Gas company Elgas has warned Hawkesbury residents to check the gas levels in their bottles after the company was flooded with calls by customers who had exhausted their supplies.
With the Hawkesbury in the middle of winter, and recently experiencing snow, no doubt plenty of people are turning up the heating.
Elgas’ Jodie Collins said residents must keep tabs on how much gas they had left if they only have one tank. ‘‘Our call centres are getting a flood of requests for top ups – and we don’t want anyone to be left out in the cold. We encourage everyone to check their gas levels now,’’ she said.
Elgas said to do this, pour a cup of hot water down the side of the bottle and a line of condensation should appear at the level of the remaining gas. If no line is apparent, you can also wait a few seconds and run your hand down the cylinder. It will feel cool to the touch at the level of the gas.
If you see no line and feel no difference in temperature, chances are the bottle is empty. Note that gas bottles are only filled to the 80 per cent line to leave room for expansion in warmer weather.