Turning the Gas Back on After a Disconnect

If you have recently turned off your gas, you might be wondering how to go about getting things started up again. Many homeowners feel that they have to hire a professional to get their home back in working order. This can sometimes feel like a tremendous expense when the professional spends very little time doing actual work on your home.

The reality is that you can learn how to turn on the gas after a shut off with just a few simple steps. Make sure that you read each one of these steps and follow them carefully. With this short guide, turning your gas back on after a disconnect will be quick and easy.

How to Turn the Gas Back On

The first step is to make sure that your home is ready for the gas to be turned back on. You should never just rush to the gas valve and start twisting it. Prepare your home by turning off all of the gas appliances. Make sure that the pilot light in your furnace is turned off. This is the safest way to restore power to your gas appliances.

Residential Gas Meter

Once every appliance in your home has been turned off, you are safe to turn the gas back on. Find the safety shut-off valve that you used to turn the gas off in the first place. It could be anywhere in the main gas line. If the valve is perpendicular to the main gas line it should be shut, and if it’s in line with the pipe then it should be open.

Safety Shut-off Valve

You are going to need a wrench or gas shut off tool to do this. Very slowly, turn the meter back into the on position. The lever should be in line with the pipe after making a ninety-degree turn.

Finally, you can re-light any of the pilot lights in your appliances. Follow the instructions found in your owner’s manual for each individual appliance. Gas stoves and other appliances can also be turned on again at this time. It may take a few moments for the pilot lights to come back on because of the air in the line.

Some experts recommend that you light the gas range first if you have one. This will allow the air to move through the pipes much more freely. Once you see the flames, you know that the gas is flowing through the lines again. You can now move forward with lighting the pilot lights in your other appliances.

Safety Precautions

If you turned off your gas in order to replace an appliance or to unhook some of your gas appliances, you need to ensure that there are no leaks. Pay careful attention to any smell of gas near the hook-up of the appliance. This can spell major issues with your connection. If you smell the gas, make sure to turn the gas valve off again until the connection can be corrected.

Most people have all the ingredients they need on hand to run a simple test to see if gas is leaking. In a spray bottle, mix together some clean water and a few drops of soap. Spray the soapy water onto the connection and wait to see what happens when the gas is turned on. The soap will create little bubbles from the gas if you have a leak. This is an easy way to visualize the leak, even if you have a difficult time smelling the gas in the air.

Finding a leak means that you should turn the gas valve back off until the connection can be corrected. At this point, you may consider hiring a professional if you cannot get the connection between your appliance and the gas line right.

Gas Companies

Some people want to know how to turn the gas back on after disconnection by the gas company. While you could reconnect your own gas, there may be major consequences for doing so. Many gas companies actually place a lock over your meter that opens with a special tool or key that the company possesses. Tampering with the lock is a crime and may carry heavy consequences depending on your area.

Check out: What Is a Gas Meter Lock and What Do You Need to Remove It?

Not only that, but some companies insert a diaphragm into the pipe that prevents the gas from flowing until they reconnect it.

While turning the gas meter back on may sound easy enough, you will want to contact the gas company to discuss turning the service back on. Do not attempt to follow these steps to reconnect your own gas if it has been shut off due to lack of payment or other issues.

Instead, you should try to remedy these problems with a customer service representative. The instructions listed here are only valid for those who turned off their own gas for a repair, replacing an appliance, or any home improvement project.

Follow the Simple Process

Turning the gas back on after a disconnect can be done with just a few simple steps. Be careful that you do not rush the process, or you may not see the results you are hoping for. Give the gas enough time to run freely again before you reach out to a professional. Keep some of the safety precautions in mind, as well. This short guide should give you all of the information you need to know to get your home back in working order.

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Josh Hurd

Josh Hurd has been freelance writing since 2006. He attended the University of Akron, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing.