy a new gas stove, please contact us.

Greaidea is a custom gas cooktop manufacturer with 20 years of experience. Founded in 2000, the past 20+ years have witnessed tremendous opportunities in our products, R&D, quality levels, and services. In order to meet the growing marketing demands, we are equipped with 6 assembly lines for gas stoves and range hoods, and 3 assembly lines for gas water heaters.