Natural gas line question

Wile E

Well-known Member
Well....after many years I will getting natural gas brought down my road.
I need to know what I can use for gas line after it gets into my house.
My current propane is on the opposite end of where the natural gas will be installed. (So I cannot just use the existing black pipe)
I have never seen plastic tubing used for natural gas line, but I see that the gas line under the road being installed a mile away is heavy 4" diameter stuff. Can a guy use 1" diameter poly tube to hook up under a house?
Running 60+ feet of black pipe with the couplers will really be a pain in the azz.
 
Gas co will put it to your meter. After that, it's black pipe, unless some of the newer, high tech materials I saw on this old house, have been approved in your state.
 
There are plastic lines approved for gas. I'm not sure what you mean by "poly tube", but if you're talking about polyethylene water line, fugetaboutit. It's definitely not approved.

Googling "polyethylene gas lines" gives quite a few hits for companies that sell approved plastic pipe. However, I think this product is intended for underground burial and is NOT approved for use indoors.

Personally, if this pipe is going to be exposed, I would go with black pipe. That way you'll never have to worry about accidentally damaging it. But if it's impractical to install black pipe, you might look into corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST). You can use it indoors and it will be much easier to install than black pipe. I know that Lowes carries it, plus there are plenty of online sources.

The Gastite company site as a lot of information on PE and CSST gas pipe.
Gastite
 
They used Wardflex when plumbing my Kohler generator. None of the local plumbing warehouses will sell it to anyone unless they're licensed plumbers. Hire a licensed plumber they may do a leakdown test. Hal
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CSST corrugated stainless steel gas piping is approved in quite a few areas but you need a license and the stuff needs to be bonded to your ground of the electrical. In MN the gas co buries it to the meter and then it is your responsibility. Permits need to be pulled etc.They may be bringing in 2psig or better so pressure reducers are needed in the house for whatever appliances/furnaces you need.Puncture protection is also necessary.
 
I am building new house and will have Propane but the materials are similar. From the tank high pressure regulator a riser connects to the poly pipe. The poly pipe cannot have any sunlight exposure so the risers are 48" and 72" long and the pipe buried. The poly pipe will run from the tank riser about 75' to a tee used for poly pipe. One leg of the tee goes to the house where another riser will connect to a low pressure regulator. From there black iron pipe goes into the house.

The other leg of the tee goes another 75' to a separate building through another riser and another low pressure regulator. I had thought about running the ply to the shop but that will have to wait another budget.
 
We have run a lot of it in soft copper. You have to air test it and cannot cover any flare connections. I have seen it silver soldered and covered up though. In some states copper is not allowed.
 

You do know that the gas company or a plumber will have to certify your appliances for natural gas don't you?
 
Back in the 80s we ran a 4in Schedule 80, PVC. for 4.5 miles to 5 miles in one run from a gas well on our property to a bunch or Irrigation wells. We had meeters and Little Joes too. Southern Union Gas gave us the requirements and the Schedule 80, PVC filled the bill. Ask your local gas supplier to make sure what is Correct!
Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.
 
We crossed 3 county roads, so we used 6in steel casing to run the 4in PVC in where we crossed the roads, the ROW portion.
Later,
John A.
 
I would agree, get the gas company to pipe it to your meter on the house. It can be in steel after that. They will probably use orange or yellow plastic that is rated for gas.

Your appliances will need larger jets.
 
Unless there is a reason for the gas company not to do so, I would have them do the underground run to where your existing black steel pipe is and have your meter there, rather than just going to the closest corner. It might cost a little more and be more work digging the ditch for the plastic pipe they use, but I think it would be worth it to have it done right, the first time.

You might want to do some thinking about possible future modifications you might do to your house and yard, and plan the underground gas line route to avoid those future plans. I wish that when we put a natural gas line and electrical lines to my new house, that we had put them on the other side of the foundation. The way the buried lines are now, I cannot add on to my garage, since I would be covering the buried lines. I wish I had thought of that before I did it!

And everything that works with propane now will have to be modified or replaced to work with natural gas. It takes a LOT more volume of natural gas to produce the same amount of heat as propane.

A friend of mine was fixing up an older mobile home for his widowed mother to live in some years ago. It had gas appliances and they hooked it up to a fairly large propane tank. The first time they tried to light the cooktop in the kitchen, they had flames nearly to the ceiling and darn near burned the thing down. That was when they figured out that the gas appliances were set up to use natural gas. It took a service call from someone who really knew what he was doing working with gas to get all the appliances working properly with propane. The service call was not that expensive and neither were the needed parts.

