Safety Rules for Gas and Electrical Equipments

What are the safety rules while working with Gas and gas equipment?

• Know the location of the gas shutoff valve on the piece of equipment you’re working on.

• Gas valves can jam easily, so turn it off before starting repairs.

• Always know where the emergency gas shutoff is to the entire kitchen, and how to turn it off and on.

• If you smell gas, turn the equipment off, wait for the gas to dissipate, then look and listen for the site of the leak.

• If you opened up a gas line in any way, always check for leaks.

• Use a soap solution to check for leaks, never a flame.

• Fix all gas leaks promptly, however small.

• Always cap unused gas lines. Don’t just turn them off.

• When changing gas controls, always check to make sure the control is for the type of gas that you are using (natural or LP).

• Some controls are interchangeable, but others are specific to one type.

• Light pilots with a tightly rolled piece of paper at least 12 inches long as this gives you some protection if the gas pops.

• If the pilot light blows out, wait four to five minutes for any gas to dissipate before you try to light the pilot again.

• When you’ve turned off a circuit breaker to work on a piece of equipment, always put a piece of tape across it so someone else doesn’t accidentally turn it on.

• After the circuit breaker is turned off, always test the equipment with a voltmeter to make sure you turned off the correct breaker and there aren’t other circuit breakers that need to be turned off.

• Always check the voltmeter to make sure it works by testing it in a live outlet that you know works.

• When doing a “jump” test: Turn off the power, place the jumpers across the switch to be jumped, turn the power back on to observe the results, turn the power off, and remove the jumper.

• Never leave a switch jumped longer than the few seconds it takes to see the results of the test.

• Never work on electrical equipment if the floor is wet.

• If you must leave a piece of malfunctioning equipment, take precautions to ensure no one else will try to use it.

• Leave a big note taped to the front explaining the situation (e.g., “Out of Order, Will be back with parts this evening”).

• When a piece of equipment is “temporarily” fixed, never let anyone use it until you are certain it is safe.

• Never call a job “done” until you have thoroughly tested it and are 100% sure it is safe and fully operational.

• Always know where you can turn off the power quickly in case of a problem, whether it’s at the plug or circuit breaker.