Messing up ex-boss's rough in

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stevenstarbuck1

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I used to work in plumbing and gas fitting before switching careers, and in Virginia; here's how it works:

When a plumber/gas fitter installs a new gas line, such as for a gas stove, cooktop or to convert a woodburning fireplace to gas logs, he has to pull a permit from the county. He first does what is called the "rough in." That means he sets the new gas pipe to exactly where it will be tying into the existing line, and then puts a cap on one end and a gunge on the other. He has to prove to the inspector it will hold gas pressure before actually connecting the gas.

To do this you must put on a 30 PSI gauge and airtest it by pumping it up at least halfway to 15psi. Anywhere between 15-30 psi is passing. 14 and 9/10 psi would fail. The inspector comes and looks at the gauge on the scheduled day among other stuff and either says "Pass, continue" or "Fail, fix this and call us back."

After the rough in inspection passes he can finish the job then do the final inspection.

So a company I used to work for just did a rough in at a house in my neighborhood with the gauge positioned outside just near the gas meter. I absolutely hate the ex boss and am thinking of messing with him.

What I do is I go over there with a screwdriver and let the air out of the gauge to below 15psi. The inspector will come, see the gauge and think it's not holding air pressure and fail the rough-in. So then the plumbers come back, leak test again and find nothing. They'll tighten every fitting as much as their strength allows and then pump up the gauge to above 15 PSI again and watch it for quite some time. They'll finally be satisfied that it's holding air pressure now and schedule a re-inspection.

Under the cover of night I sneak back over there again with a screwdriver and let the pressure out again.

Next day, inspector comes back, looks at the gauge again and once again, it is below 15psi, Once again. Rough in fails.

Now the ex boss is really frustrated and the homeowner is on his ass. By now he may have had to pay a re-inspection fee, as if the rough-in keeps failing, there's only so many times the inspector will keep coming back under the original permit fee. So He sends his guys back to try and tighten each fitting even another millimeter. Soak the entire length of the piping with leak detector trying to find the (Nonexistent) microscopic leak that keeps causing the gauge to drop so slowly. They'll probably even change gauges wondering if the gauge itself is faulty.

Once again, they schedule the inspection for the rough in. And once again, yours truly strikes again.

Now, when that gauge drops below 15 AGAIN, the ex-boss is probably at a loss of WHAT to do now.

So in doing so I screw over my ex boss royally and help his workers get some overtime.

Ha what would he likely do if this just kept happening? He always said "there's a mechanical reason for everything" and he doesn't even know I live nearby, so the prospect of a prankster being the cause likely wouldn't cross his mind.

What would YOU do if this just kept happening inexplicably.
 
I would press charges when I found out. I would set up a camera to watch it. I would also move the gauge.
 
I would press charges when I found out. I would set up a camera to watch it. I would also move the gauge.

So you keep failing on account of the gauge dropping, then instead of thinking it's a stubborn leak that's just not showing itself (We've all been there) your first thought would be "Well I failed inspection so that can only mean it's a prank?"

Because before he feels the need to set up a camera or move the gauge he'd have to suspect deliberate foul play.

Plus if you move the gauge then you still have to cap or plug the other end. A pipe wrench or channelocks can loosen that causing the air pressure to drop on the gauge, now inside. Retighten the cap after letting the air out for another hillarious "WTF" moment by the ex-boss.
 
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So you keep failing on account of the gauge dropping, then instead of thinking it's a stubborn leak that's just not showing itself (We've all been there) your first thought would be "Well I failed inspection so that can only mean it's a prank?"

Because before he feels the need to set up a camera or move the gauge he'd have to suspect deliberate foul play.

Plus if you move the gauge then you still have to cap or plug the other end. A pipe wrench or channelocks can loosen that causing the air pressure to drop on the gauge, now inside. Retighten the cap after letting the air out for another hillarious "WTF" moment by the ex-boss.


Man !
You REALLY hate that guy
Don't you?
 
So you keep failing on account of the gauge dropping, then instead of thinking it's a stubborn leak that's just not showing itself (We've all been there) your first thought would be "Well I failed inspection so that can only mean it's a prank?"