You also probably will need to have the modified system inspected, so it might pay to find out what the inspector will require beforehand. I think you will enjoy being hooked up to natural gas--we sure do. Lots easier and lots less expensive. Good luck!
 
You need to have a licensed gas fitter hook everything up anyway and they'll know what to use. Hooking up ANY gas lines is not a DIY project. It's not something to try and do on a budget to save money. The tiniest leak and BOOM!!! your house is gone!
 
Not knowing where you are makes answering difficult. You may or may not have local (even if rural area) codes you need to follow exactly (for insurance purposes).

Depending on soil conditions you may need to wrap black steel pipe to protect it. In my area, bare black pipe lasts about three years before it rots. Stray electrical currents can contribute to this problem and you can't afford proper cathodic protection in this case.

Try using yellow polyethylene (PE) plastic gas pipe rated for natural gas. The black or orange pipe will work fine but the yellow is intended as a marker indicating gas service not to be confused with water.

You do not need corrugated stainless steel encased in plastic.

When using PE also use the epoxy-coated risers and connectors available to fit it. Don't mar the epoxy coating using pipe wrenches and when you do cover it well with PasCo or similar pipe-wrap tape.

If you have rodents in your area or for additional protection sleeve the PE inside larger OD PVC pipe and install metallic GAS PIPE label tape in trench---mostly so you can be reminded when later digging in area and also so you or someone can find your PE by using a line-finder.

Before covering trench lay in poison to keep the burrowing rodents at bay.

Be sure your trench is deep enough--typically 18-in below grade for gas service.

Run one size larger PE than you think you need so you can expand appliances later without starving for gas pressure. If a long run consider having gas company install high-pressure meter (it's not really 'high pressure', just more than the 11-in water column gas pressure output they usually install); then set a 'standard pressure' regulator at the structure entry. That way you'll always have plenty of gas pressure.

Ask the gas company if you need a drip-leg at structure entry, especially in cold weather. NatGas is usually 'clean' but sometimes especially in new lines can transport trash. May (low probability) need to install methanol into your line first winter to prevent freeze-up if lines are wetted and not dried thoroughly.

Drip-leg could be a T entered from the side with a long nipple below and cap. Above this T rise with a nipple to another T entered on side. Plug as needed. Idea is to make gas turn a couple corners and let trash and water fall to bottom. You'd be surprised what you find after a couple years of a new line.

You'll need to change jets in gas applicances. Most people will try to sell you new applicances. Have to find a competent plumber or gas-tech to do the switch. Replacement jets are getting hard to find but can be located if you are resourceful. I do my own by brazing hole and using a lathe to redrill but finding someone in your area to do this will be a challenge due to liability issues.

In your installation install more brass ball valves and T's and crosses than you think you'll ever need. Unions are handy for later work too.

Check every joint with soapy water and double-check that every connection has had wrench on it and is tight. Use quality pipe thread sealant rated for gas.

Enjoy your new found freedom from propane.

Next step would be installation of natural gas standby generator for added protection against natural calamities. Keep in mind most late-model natural gas appliances today require grid power to operate, just like your gas furnace needs power for its blower.

Please post back and advise you your project progresses so that we may all learn.
 
Second home I bought last Fall had propane. After filling the 500 gal tank TWICE while only keeping the vacant house at 55 last winter, made the decision easier to switch to natural gas in spite of the initial cost. Gas main ended at the house next door (grrrr). Gas company surveyed neighbors beyond me and said $5k if they get 7 out of 10 to connect. None did. It cost me $8k to pull the main the few hundred feet. Saved about a grand by having them put it on the side nearest the neighbor with gas which was opposite of where the propane entry was. They put the line in on Friday. Spent about $200 on black pipe and about 6 hrs of work on Sunday (in the crawl space) to extend it from the meter location across the house closer to the appliances.

I had converted an old stove I had from nat gas to propane when we bought the house and will now convert it back (simple job, flip the orifice and adjust the pilots, about a 5 minute job). Furnace needs to be converted but I'm probably going to have a HVAC guy do that. Gas company won't install the meter until at least one appliance is hooked up for natural gas. They'll do a pressure test and check for leaks before any appliances are lit.
 

There is nothing wrong with using galvanized water pipe for low pressure natural gas, in fact gas company recommends it.
I have seen natural gas corrode the inside of soft copper pipe and plug it up.

Dusty
 
Your local licensed master plumber will know what to install. Your appliances will have be converted for NG use. Hal
 

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