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OK, any house gas experts out there ??


Arjay

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Our house gas bills doubled last year, although we're not doing anything different and gas prices haven't gone up that much.

We called in an "expert" from GoSolar and he detected a gas leak at our gas tank, but because we don't have the gas lines marked on our house plans, he doesn't know where the leak is without practically tearing our house apart.

He recommends putting in new copper pipe gas lines at the roof level and disconnecting the old ones (galvanized steel which corrodes). This will cost $7,000 pesos, which is a relatively small price to pay for peace of mind.

Our question is, does this sound like a practical solution and is the price in line? Our 2-bedroom house is fairly small. He's coming to our house tomorrow to experiment with a different type of water tank and we'd like to have an answer for him by then.

Any practical advice would be most appreciated. Thanks.

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Same thing happened at our house before we bought it and the lines were replaced with copper. If the GoSolar guy is Arturo, he knows what he's talking about. He fixed the same problem at a friends house and did a great job of it.

The soil eats up the pipe, putting the new stuff at roof level should guarantee that it will serve for many years without problems.

He also just did a water line job for me, a good job at a good price.

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Exactly the same thing happened to us...got so bad that our gas tank needed filling every month and we weren't doing anything different.

Copper lines are now up and over the roof to the other side. Perfect....and we're using a LOT less gas.

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We rented a house in west Ajijic a few years ago and had the same thing happen. The landlord had all new copper line and tank installed and I even talked the crew into adding a connection for our BBQ. The plumber said he could have spend hours looking for the leak and never find it.

I agree with Mainecoons about Arturo.

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Price should be determined by length of runs to water heater, stove and anything else ..... and copper on the roof should be covered. Mine are tucked in the corner next to a wall and covered with cement. 7000 is about $470 us ..... very cheap if material and labor

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Running all plumbing, water and gas, on the roof is the way to go. Our Chapala home was arranged that way and it was so easy to add drops into the house for new gas heater, BBQ, stove relocation, etc. Later, we added solar hot water and it was equally easy to do on the roof. The house is now 50 years old and never a plumbing problem, gas or water.

Go for it.

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One thing that you might try first because they will need to be replaced anyway, is to replace the flex fittings behind the appliances.

Unknown to me, they are only expected to last 15 years tops and are only guaranteed for 5 years.

If they are bad, they will slow leak and you cannot find the leak. No matter, if you replace the other pipes, replace them also. They are only a few bucks each and the eventually will leak.

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Yesterday I called our usual gas guys, Gas Los Altoss for yet another refill. I asked them to check our gas tank for leaks, as our bills are very high.

Sure enough they found a leak, and put a temporary stop on the leak, although the gas will continue to leak, just more slowly.

Here's the problem, they assured me that they'd send someone over today to fix the problem, it's evening now, and we're still waiting .

There's a chance I might have to take this into my own hands, and find someone with expertise who can fix this right away.

So..I'd really appreciate any leads, if you are a satisfied customer.

Thanks.

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