I have work for the natural gas utility in St Louis Missouri for 35 years and can tell you this is one of my favorite seismic valves. They can go off accidentally but this is usually caused by a commercial lawn service running into the meter set. In the event that would happen it's probably a good idea that the gas company out to inspect and evaluate . If one does go off I would say it should be mandatory that a pressure test of the system be performed before putting it back into service. Just an FYI ,when installing this particular model make sure the reset is facing out for screwdriver access. It's a pain in the ass to reset when the reset is facing the wall.
4:59PM 9/12/2024 Anyone in Malibu may need to manually go in a reset this if their home was built after a certain time, dad invented this, they come standard to prevent explosions if a natural gas-pipe in punctured, real proud if him for that
On February 9th, 1971, the Sylmar quake hit before dawn. I was 17 and was sure the Soviets nuked us. I had a bookshelf fall onto my bed along with everything on it smacking me everywhere. I tried to get to the living room in the dark and stepped in broken glass and fell over a wall unit that tipped over. Ever since then I made sure that I had automatic backup lighting in my houses. But for at least 10 days after the quake, everybody was afraid to sleep and was afraid to be in the house. Aftershocks hit randomly and the power was out for days. To keep myself busy, I made up a seismic gas shutoff valve out of my dad's 3/4 inch pipe plumbing parts, fiberglass, a 5/8'' steel ball bearing, o-ring, and bits and pieces. The ball bearing fit into a divot I ground at the end of the rod and any shaking would make it drop into the gas outlet hole with the o-ring as a seat. To reset the ball, the plunger rod had to be pulled down against a spring until the ball rolled back into the divot in the end of the rod. I got the idea from a pinball machine. After resetting, you screwed on a pipe with a cap on the end to cover the plunger on the bottom of the unit to make the reset system gas tight. There were a few house fires in Sylmar caused by hot water tanks falling over and that's why I thought of building something to prevent that. My dad was proud of my invention but said that nobody would buy one unless the insurance companies required them. I last saw the valve in the attic of my dad's garage after the cleanup a few months after he passed away in 2002. Sometime in the 1980's, I was disheartened to see a similar commercial one for sale in Builder's Emporium hardware store where Home Depot now sits. It had the same plunger reset mechanism. Our County requires seismic shutoff valves on new construction. I installed the square anodized blue one with the dial magnet reset on my house 20 years ago, probably before the Red Hat came along. I invented a few things in my lifetime but never made any money off of any of them. I look back and chuckle.
I've looked on Google and don't see this particular product for sale anywhere. Can you provide the manufacturer name and maybe part number? Thanks for the video.
The manufacturer is Pacific Seismic Products. You can view their entire line at www.PSPvalves.com You can also call (661) 942-4499 to contact the manufacturer directly.
Scott Weston At least on mine there is a red/green indicator through the window. red means it's off. This video saved me waiting for the gas company to do the same thing that it took 30 seconds to do!
I have work for the natural gas utility in St Louis Missouri for 35 years and can tell you this is one of my favorite seismic valves. They can go off accidentally but this is usually caused by a commercial lawn service running into the meter set. In the event that would happen it's probably a good idea that the gas company out to inspect and evaluate . If one does go off I would say it should be mandatory that a pressure test of the system be performed before putting it back into service. Just an FYI ,when installing this particular model make sure the reset is facing out for screwdriver access. It's a pain in the ass to reset when the reset is facing the wall.
Love the video. Best valve on the market as far as I am concerned. Far less false trips than that little square one.
4:59PM 9/12/2024
Anyone in Malibu may need to manually go in a reset this if their home was built after a certain time, dad invented this, they come standard to prevent explosions if a natural gas-pipe in punctured, real proud if him for that
can you please provide the details of brand or vendor who supplies FM approved seismic auto shut valves?
Great video ❤
On February 9th, 1971, the Sylmar quake hit before dawn. I was 17 and was sure the Soviets nuked us. I had a bookshelf fall onto my bed along with everything on it smacking me everywhere. I tried to get to the living room in the dark and stepped in broken glass and fell over a wall unit that tipped over. Ever since then I made sure that I had automatic backup lighting in my houses. But for at least 10 days after the quake, everybody was afraid to sleep and was afraid to be in the house. Aftershocks hit randomly and the power was out for days. To keep myself busy, I made up a seismic gas shutoff valve out of my dad's 3/4 inch pipe plumbing parts, fiberglass, a 5/8'' steel ball bearing, o-ring, and bits and pieces. The ball bearing fit into a divot I ground at the end of the rod and any shaking would make it drop into the gas outlet hole with the o-ring as a seat. To reset the ball, the plunger rod had to be pulled down against a spring until the ball rolled back into the divot in the end of the rod. I got the idea from a pinball machine. After resetting, you screwed on a pipe with a cap on the end to cover the plunger on the bottom of the unit to make the reset system gas tight.
There were a few house fires in Sylmar caused by hot water tanks falling over and that's why I thought of building something to prevent that. My dad was proud of my invention but said that nobody would buy one unless the insurance companies required them. I last saw the valve in the attic of my dad's garage after the cleanup a few months after he passed away in 2002. Sometime in the 1980's, I was disheartened to see a similar commercial one for sale in Builder's Emporium hardware store where Home Depot now sits. It had the same plunger reset mechanism. Our County requires seismic shutoff valves on new construction. I installed the square anodized blue one with the dial magnet reset on my house 20 years ago, probably before the Red Hat came along. I invented a few things in my lifetime but never made any money off of any of them. I look back and chuckle.
I've looked on Google and don't see this particular product for sale anywhere. Can you provide the manufacturer name and maybe part number? Thanks for the video.
The manufacturer is Pacific Seismic Products. You can view their entire line at www.PSPvalves.com You can also call (661) 942-4499 to contact the manufacturer directly.
@@LatinoLakerFan dead link
What about high pressures?
thanks very informative...but why dont they use these in turkey?
These valves are available in Turkey as well.
thanks, Denny
but how can you tell if it's off, say after a big quake?
Scott Weston At least on mine there is a red/green indicator through the window. red means it's off. This video saved me waiting for the gas company to do the same thing that it took 30 seconds to do!
Thanks Mark. I forgot I left that comment a month ago
There is a window on the side that shows a green tab when on and a red when off.