Natural gas meter exchange

Hello all,

Was browsing this forum again, and also had a quick question to ask, more curious than anything.

Recently had a Gas Technician come in to exchange my Natural Gas meter for a new one.

Two things he did I wasnt sure why:

After installing the new meter and turning the outside main shutoff back on he appeared to douse the main shuttoff with gasoline(if thats what it was) from a gas can, is this a way to check for leaks??

and two: After relighting pilot for Water Heater he lit the area under the exhaust vent with a lighter, not sure what this does (burns off any gas that may have been vented during lighting)??

alos is there anything else I should check? We did not relite the furnace pilot as it appears to not have one (or at least an electric one which lights on demand)

Thanks

 

If that was gasoline you should have been able to smell it..... right ?
If I had to guess I'd say it was soapy water.

He put a flame near the base of the exhaust vent to see if there was a draft.
The flame would have been drawn into the flue signifying a vacuum/draft.

 

Thanks

Well I didnt smell anything immediately so not sure. So he checked that there was a draight as there is supposed to be one if things are ok, correct?

Thanks again

 

Had there not been a draft.... the exhaust gases would be coming into the room.
In that case the flame would have been pushed away from the vent hood.

 

He was checking for an upwards draft as Pete said.
I just wanted to point out Carbon Monoxide gas is deadly and it has no odor.

This advice has nothing to do with the repairs that were made, but I would recommend a carbon monoxide detector in all homes.