JamesNLA

CSST has been sued?

My beloved CSST has gone to court and lost......

There was a post started in the general discussion, but this belongs here.

At first I just thought it was some company that makes the stuff and screwed up, but it's ALL the CSST manufactures. AND their giving settlements out. I have maybe 100 homes that I have the stuff in, of course none of it is outdoors, but I'm not sure that matters..

Have a look for yourself:
http://www.pddocs.com/csst/default.aspx

cmvsap

to avoid any lighting stike issues you have to have youre electrician ground the csst at the brass fitting right at the gas meter,like the water pipe.This was put into the mass.code. I think thats the only issue. this should certainly not scare anyone away from csst. I think that gastight is the best product I have used off all the csst brands out there. the fitting connections are really easy to use..

thom

When we use iron gas pipe, we don't ground it. Is it less likely to be struck by lightening?

Generally, gas pipes are indirectly grounded anyway. Gas furnace plug grounds steel furnace chassis which is connected through internal piping and valve to the gas pipe. Gas range, same thing. Gas water heater to the water lines if water lines are copper.

So why is this an issue with CSST?

mastadon

I agree, all this is, is another way for greedy people to get free money.

JamesNLA

Not true.....

The copper pipe going into the HWH (which often has teflon tape and pipe dope) is not a sufficient conductor to transmit (edit: BOND) the ground into the gas supply line. Simmilar for a heater/stove too.

The "issue" with this lame lawsuite is that if lightning DOES directly strike the CSST is that the thickness of the SS will not remain sealed, therefor creating a flamable breach. "They" say that iron pipe has a linning thicker and would be able to take the hit. I personally think it's total BS and just another way for the morons of the world to get money. I read the entire transcripts of that judgment and it's rediculas (sp). It's unfourtinate, because Gas Tite is an incredible product, it does what it is says it can do, and at a far less expence for the customer. So the fix to this lame judgment is to ground the line to the panel, or have a lightning rod system installed. The judgment will pay a national company a certian $$$ amount to come install the system, or ground the line, the remainder is up to the HO. It's all BS.....

Teetorbilt

The lightning issue has been discussed here a few times before. This is a big issue on boats (particularly sailboats) and is undecided.

The question is; Does being grounded attract it? Recent studies have shown that lightning strikes begin with a 'leader' coming from ground. If you chose to believe this, being grounded might not be the best idea.

In my early life, we sailed the Atlantic with a Sitka Spruce mainmast that stood up 95 ft. It was insulated and we never took a hit. Lucky? Maybe.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

JamesNLA

Lets ask MD. I did read about that a long time ago but have forgotten.

mdshunk

Sorry, don't know crap about lightning. I've never been on board with CSST, for the simple reason that I've observed that rodents prefer to sharpen their teeth on it. When I did HVAC work, I was a true blue black iron pipe man.

Sparky Joe

Lightning is very unpredictable as far as where it will strike.
We did 30 hours of lightning protection at school(though I've never done it in the field).
A certain picture comes to mind that I don't have, but it was lightning hitting the Washington Monument, not at the tip like you'd expect but right in the side.
So even with all the air terminals of a lightning protection system there's nothing telling lightning it has to strike there and no where else.

Natural electricity is really a very strange phenomena.

skyhook

On a recent job, I subbed out the gas plumbing and paid top $$, got CSST. I was dis-appointed to say the least, but somehow passed inspection. It is surface mounted to the floor joists and garage studs. The carpenter hit it with a hammer and left a 24% dent and knocked off part of the sheath. It is not bonded, it does have some large brass fittings. Also large citrus rats in the neighborhood. S***, I hate crappy work.
T-50s would shot right through.