TLDR Nope . You asked for it , you have to read it . Do it . Way , way back , my wife and I bought our first house a major fixerupper . This was back when people right out of college could buy a house . yes , those days did exist . It had an old convection gas floor furnace imagine a gas fired waffle iron built in to the floor and you pretty much have it that had not been used in decades . We thought it was worth a try to get it fired up until we could install central heat , since natural gas was much cheaper than the electric space heaters that was the other option . To get to the pilot light for the furnace I had to bellyslide through the crawl space . And I do mean belly slide there was not nearly enough room to actually crawl on hands and knees , and the uptymillion nails projecting through from the hardwood floor overhead would remind me very painfully if I got up too high . Initial inspection using one of those old flashlights that goes dark every time you jar it , and comes back on if you shake it just right remember those ? No ? You whippersnappers have it easy revealed a pile of spent matches burned right down to the very end , just inside the furnace next to the pilot . This indicated people had had a lot of trouble lighting it in the past . The shutoff valve was stuck closed also , but didn ' t look corroded . I figured if I ever got it to turn , it might be OK . I came back with a pair of large pliers and a propane torch . My idea was to use the pliers to give me a little more leverage to gently work the shutoff valve open , then use the torch on a low flame to light the pilot light , letting me take as long as I needed without holding a match that burned down . I felt clever . I got set up , flashlight light propped to illuminate the valve , torch lit on a low flame ready to apply to pilot , and was working on the shutoff valve carefully and slowly , when a small movement just past the furnace caught my eye . A large bobcat had been backed into the corner by the nasty man with the light and the hissing blowtorch , and kitty was obviously very unhappy with the situation . His eyes were fixed on my arm , which was extended towards him at full stretch , working with the pliers . He was about four feet from my hand , and his back end was making that little wiggle that cats do just before the launch . I instinctively jerked my hand back , but in so doing I seem to have clenched down on the pliers . Did you know that using pliers you can rip the guts out of a gas valve with very little effort ? You can . A spring or something from the valve hit me sharply in the nose . My elbow hit both the flashlight and the torch on the way back . One of them went out . It was the wrong one . The propane torch went spinning off about ten feet , still lighted with a tiny blue flame in otherwise total darkness . The wide open gas pipe blew a cooling jet of natural gas into my sweaty face . So , I was trapped on my belly , inches from nails over my back , in total darkness , with a panicked bobcat , a wideopen gas line , and a live flame . You don ' t forget moments like that . It lasted about six or seven hours , by my estimation . I felt around with my left hand and found the remains of the gas valve in the pipe , and stuck my finger in it . To my immense surprise and considerable relief , I discovered that gas pressure is way , way lower than water pressure . Unlike a water pipe , you can stop a gas leak with your finger ! Feel around with my right hand , find the flashlight . Shake it and it turns back on look at bobcat , who is magically no longer there . He has taken the opportunity to somehow teleport right past me without touching me or making a sound . He ' s gone . Thank you , Mr . Bobcat . OK , look around a little more . Find the part of the gas valve I ripped out right next the the pliers . It slides in the valve body quite easily . Slight click as it seats , no leak evident . I find the little spring thing that hit me on the nose and it ' s some sort of retaining ring that snaps neatly on the valve to keep the parts in place . I spit on the valve and smear it around . no bubbles . Wow , it really doesn ' t leak . Who would have thought ? I retrieve the torch , open the shutoff valve which now turns like it ' s brand new and have the furnace lit in about two minutes . I crawl out from under the house and Wife says Did you know that a gigantic kitty ran out from under the house while you were working ? I think you scared him .