<<Reasonably speaking it would be a good idea for all homes to have shutoffs. Mass production could/would lead to better valves with fewer false triggers and lower costs. It is possible to train a lot of people to be able to re-open after an emergency. It isn't possible to unburn houses, etc.

Mike>>


A waste of time and money in my opinion as an experienced utility repairman. Figure that every time a gas meter gets jostled by someone walking past it it's going to shut off the gas, and that in most cases people aren't going to understand why they have no gas and are going to need help to get things working.

And there are what ---- thirty million people living in earthquake country on the West Coast? And 25 fires that were avoidable in that earthquake 25 years ago? How many in addition to that?


If people want earthquake valves --- I have no objection to that. I don't have one myself and I think they aren't worth the money and nuisance value myself.


<<It is possible to train a lot of people to be able to re-open after an emergency.>>


Easier said than done I expect. I know of no one training people before such an emergency occurs, and it seems pretty pointless to try to develop and maintain such skills when there is a very low probability that they will ever be used.

After a major earthquake, utilities discourage people from turning gas on once it's been shut off. I mentioned that after the 1989 California Earthquake the utility brought in skilled people from around the country to turn the gas back on where it had been shut off.

A gas leak caused by an earthquake is really no different than any other gas leak. Don't shut off the gas just because an earthquake occurs. Shut off the gas if you notice a gas odor.

An earthquake valve violates that common sense advice by shutting off the gas simply because an earthquake occurred. If that's what you want to do, help yourself.



Seattle Pioneer