Copper gas lines, propane in this case, hanger material?

Got a call for dead animal in crawl space, ongoing for weeks. Pinpointed odor to lowest level slope of crawlspace, not decomp. Smelled like gas to me.

Spotted flexible copper line tacked to joist with rusty staple.



Am I correct in suspecting possible galvanic corrosion issue?

My professional opinion is to have a plumber or HVAC guy run all of his gas lines checking for leaks.

BTW, his pest control concurred on gas odor.

That line was traced back to the gas main.

I see mold,,,,,,
Copper pipe is easily tested with a bic................

or soapy water ifn.........

Two diff metals touching causes corrosion. Try to isolate that line and see if the smell goes away.

Propane can be in copper, natural gas can not, it uses black iron pipe.

Not my wheelhouse. I know enough to spot possible issues then hand it off. I ain't signing up for any extra liability.

wusssssssssssss

In NC we can put Natural gas and Propane in Copper tubing. I would refer this to a plumber or gas technician. As a plumber I know it can cause galvanic corrosion. I also know that while possible it is not very likely. The only time I have seen this is on a 3" line insulated with fiberglass insulation and the wet insulation from condensation on the ceiling was causing the electrolysis.

I thought water had to be involved to complete the circuit but I didn't pay attention in chemistry class, lol.

On new installation, I use a lighter often. Not on repair or replace.

I changed all LP lines in my house from copper to black iron years ago and used insulated straps to hang it.

That said, probably no big issue but it might make me nervous. Especially if the staple is tight. Having a tech run a sniffer over it might be a good idea. I usually found leaks at valves.

Agree on the valves. The only installs I will do is on my own stuff and if you don't get the threads sealed and snug.

Just spotting one staple, and no idea if it was the leak, makes me suspect other no nos were done on the install. Just more reason for me to pass it on to a subject matter expert.

Copper is fine for natural gas but I wouldn't use it, and it should have a plastic or copper plated hanger. Water is the 3rd component to cause electrolysis. If there is moisture in the attic its possible but I don't see any corrosion in pic, I'd look for a leaking fitting up there if you smell gas.

Get a plumber out there asap. You should never have copper flex carrying gas in a crawl space. They are for supply lines only. Should be black pipe or the yellow flex.

I was always taught to never run NG in copper. I guess there are differing opinions on it. When I switched to NG I was advised not to use copper. My mistake.

I also assumed that since you were talking leak and posted a pic of a staple at the line that that is where the leak was coming from, if not, then yes further troubleshooting is needed.

Hope all is well and they get it figured out.

Yellow flex main to a valve/tee, soft copper from there to appliances. But is was a long run to appliances.

HVAC was pulling in as I was pulling out.

Steel will eat up copper, that's why plumbing ALWAYS has a BRASS fitting between the steel pipe and copper. Use thwe soapy water to check.

Glad to hear a professional got to evaluate the situation.