Because before he feels the need to set up a camera or move the gauge he'd have to suspect deliberate foul play.

Plus if you move the gauge then you still have to cap or plug the other end. A pipe wrench or channelocks can loosen that causing the air pressure to drop on the gauge, now inside. Retighten the cap after letting the air out for another hillarious "WTF" moment by the ex-boss.

If I pass my pretest fine and it holds all day without a problem, I would suspect something is up. I have done this a long time and I test water pipes at 200 psi and they can't lose more that three psi. If a pipe dropped from 30 to 15 over night yet it stayed at 30 all day with no issue then someone is messing with it. This is where your lack of experience comes in, us professionals have seen this before.
 
I might pump it up the day before inspection once. If it then failed because of loss of pressure, you can bet your hiney I would be there at 7 AM the morning of the reinspection to reset the pressure and meet the inspector.

Most of the inspectors that I have run into are much smarter than you think that they are, and will check the gauge when they arrive, then look at the piping, and then look at the gauge again. If it holds exact pressure for that 15 or so minute stretch, they don't get too concerned if it is a smidgen off of prescribed test pressure.
 
I might pump it up the day before inspection once. If it then failed because of loss of pressure, you can bet your hiney I would be there at 7 AM the morning of the reinspection to reset the pressure and meet the inspector.

Most of the inspectors that I have run into are much smarter than you think that they are, and will check the gauge when they arrive, then look at the piping, and then look at the gauge again. If it holds exact pressure for that 15 or so minute stretch, they don't get too concerned if it is a smidgen off of prescribed test pressure.


as phishfood has stated, would not slow me down a bit,
don't you think of out of the thousands of gas tests that we do, that we have had a local dumbass teenager pull that ****? more than once.

gas tests are a 15 minute test, the reason the gage is left overnite, you test today and schedule test for tomorrow. typical practice.

top being a stalking *******, and move on with your life
 
We always check the gauge in the morning. We are now required to use a 15 lb gauge for a 15 lb test. it has 0.1 increments on gauge where as the 30 lb gauge as .2lb. the inspector will wait 15 mins to see if the gauge drops in that time.

When connecting to an existing gas system we always disconnect all appliances, remove gas cocks, cap lines and test system before we start on new changes. This way we know if there are any pre existing leaks on system. When building department inspect it, they want he whole thing under test.

Large systems ,they sometime want a 30 lb test with a 24 hour recorder gauge. :eek:

Those really suck.
 
stevenstarbuck, I know you are mad at the ex-boss, but what did the homeowner ever do to you? You would be causing misery the the homeowner, the inspector, and many other people other than your boss. Inspectors are often busy and have to schedule the time to come out-- any time the inspector wastes having to come out again means he can't be out inspecting something else. That means other people are having to wait.

This "prank" wouldn't affect just the person you want to get at.

How would you feel if you were in the homeowner's place? What if the homeowner has high blood pressure? You could be causing him/her undue stress.

It may sound fun to try to retaliate, but all it does is hurt other people and it doesn't actually do anything to help you. You could wind up getting yourself into trouble. It's just not worth it.

Putting a whoopie cushion on someone's chair as a prank is one thing-- this is a whole other ballgame that gets into malicious intent.

Its best to just move on and leave these people alone.
 
I like using a mercury gauge. i can tell immediately, if it has a leak just buy looking at the top of the lead column

anyone else know what i'm talking about?


Temperature gauges use mercury in a glass tube, but water pressure gauges, Not a clue.
Looked up mercury gauge and only got a bunch of Mercury brand named gauges.
 
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Temperature gauges use mercury in a glass tube, but water pressure gauges, Not a clue.
Looked up mercury gauge and only got a bunch of Mercury brand named gauges.


the head on the mercury column. if it stands proud, your good to go, if its recessed/concaved you got a leak.


http://screencast.com/t/y4P7XxRMT
 
On a side note, wouldn't going and tampering with the stuff be criminal trespassing and vandalism?
 

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