How to turn off a gas stove during repairs: is it possible to do it yourself + procedure

Major renovations in an apartment or cottage involve many problems.It is necessary not only to think over the design and purchase materials, but also to find competent electricians, plumbers and finishers. Plus rearranging furniture and temporarily moving somewhere to stay with family relatives.

And, you see, it doesn’t hurt to also think about the safety of carrying out the repair and finishing work itself. This is especially true if the house has gas-using equipment, and the decision has been made to partially or completely update the furnishings with your own hands.

Next, we will analyze in all the nuances how to turn off the gas stove during repairs and whether it should be done at all or not. There are many pitfalls in this matter; it is best to study them in advance.

How should it be by law?

The procedure for checking, as well as connecting or disconnecting a gas stove for any time (period) is regulated Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 410 dated May 14, 2013

This document describes all the rules for the use and maintenance of intra-house (VDGO) and intra-apartment (VKGO) gas equipment.

According to the laws, it is the owner or tenant of the property who bears full responsibility for monitoring the condition of the gas equipment available in a private house and apartment

Regular checks and any work related to repairs or connecting/disconnecting a household gas stove must be carried out exclusively by a specialist from a specialized company. If everything is done according to the rules, then you cannot change anything in gas-using equipment yourself.Any manipulations with the gas hob should only be carried out by a gas technician called to the house.

If, during the annual inspection, the visiting technician discovers signs of interference in the design of the gas stove, then he has every right to disconnect the subscriber with violations from the gas pipe. After the series gas explosions in apartment buildings Nowadays the control situation is extremely strict. It is unlikely that it will be possible to reach an agreement “on the spot”.

If during repairs the gas stove needs to be turned off and removed from the kitchen, then by law you will have to contact gas workers in an organization with certified employees and the equipment necessary for the work. It is only permissible to move the hob or gas stove on your own a little to the side, and then only on condition that the device is connected to the pipe using a flexible gas outlet.

If the stove is connected to a cylinder, then according to the rules, it must also be disconnected/connected by a specialist from the gas supply organization

In practice, in the case of a gas cylinder, it is almost always connected to the stove by the owner of the house according to following diagram. According to the law, this is a violation. However, in fact, no one tracks such unauthorized connections.

Only firefighters come to private households for regular checks, inspecting the kitchen to ensure proper ventilation and compliance with installation standards for gas-using equipment. And all other issues are the responsibility of the cottage owner. The inspector actually only checks for the presence of draft in the hood and the absence of gas odor.

How does it happen in reality?

The gas stove is usually connected to the pipe in the kitchen using a flexible hose, in front of which there is a shut-off valve.That is, to disconnect a gas-using household appliance from the gas pipeline, it is enough to close the valve and unscrew one nut on the outlet with a wrench.

To disconnect a gas stove from a gas pipe, you only need to know how to handle a wrench and have a head on your shoulders

The operations of temporarily disconnecting and then connecting back are extremely simple. However, before you turn off the gas stove yourself, you should think again. If everything is then returned to its place after repair and rebuilt connect the stove correctly back, the gas man won’t even notice anything. It is enough to tell him that no one touched the stove, it was simply moved to the side.

The inspector will not be able to make any claims against such a house owner for arbitrariness. The stove is in its old place, there are no gas leaks - everything works properly.

But every time the gas worker has to pay about 500–1000 rubles simply for the fact of coming. However, no one here wants to pay extra. How much such savings are justified - you will have to decide personally.

Yes, and we should not forget about the dangers of such manipulations. It’s one thing that this is illegal, and another thing is that by deciding to disconnect the stove from the gas pipe yourself, you are endangering your life and that of your household.

Often kitchen renovations go like this:

• the owner of the house unauthorizedly disconnects the gas stove from the pipe with a wrench;
• then repair work is carried out on the premises;
• then the owner again independently connects the stove back to the pipe.

No extra costs for calling a gas technician. And everything is basically completely illegal.

Then the master comes with an annual inspection, sees arbitrariness, but cannot do anything.There are no gas leaks, and it is impossible to prove unauthorized actions.

Seals are placed only on meters. Moreover, if problems are discovered during the inspection, then the employees of the inspection organization will certainly issue an invoice for disconnecting/connecting and correcting the identified deficiencies.

