Maintaining Natural Gas Pipes

Maintenance of gas infrastructure at home

Corrugated Stainless-Steel Tubing (CSST)

Corrugated Stainless-Steel Tubing (CSST) is a flexible, stainless-steel pipe usually coated with yellow or black plastic. Builders use it to supply natural gas in residential, commercial, and industrial structures. CSST is usually routed beneath, through, and alongside floor joists in basements, inside interior wall cavities, and on top of ceiling joists in attic spaces.
 

CSST Fuel Lines Need Approved Support

CSST is naturally flexible and does not provide adequate support to natural gas meters. Natural gas meters with CSST fuel lines must have two approved rigid supports. Local building codes and KUB standards require natural gas meters to have two rigid support points. The service riser from the ground to the natural gas meter (see diagram) provides one rigid support. Customers are responsible for providing a second rigid support for customer-owned fuel lines.

Customers should work with a qualified plumber to provide an approved rigid support to their natural gas fuel lines at the natural gas meter. After the work is completed, they can call KUB to have a service technician verify the installation, restart service, and perform any needed relights. 

For more information on building codes, call 865-215-4311 in Knoxville or your local codes office.

 

Customer Fuel Line Piping

KUB owns and maintains the gas main at the road, the piping to the outlet of the meter, and the gas meter itself. Any piping on the downstream side of the natural gas meter that runs to appliances is customer owned piping and must be maintained by the customer.

Whether the customer owned piping is above or below ground, all maintenance and upkeep is the responsibility of the customer. For safety, customers should have their gas piping regularly inspected for leaks or signs of corrosion.

Customers should:

  • Regularly inspect customer-owned lines for leaks.
  • Regularly inspect metallic customer-owned lines for corrosion.
  • Contact a trained and qualified plumber, HVAC technician, or other professional with natural gas piping experience for repairs.
  • Ensure 811 is contacted for locates in advance of excavation or digging near the buried pipe.
  • Call KUB at 865-524-2911 if you suspect a natural gas leak of any kind.

Mulch should never be placed around the service riser of your natural gas meter, and you should never paint your meter or related equipment.  It is also important you do not block access to your meter using vegetation or constructed barriers. See below for examples.