Where Are All the Shut-Off Valves?

I am having a problem with my gas stove.  The problem started on January 16, 2012 when the propane tank was filled.  Two days later, when I came home from work I was assaulted by with a horrible smell.  At first, I did not recognize the odor as propane.  I looked throughout the first floor smelling in corners, smelling plants, washing all my dog’s bedding, emptying garbage, and I even removed the two poinsettias thinking they were the origin of the stench since they were old.  As I walked to the deck with the poinsettias, I turned and saw the propane tank looking very guilty.  AH-HA we just had a delivery of propane!   

I started on my quest to rid my house of the source of the stink.  I called the delivery service back and upon their examination, they determined it was coming from the stove not the tank.  They deliver and repair the tank but not the stove; I needed a “stove guy” for that but they could install a new stove if I decided to buy one.  My next phone call was to the store where I purchased my gas stove ten years ago. 

I love my stove.  I am a cooker and baker.  I bake for hours on weekends: pies, cakes, cookies even dog biscuits.  During the week, I cook all sorts of dinners: Chinese, Italian, Mexican, I even cook meat for my carnivore husband and dog.  When we purchased the stove, it was a beauty.  It may not be my dream stove, a Viking, but it has all the amenities that was available ten years ago.  The oven is large enough to cook Thanksgiving dinner for almost thirty people.  What more could you ask of a stove?

My dream stove - a Viking

Here is where the trouble lies.  There is a leak that can not be found.  Pipes have been replaced, registers have been replaced, valves have been replaced, and any other spare part that can be replaced has.  The repairperson has been to my house six times.  Within two weeks of the tech leaving, once again when I open my door at the end of my day I am assaulted by stench. 

Thursday night, March 8, 2012 my dog began crying in front of the stove.  I thought she had a stomachache so every time she lay by the stove and cried I would take her outside. She was trying to tell the un-aware and un-evolved humans that she smelled gas.  When I returned from work on Friday, March 9, 2012, I opened the kitchen door to 1.  My dog and 2.  The STENCH!  I immediately hooked pdog’s collar and leash, took her outside and turned off the propane gas tank.  While my dog stayed tied to her chain on the deck, I went back into the house turning on fans and opening windows.  After all pdog’s work for her thankless humans, she slept like a baby Friday night.

Exhausted pdog Sleeps

Another call to the repair tech, a weekend without my cooking therapy, and a Monday afternoon spent meeting the tech to supervise yet another repair call.  More tubes, hoses, and spare parts re-replaced and I can not say that the gas leak is fixed.  I can tell you that after I finish cooking I now turn off the outside valve on the propane tank. 



Apple Crumb Caramel Pie



Blondies with Ganache (on the stove aka culprit)

This is the reason for my blog.  Do you know where all your shut-off valves and switches are?  I realized that during my gas leak (not that it is fixed, yet) I found out how to turn off the gas.  Let’s be honest I know how to turn a knob, the truth is I did not know the tank had a knob!  I know where the shut-off switch is to the furnace.  Of course, the daughter of an electrician knows how to turn off the electricity – the main switch.  I do not where the shut-offs are for the water.  I guess I will learn where they are and report with pictures!  In the meantime where are your shut-offs?  It is important to know for emergencies.