Disconnection procedure

Before you decide to disconnect the gas stove from the pipe, you should think again about how necessary it really is. Typically, the length of the flexible hose allows you to move the stove to the side by a distance of about half a meter.

For the vast majority of kitchen renovation work, this is more than enough. It is often necessary to disconnect equipment from the gas pipeline only when pouring screed, when the room needs to be completely emptied.

If you decide to change pipes in the kitchen using welding and/or a grinder, then you will have to turn off the gas stove under any circumstances - gas and sparks or open flames are absolutely incompatible things

If you want to save money (if you decide to disconnect it yourself), you should remember that the tenant or the owner of the house will be responsible for any subsequent emergencies.

If you have no experience in servicing gas equipment or have even the slightest doubt about your competence, then you need to use the services of a gas technician. Here it is better to think about safety once again, rather than greatly regret it later.

Option #1 – according to the rules

If the stove or gas pipeline is old, then it is recommended to disconnect it exclusively according to the rules, with the involvement of gas workers. If you act arbitrarily in the case of cotton, it will be difficult to prove your innocence later. Damage to the pipe will definitely be revealed during the investigation.

Gas workers who come on call are required to record all their actions in a work completion certificate, one copy of which remains with the owner, and the second is transferred to the organization supplying the house with gas.

The correct procedure for turning off a gas stove for a while is as follows:

1. Contact your gas equipment service company.
2. Coordination of the time of arrival of the master.
3. Cutting off the gas in the kitchen and disconnecting the stove.
4. Installing a plug on the pipe.
5. Coordinating the return visit of the gas engineer to reconnect the stove.

After the repair is completed, the technician will come again to connect the slab to the pipe and draw up a report on the serviceability of the equipment.

Option #2 – without calling a technician

Before you begin to disconnect the stove from the gas, you need to turn off the electricity in the kitchen and open the windows for additional ventilation of the room.

And if there is even the slightest suspicion of a leak, any gas-hazardous work should be stopped until the methane (or propane) has completely evaporated from the room.

To prevent the occurrence of sparks, it is recommended to use brass wrenches - they will definitely not spark if they collide with iron nuts on a gas pipe

The procedure for self-disabling is as follows:

1. Closing tap on gas pipe. To make sure that the gas is shut off, you can try to light the burner.
2. Using wrenches to disconnect the flexible elbow connected to the pipe immediately downstream of the valve.
3. Closing the end of the gas pipeline under the tap with a threaded plug (costs about 50 rubles) using FUM tape.
4. Using soapy water, check that there is no gas escaping from a closed pipe - if there are no bubbles, then you can remove the stove from the room and begin repairs.

To be extra safe, it is recommended to wrap the end of the pipe with the plug installed in a plastic bag, securing it with electrical tape. This will prevent any dust from getting onto the threaded connection and into the gas pipeline, which will not be unnecessary.

After finishing work is completed, the gas equipment is put back and connected to the pipe with wrenches. And here again it is important not to forget to check the tightness of the connections using a soap solution. Only if there are no bubbles is it permissible to reopen the tap to supply gas to the device.

Connection when replacing the plate

If you decide to replace the gas equipment with a new one, then there is no point in independently performing manipulations with its disconnection and connection to the pipe. The supplying organization must ensure that there is a certificate of serviceability of the stove and its commissioning.

Plus, in the device passport, the technician must also make a note about the date the stove was connected to the gas pipeline.

Without a mark in the technical passport and an act of connection to the pipe, which is issued by a representative of the resource supply organization, it is prohibited to open the tap to supply gas to the gas stove without permission.

If the fact of unauthorized use of natural gas from the intra-house gas pipeline is revealed, fines will follow. And again, gas workers will supply fuel only after the owner of the house pays off the debts incurred.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Rules and regulations for connecting a gas stove:

Is it worth connecting gas equipment yourself:

From a technical point of view, you can turn off the gas stove yourself at any time. There is nothing fundamentally difficult about this. But we must remember that it will still have to be connected back to the gas later.If there is a seal on the tap from the gas supply organization or the stove will be replaced during repairs, then it is better to do everything in accordance with the rules by calling a specialist.

Do you have any positive or negative experiences with gas workers? Share it in the comments to the article below. It will definitely help someone else decide whether it is worth disconnecting the stove from the gas pipe in the kitchen with their own hands or whether it is better to call a specialist.