Propane Equipment
Safety Check

You go to the dentist for regular check-ups on your teeth, and to the optometrist for your eyes. Scheduled maintenance from your local mechanic keeps your car in tiptop running order. But have you thought about your gas appliances? They need regular, routine maintenance to operate at peak efficiency, too!

The Propane Education and Research Council recommends having all of your propane appliances checked by a qualified service technician once every year. An annual routine inspection by Douglass Distributing can extend the life of your gas appliances, and help detect any unsafe or potentially hazardous situations. Our expert technicians will check for: 

1. Substandard and/or lack of venting systems on appliances requiring them.
2. Sootiness and/or the accumulation of soot around interior and exterior appliance components such as around pilot lights, appliance burners, range tops, oven components, etc. This indicates that the appliance is not operating properly or efficiently.
3. Leakage of water around or through water heater valves, fittings or jackets, which is an indication that the water heating device has some internal damage.
4. Missing or damaged control components such as dials, knobs, screws, etc.
5. Controls that have been tampered with (evidenced by altered design function, missing or substituted components, etc.).
6. Controls that have been under water or subjected to flooding. Such controls may not function properly and must be replaced.
7. Unstable appliance bases and/or platforms. Warped, rotting or substandard bases and/or platforms may collapse creating a potentially hazardous condition.
8. Problems in gas line connectors such as kinks, corrosion, deterioration, etc. Any abnormality should be immediately reported to your propane supplier since failure to correct these problems could create a hazardous situation.
9. Unsatisfactory operation of gas valves and safety controls.
10. Gas leakage in the appliances or piping system.
11. Improper appliance and gas system installation.

Accidents may occur if a skilled LP GAS technician fails to perform a complete system check, from the propane tank to the system pilot orifices. Douglass Distributing must verify the integrity of your propane gas system by conducting a leak check, as defined by the National Fuel Gas Code, and Texas Railroad Commission, and document the results. The following situations call for a system inspection and leak check:

• New system of new customer.
• Occupancy change.
• System interruption (making repairs of modifications, changing regulators, turning off the gas, etc.) including “Out of Gas” situations.
• Suspected gas leak.

Douglass Distributing does not charge for conducting a leak check under these circumstances:

• New tank setting, existing system.
• Scheduled Delivery Customer (random test).
• Suspected leak on our equipment.
• Out of gas – scheduled delivery customer (Auto Fill).

Douglass Distributing personnel will make necessary repairs to the system from the storage tank to the outlet of the service valve. The customer assumes responsibility for any damages to said equipment arising from negligence, carelessness, or abuse. Repairs from the outlet of the service valve to appliances will be the customer’s responsibility and you will need to contact a qualified service provider for those repairs.