MLC Real Estate INSPECTIONS

Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing or CSST

Several TV news exposes have been done on CSST warming the public and yet the authorities and code approvals remain....
Experts Say Flexible Gas Line Lightning-Related Fires Continue in Spite of New Safety Measures
TODAY investigates: Dangers of CSST tubing
CSST Piping Fires
Great Lightning Storm Loud Thunder & Heavy Rain St.louis - Dangers of CSST

WARNINGS

 

Electrical Contractors Magazine
DFW TV Report
CSST Association
Hidden Fire Dangers May Be In Your House
Huffington Post Reports CSST Dangers
Lubbock Fire Marshal Warns Against Dangerous Gas Tubing
Governor Perry Announces CSST Safety Day
Texas Real Estate Commission Warnings List now includes CSST
Consumer Notice Concerning Hazards or Deficiencies
Lubbock Man's Survivors Create Foundation to Warn of CSST Dangers
Frisco Texas and CSST
Teel Family Interview in Lubbock
Brennen Teel Foundation Acknowledges TREC's Amendment To Home Inspection Report Effective September 1, 2015

 

THE CSST MANUFACTURER'S ISSUE A WARNING ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT

 

Not until 2013 did the manufacturers's issue warning about their product. And unlike the car companies, the warning was not sent directly to the end users, the homeowners, but rather to the internet at their website. That would be like the car company sending a recall to the dealerships only.CSST-Lightning-Safety-Warning.pdf

 

stats/facts

 

1. The number of the affected housing is not known.

2. The Texas Real Estate Commission licensing requirements do not include identification of gas line materials.

3. According to CSST manufacturers there are 6 million residential installations in the US; http://www.csstfacts.org/csst-safety-facts/fire-safety.aspx

4. It is risky to depend on City Inspections and Approvals….Municipal and jurisdiction inspectors have no liability for problems caused by building materials or their inspections on structures in their jurisdictions. Texas adopted in the International Residential Code in 2001. Prior to 2001 the State of Texas had no adopted code, so county construction had no building codes or enforcement and still has no enforcement. Cities without inspections have no code enforcement.

5. Texas adopted building code is the International Residential Code and what it says about CSSTclick here...

6. The manufacturers have created an online approval certification for installation of CSST. It is achieved in about 5mintes. One such certification was issued to Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mourse's Certification

7. Jury declares CSST a defective product. http://www.subrogationrecoverylawblog.com/2010/10/articles/products-liability/csst-1/jury-rules-that-csst-is-a-defective-product-in-landmark-case/

8. CSST manufacturers have banned together in an association to combine resources to combat any liability that they have. www.csstsafety.com

9. While trying to gain a trademark for an upgraded version of CSST called black jacket, one manufacturer self declared his yellow CSST defective in order to establish a difference between black jacket and yellow CSST.

10. Cozan-O'Connor, a leading US attorney on CSST have declared that CSST is a defective and dangerous product and advises arson investigators how to collect evidence. Cozan Field Appraisers Checklist

11. In Texas, one manufacturer cannot sell yellow jacket CSST but the other manufacturers are gladly filling the gap. Verification can be made in any Home Depot.

12. One expert (Goodson) indicates that CSST is a good product in Japan with a high incident of earthquakes and a low occurrence of lightning. But CSST is a poor choice in lightning prone areas.

 

CSST MAKERS ATTEMPTING TO TRANSFER THEIR LIABILITY ONTO OTHERS

 

*In Texas the manufacturer's (and the State Fire Marshall) have been lobbying the Texas Real Estate Commission into placing this into the charge of the Texas Real Estate Inspectors.  Inspectors cannot determine compliance and adequate bonding.  Also Code and the manufacturer's installation instructions continue to change.

Now the manufacturer's indicate that bonding helps protect the CSST but it cannot be fully protected.

*The manufacturers have encouraged the home insurance companies to subrogate liability to home inspectors. http://www.pddocs.com/csst/

 

warranty

 

Some manufacturers warrant their CSST and fitting for a period of one year after installation. There have been reports of fires caused by lightning strikes near homes with CSST flexible gas piping. The root cause of these fires has been attributed to either a lack of or inadequate bonding of the CSST which has resulted in arcing damage to the tubing.

This problem resulted in a class action law suit involving four CSST manufacturers: Omegaflex (TRACPIPE or COUNTERSTRIKE); Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PARFLEX); Titeflex Corp. (GASTITE); and Ward.

Manufacturing, Inc. (WARDFLEX). The parties to the suit have signed a Settlement Agreement that provides class members with a partial to full financial reimbursement for either a lightning protection system or upgraded bonding of their existing CSST system. For further information on the Settlement Agreement, visit www.CSSTsettlement.com; call the Administrator at 1-800-420-2916; or write to the CSST Settlement Administrator at P.O. Box 4349, Portland, OR 97208-4349.
National Home Builders Reverse Themselves (white paper)
CounterStrike only calls for Bonding as of 2009

In summary, this materials is something to be careful of. The product is not completely safe even if bonded. One cannot tell if it is bonded. The manufacturers are trying to move liability off of themselves and onto anyone they can place it on.

Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing is something to be careful of and homeowners should be cautious. The product is not completely safe even if bonded per the manufacturers. It may be virtually impossible to tell if CSST is bonding in a competed home.

History

 

In the mid 1990s a new product was introduced in the US called Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing CSST. It is, even today, approved to carry natural gas in residential structures. Originally it was intended to add flexibility to installations in Japan where earthquakes are a major issue.

Typical for new products, code relies on the manufacturer's installation specifications heavily. CSST was no different.

The manufacturer's failed to dictate that the product be bonded to the grounding system which is a protection against lightning strikes. Their installation instructions have now been changed.

Even bonding does not completely protect CSST against lightning and other intense electrical anomalies in the electrical system. The manufacturer's and their association say this in their latest documentation. Documentation

The problem is that CSST is a thin walled material unlike steel or galvanized is very susceptible to electrical arcing which is caused by traumatic electrical surges like lightning. And the lightning does not have to make a direct hit but may be as much as 500 feet or more away to impact a structure's gas lines and electrical system.

When an electrical surge strikes, it takes every possible path thru anything that will accept electricity like gas lines. Then electricity tries to equal out over all possible paths by jumping from conductor to conductor. This jumping is known as arcing. Arcing is the fire seen when the electricity jumps across air space.

When the arcing takes place, it can pierce thin walled corrugated material. When this happens to a gas carrying line, the combination of a pressured gas line and electrical arcing produces a blow torch effect at the break. This piercing can happen if any metal system is near the CSST line and is called Arcing.

This site will be updated as more information comes available.