Gas cocks

Most plumbers still refer to gas shut off valves as gas cocks, a term used in the origination of the valves.

Older type gas shutoff valve.

Newer style gas shut off valve with easy lever handle.

Meter and your liability

Typical flare adapter.

Basically a gas shutoff valve is the turn on and off point at the beginning of the supply (located at the front or side of the house at the meter) and before each gas appliance whether it be a dryer, fireplace, or outside lantern. These provided shut off valves make it so you can repair or replace these appliances without having to relight every pilot light in the house.
Many of the original gas valves require a wrench to turn the "slot" much like the shut offs still found at the gas company's side of the meter. Although you can still get valves like this, most cities require you to have a valve that can easily be shut off by hand. These valves are commonly known as gas code shut off valves.

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The gas code shut off valves are likely to be found more often now than the slot type because of the current code requirements. The main difference is that you can turn the handle by hand reducing the time to find a wrench in case of an emergency would arise.
Which brings up the topic of having a wrench handy as we discuss on the meter page found below.

The Gas Company's meter will typically be located where the gas enters into your home or at the street curb. In most cases your responsibility starts at the house side of the meter not to be confused with "the house". In other words if the gas line runs 50 yards to your home from the meter located at the street curb you are responsible for the 50 yards of gas line as well as all of the gas pipes inside of your home that supply the gas to all of your appliances. What this means is in the event that you need to repair or replace the line is that you should have the best job available. How do you go about this? Like all plumbing jobs we suggest you get references for the job to be done at hand. So if "Joe Plumber" says they want to bid on the job you should ask them if they can give you a reference of a similar job. And in the case of any job that will be done with no access later (it will be covered, buried, etc.) be sure to get the job permitted and inspected by the local authorities. It may cost you a little more but it is the best assurance that your job is being done in the proper manner according to local codes and practices. If you don't have your job permitted it could come back to haunt you as in fines or less than competent work. There are many little things involved with a job that includes underground installations, from notifying companies that may require prior notice like underground cable companies to proper excavation techniques and ways to prepare the material to be installed. Little concerns that could turn into big worries if not properly dealt with. As said earlier on the home page, this part of the site is not intented to prepare you to do the work but to educate you as an informed customer to help understand possible needs you have and how best to meet those needs. Small things could become big things if not approached properly. As is said in other parts of this website you will find qualified and licensed contractors on the search part of the home page of this site. As you will see in the following pictures we reccommend having a wrench or special tool for turning the gas off in the case of an emergency. How will you know if gas is leaking? In the case of natural gas which inherently has no odor the supplier will add an odor so that you can detect it by smell in the event that it should leak.

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Typically your appliance will connect to the source with a flexible connector. These connections use flared fittings at the appliance and the source. See diagram below. When connecting new stove tops, ovens, etc. in older homes, it is usually neccesary to change the flared adapter since many of the sizes used in the past have been discontinued. Some of the smaller plumbing stores still carry these. Use our Store locator for one in your area. Please support the site by talking about PlumbingLessons.com

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