Gas line for 400k btu natural gas Pentair heater

Aug 5, 2017
6
Austin/TX
[h=2]Our gas company is going to be installing a 2PSI meter at the house. We will need a regulator on the house line to keep the pressure down. We will have a Pentair 400K BTU natural gas heater to heat the pool and spa. The run is about 130ft. We have dug an 18in trench from the meter to the pool equipment pad and installed 2.5in PVC pipe for the run. I assume we will need medium density polyethylene flexible gas pipe to run from the meter to the heater. 1-1/2 MDPE seems to be sold in 500ft rolls. However, I saw 1-1/4 MDPE in 150ft rolls (1-1/4" IPS SDR11 PE2708 Yellow MDPE Gas Pipe 150' Coil - Hdpe Supply) for $180. Anyway, what size/type of pipe do I need for this run? What type of regulators will I need?[/h]
 
I would suggest you hire a qualified gas plumber to do this. Installing the wrong size pipe yourself can result in a very dangerous CO situation inside your house.
 
Normal domestic appliance gas pressure is 0.25psi (~7" water). Does the pool heater have a built in regulator?


Thanks for the replies. I am not doing the install myself. I will be using a licensed plumber. However, I am setting things up for the plumber. The reason we are using a sleeve for the PE pipe is because it is going under concrete and I was told that this is the proper way to do the project. I understand that it may not have been necessary.

Thanks for the info on the domestic appliance gas pressure. Since we are getting a 2PSI meter, I assume we can use much smaller pipe and regulate the pressure at the Pentair MasterTemp Natural Gas Pool Heater. I went to a company that just sells gas pipe (Gajeske) and they stated that according to their charts 1-1/2 in pipe was overkill if we were running 2PSI through it and that 1" pipe would be much less expensive and easier to handle. Unfortunately, the pool manufacturer charts don't have gas pressures associated with them but it was clear from the charts the pipe company showed me that the 1" pipe would work fine if we regulated it after the run and immediately before the pool heater.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am not doing the install myself. I will be using a licensed plumber. However, I am setting things up for the plumber. The reason we are using a sleeve for the PE pipe is because it is going under concrete and I was told that this is the proper way to do the project. I understand that it may not have been necessary.

Thanks for the info on the domestic appliance gas pressure. Since we are getting a 2PSI meter, I assume we can use much smaller pipe and regulate the pressure at the Pentair MasterTemp Natural Gas Pool Heater. I went to a company that just sells gas pipe (Gajeske) and they stated that according to their charts 1-1/2 in pipe was overkill if we were running 2PSI through it and that 1" pipe would be much less expensive and easier to handle. Unfortunately, the pool manufacturer charts don't have gas pressures associated with them but it was clear from the charts the pipe company showed me that the 1" pipe would work fine if we regulated it after the run and immediately before the pool heater.

My 400k btu heater was run in the exact same way. The gas company installed a high pressure port in my meter and the plumber ran the pipe from there to another regulator just before the heater. The heater has its own regulator but I don't think it is designed for a high pressure gas line so it is stepped down at the heater first.
 
At 2psi the 1.25 is fine but u have a long run so I wouldn't drop to 1 inch. The stuff isn't easy to fish thru conduit did u just sleeve under the concrete or do u have it off the whole way? If it's the whole way of fish it thru b4 u backfill in case u can't make it u can cut conduit to just where u need to get under slab.

Depends on where they step down u need 2 regulators. 1 at the house main to keep house at .25 or .50 whatever u have now and another b4 the heater to step it down there too u can't feed it 2psi it has a range of water column inputs


Don't forget ur tracer wire and u need foil tape above the line stating underground gas pipe the supplier will have both
 
At 2psi the 1.25 is fine but u have a long run so I wouldn't drop to 1 inch. The stuff isn't easy to fish thru conduit did u just sleeve under the concrete or do u have it off the whole way? If it's the whole way of fish it thru b4 u backfill in case u can't make it u can cut conduit to just where u need to get under slab.

Thanks for the advice. It is the whole way, but we haven't done the gunite yet. Since it needs to be inspected as does the electrical, we will do the work and the inspections prior to the pour. As for the tracer wire, if we are burying the electrical and the gas in the same trench, is the tracer wire still necessary? Is it required by code?
 
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