Natural Gas, The Hard Way

On the roof of our building sit our apartment's two small tanks filled with natural gas. They're about triple the height of the propane tanks used in the U.S. for barbecues. They provide the natural gas we use for the stove; everything else is operated by electricity. Most apartments have such "balloons" (as they're called) and so there are quite a few sets of these gas tanks on our roof.

It's not a comforting feeling, thinking that an errant lightening bolt or errant Katyusha Rocket could cause serious problems when combined with such tanks above our heads. Nonetheless, there they are.

Our landlord promised us that we would need to replace at least one balloon during our year here. She gave us instructions of how to call and that we needed to ensure that the roof would be unlocked when they arrived.

Well, sometime in January it happened. We could not light the stove. I went to the roof to turn off tank one and turn on tank two and we were able to start cooking. No problem.

The next day I called "SuperGas" (but it's pronounced "souper-gazz") to order a replacement tank. SuperGas said they'd need to come out for a safety check first. So I scheduled that and they came about a week later. The technician found a small leak (what, exactly is a "small" leak when it comes to gas?!?) but repaired the hose. He told us that we would also need a new protective hood for the tanks because we were missing one.

I checked with the landlord who said, sure, order a new cover. So I did and the cover was installed in early February. Then, I had to call to make an appointment for the tank. Interestingly, they couldn't pre-schedule the gas appointment until after the hood was installed. I was told that the tank would arrive a few days later and so I told them I would unlock the roof.

The tank did not arrive and I don't know if delivery was ever attempted. I tried again. No tank. I tried again. No tank. I tried again. No tank. There was a lot of roof unlocking and locking going on but nary a tank to be found. Unfortunately, it was late March and Passover was approaching so that meant I was leaving for the Ukraine.

So, what had to happen? About three hours after I left for the airport to fly to the Ukraine, tank number two expired on the day before Passover - a week-long national holiday. Jen was a trooper and played the role of native Israeli and made many calls to the gas company that day and kept calling until the tank was delivered. And so they were. Now we have two full tanks of precious fossil fuels for our cooking enjoyment. Finally!