Gas Plumbing

🚨 Jungle Retreat Rocked by Midnight Gas Explosion

There were no alarms.

No sirens.

Just chaos and confusion in the dark.

⚠️ Gas Safety: Not Just Compliance — It’s Critical

• Annual gas inspections are essential
• Leaking LPG cylinders or fittings should never be ignored
• Professional maintenance by licensed gas fitters can prevent disasters

💡 Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

✅ Gas Safety Checks by Perth’s Real Plumbers

• Complete gas appliance testing
• Leak detection and repairs
• Gas compliance reports
• Safety upgrades and advice

At Plumbdog Plumbing, we always have our noses to the ground, sniffing out plumbing problems for our customers across Perth, WA. This time, our expert plumber Darius was called out to a property in Mount Lawley to investigate a suspected gas leak—and what he found was enough to make even the toughest Plumbdog wrinkle his nose!

Sniffing Out the Problem 🐾

Upon arrival, Darius performed a gas test at the meter using his trusty manometer, confirming a gas leak on the property. But where was it coming from? That’s where experience and the right detection tools come in handy!

Using his 20+ years of plumbing expertise, Darius methodically traced the leak’s location—deep in the backyard. As he got closer, the stench became overwhelming. Gas leaks, especially those left unnoticed for a long time, react with the soil and create a powerful odor that lingers on clothing, skin, and even in the air for days!

The Leak is Found!

After carefully exposing the pipeline, Darius performed the good old soapy water test—a tried-and-true method to confirm leaks. Sure enough, bubbles formed around a fitting where PVC connected to copper, confirming the culprit!

Fixing the Leak & Keeping the Customer Safe

With the problem identified, Darius wasted no time:
✅ Repaired the faulty fitting
✅ Conducted a final retest to confirm no further leaks
✅ Submitted a Gas Notice of Completion Certificate, ensuring the property was safe

As always, Darius backfilled and cleaned up the work area, leaving it just as he found it—only safer! With a big smile and a satisfied customer, another Plumbdog job was successfully completed.

Need a Perth Plumber Who Knows Their Stuff?

At Plumbdog Plumbing, we’re fully licensed gas fitters and always ready to track down leaks, repair issues, and ensure your property is safe.

🚰 Got a plumbing or gas problem? Give us a whistle! 🐶🔧
📞 Contact Plumbdog Plumbing Today!

• Like servicing hot water heaters, it is equally important to service your gas heater
• See what you can do to maintain your portable heater
• Always use a qualified and licensed gas fitter to do gas work.
• Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Heaters and hot water systems are things that we regularly use in our homes and often take for granted. Some of us are great an regular maintenance but there are others who often only think about maintenance or repairs when something isn’t right.

DID YOU KNOW THAT REGULAR MAINTENANCE IS RECOMMENDED?

It is recommended that your gas heaters are serviced regularly, usually every 2 years. Failure to do so could result in a shorter life of you heating unit or even problems occurring which could have easily been avoided with a regular service or basic level of maintenance.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAINTAIN YOUR PORTABLE GAS HEATER?

There is a very basic but important job you can regularly do to keep on top of your portable gas heater and that is to keep the filters clean. Like in the rest of your home, dust quickly builds up even if you’re not using the heating unit often, you may find your unit is quite dusty.

SOME POINTERS FOR CLEANING OUT YOUR FILTERS

Clean Outside – Cleaning these up can be a messy job so take the filters outside to clean and avoid creating a huge mess in your home.

Electric Blower / Vacuum Cleaner – Most of us will at least have a vacuum cleaner at home. These are great for cleaning out filters.

Dry Paintbrush – For more than just painting, a dry paintbrush works wonders at cleaning out filters or all sorts of dusty cracks and corners.

Rinse With Cold Water – For most modern heaters, it is safe to rinse the filter in cold water to get them nice and clean. If in doubt, refer to the manual for your heating system.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is ok to clean the filters yourself but leave the gas to a licensed gas fitter. It is not safe to remove and install your own gas fittings and a licensed gas fitter is required for this. There are circumstances where you can disconnect the heater yourself e.g. if it’s a bayonet (quick connect) then you do not need to be a licensed gas fitter but if you are not sure it may best to ask or commission a licensed professional for both compliance as well as for the safety of your home.
https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/node/996 – “Do not be tempted to do gas work yourself, or to use an unlicensed gas fitter.”

TEST AND REINSTALL

When the service is complete, as gasfitter, we reinstall and it is important to test to ensure safety for our customers. We perform some checks including checking that the bayonet is gas tight and the overall safe operation of the unit.

Next time you’re thinking about your heater, don’t forget to set aside some time to give the filters a clean if you haven’t done this for a while.

GIVE US A WHISTLE!

If you you need any gas plumbing attended to, our obedient Plumbdogs are licensed gas fitters so give us a whistle and we will come!

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up to date with our latest videos! Thanks for watching.

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• It’s fun for our Plumbdogs to get our paws dirty and dig things up but we need to be safe and know what other services lead into the property.
• Watch as Richard shares some knowledge that any good plumber should know when taking on a job like this.
• Learn how you can check your pipes for a gas leak using this simple method with simple materials you should have at home.
• Check out more of our VLOGs & don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Another day for our top dog Richard as he headed off to Wilson, WA for a water leak detection job.  There was already an initial visit to the property, and he was able to identify where the burst water pipe and fixed it with a temporary repair.  Two to three weeks later he comes back to complete the work, and that is to lay new supply pipes.  This would mean he would have to dig around and that is why he brought an excavator for the job.  Part of what he needed to do was to locate all the other supply services such as the water, electricity, and gas supply. On one side of the property, Richard would have to manually dig through this small corner area where the gas meter is. Armed with his good old shovel he uncovered the Atco gas main line. However, while digging he was able to notice something that was not supposed to be in the picture, he smells gas. From a burst water pipe, we have now a suspected gas leak too!

Licensed Plumber and gasfitter. . . All rolled into one

Plumber’s hat OFF and now gasfitter’s hat ON! Since Richard was able to expose the gas pipes he will now investigate where the leak is coming from.  He was able to uncover an old rusty galvanized pipe connected to a pretty new yellow PVC pipe.  It is quite simple on how to find a pipe leak; all we need is some soapy water. Mix regular dishwashing detergent with water and place them in a spray container. After making the mixture, spray it on the pipe then wait and observe.  He saw that bubbles started to form on the rusty part of the galv pipe and he could even hear a faint hissing sound, thus confirming the leak.  Bubbles forming in an area is an indication of leak and this needs to be reported.

Gas leak = Alarm bells

Before he continues any further with his digging, he will need to report the gas leak to ATCO gas by calling their helpline so they can dispatch a technician onsite. Due to the nature of the problem, it will be deemed as an emergency and will need to be dealt ASAP, within the next hour or so. Important reminder: any gas leak should be reported right away to a gasfitter or the supplier.

The work done by the previous technician was not a great job job. Instead of extending the new pipe up until the rusty galvanized pipe they just had it cut up to a certain portion.  The leak would have been avoided if they replaced the entire line.

We have all the gear and every idea and that’s why we believe we are the best maintenance plumbing experts in Perth. Licensed plumbers and Gasfitters, give us a whistle!