Posted by Mark Smith on October 28, 1998 at 10:46:54:
In Reply to: Landlord responsibility on gas leaks from pilot light going out? posted by Suffering from gas-poisoning indiced confusion.... on October 27, 1998 at 10:54:57:
I have lived in the same apartment with the same gas range for almost thirty years, and the only times that the pilot has gone out is when Con Edison shut the gas off in the area. Besides complaining to HPD, you should get a carbon monoxide detector. They are not as inexpensive as smoke detectors and are not required by law, but in your case, it could save your life.
Try to get the landlord to replace the defective gas range with one that works properly. You could settle for the pilots (range top and oven) being shut off, but get something in exchange for this reduction in services. If the oven pilot is turned off, you may never be able to use the oven again, except on broil, where the flame is continuous. On some very old gas ranges, as you turn the temerature up, the flame gets larger, like the range-top flames. You can use an oven like this without a pilot. But newer ovens have a flame of a constant size which goes on and off. The higher the tempersature setting, the longer the flame stays on. With this type of oven, you need a working pilot, except for the broil cycle.
: Twice in two months I have been near poisoned by
what I perceived to be gas leaks. The first time my
windows were closed and I woke up in the morning and
vomited. My landlord sent a plumber who fixed the
problem. Yesterday, I came home and the place was so
full of gas, I had to open the windows, then go out
for 2 hours while it aired out. I had to sleep with
the windows open despite the too cold weather for
open windows. When I called my LL, she said that it
is just a matter of the pilot light in my stove going
off. Is it normal for the pilot light to go off so
frequently? (I admit I don't cook much). When I
said I would go home and re-light it, she reluctantly
agreed to send a handyman, fearing I might cause an
explosion (I'm sure she is worried about the
apartment, not me). Is this an appliance problem that
the landlord should fix, or is this really normal? I
hate to be ignorant, but I grew up with electric
stoves. I'm a little concerned what would happen
next time the light goes out when I am sleeping with
the windows closed.
Follow Ups:
Note: Posting is disabled in all archives
Post a Followup