Gas Line Requirements

[counciloak]

Hey Everyone,

I bought my house a couple summers ago and the previous owners left a brand new Raypak 266A pool heater in the pool shed. They never hooked it up to gas or electric but did have the pool plumbing connected (currently in bypass). I'm hoping to get it running this year but I think I stumbled on why it was never connected. There is a 1/2" gas line running to the shed, and after reading the manual for this product, it looks like 3/4" is the smallest size line that will connect. Furthermore, it is about 86 feet from the meter to the to the heater and based on the maximum length requirements in the manual, I would need a minimum 1.25" line to reach that far. I believe that my gas service is only 1" going into the meter. I was hoping to run a new 1" line back to the heater but I'm worried that this would be a huge waste of time.

Wondering if anyone has any advice, or if I'm out of luck. Also I am pretty ignorant when it comes to gas line related things, so I'll attach the length chart that I am referring to. Hoping that I'm just misinterpreting the chart

 

[ajw22]

Nope, you are reading the chart correctly.

What is the CFH rating of your house gas meter? Post pics of the meter and the data plates it has.

There is high pressure gas service that uses smaller pipes and regulators by each device to lower the pressure and there is low pressure gas service that needs larger pipes. You need to talk to your gas company about what your options are for gas service.

 

[counciloak]

Thanks for the help! Here is my meter and a sus looking 1/2" line going to the pool shed.
It's a 5 bedroom house with 2 furnaces and it stays pretty warm in Northern Indiana winters. Hoping that it's not undersized

 

[ajw22]

You have only 250 CFH feeding your house which is inadequate for a 266K gas heater even if you had no other gas appliances running.

It looks like you have have high pressure gas service with a regulator reducing the gas pressure at the meter. They may be able to chnage it to high pressure through your house pipes and then you need a regulator by each appliance.

What other gas appliances do you have?

You need to talk to your gas company about what your options are. Some gas companies upgrade the gas service and meter at no charge since they want to to use more gas.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The meter needs to be upgraded and you need to run a buried 1-1/2” diameter gas line. Don’t worry about the connection reducing down at the meter, that’s fine. What you need if for the buried portion of gas line to be at the correctly rated diameter. Then you will bring up with the appropriate riser and connect it to the heater which likely requires 3/4” pipe.

If you want to use high pressure then you need to check local Bildungsroman codes. Many places don’t allow high pressure lines to be buried. They have to be run on exterior mounted pipe.

 

[JamesW]

Assuming a 2 psi service, the line will probably work.

https://hayward-pool-assets.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/UHS-Manual-Rev-C.pdf

 

[counciloak]

Great! Thanks for the advice. All appliances in the house are gas (2 furnaces, 50 gal water heater, dryer, and gas fire place), except for the oven. I don't see regulators on any of the drops going to those appliances. I'll give Nipsco a call in the morning.
@JoyfulNoise Are you saying that 1/2" branch is usable, as long as I connect it to 1-1/2" for the underground run? Thanks!

 

[JamesW]

Can you show all writing on the other side of this regulator?



Assuming 125 total feet when accounting for fittings, a 2 psi service can deliver 414 cubic feet per hour or 414,000 btu/hr.

 

[counciloak]

OK I did my best. There is some writing on the nut on the back side but getting my camera to focus on it wasn't easy.

 

[JamesW]

Ok, that is low pressure (3.5 to 10.5” w.c.).

I would have the gas company replace the meter with one big enough for everything.

You can change the regulator before the heater to a 2 psi regulator and then put a regulator on the line going into the house and a regulator at the heater.

Is the 1/2” line old and rusty?

Alternatively, you can stay low pressure with a bigger meter and run a new 1.5” gas line to the heater.

 

[counciloak]

Talked to the gas company and they want $800 for an upgrade...oof.

I asked about the 2 PSI regulator and he said that I would also need a regulator on each appliance if I went that route. They won't touch anything downstream from the meter.

Looks like my best bet is to upgrade and then run 1-1/2" back to the heater.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Talked to the gas company and they want $800 for an upgrade...oof.

I asked about the 2 PSI regulator and he said that I would also need a regulator on each appliance if I went that route. They won't touch anything downstream from the meter.

Looks like my best bet is to upgrade and then run 1-1/2" back to the heater.

That’s lame. 10 years ago when we had our pool built the gas company was more than happy to upgrade us for free … the bigger the meter, the more gas the customer can use, the more revenue the gas company makes … win-win-win for the gas supplier! In fact, the guy that showed up to make the switch had several different sized meters on his truck and he asked me to pick the one the I wanted. I knew everything in my house maybe added up to 500kBTU/hr at most so I was like “Give me the million BTU model!” Guy laughed and he said, “Mister Big Bucks!!”

Oh well, sounds like you have a plan. Looks like there’s a trencher rental in your future (if you wish to save your back!).

 

[JamesW]

Looks like there’s a trencher rental in your future (if you wish to save your back!).

Make sure that all utilities are marked so that you do not cut through anything.

 

[JamesW]

Looks like my best bet is to upgrade and then run 1-1/2" back to the heater.

Most likely, 1-1/4" would work, but I would probably do 1-1/2" unless the cost is a lot higher.

Your local plumber should be able to recommend the correct size.

As the chart below shows, 1-1/4" is good for 400,000 btu/hr to 100 feet or 250,000 btu/hr to 200 feet.

 

[counciloak]

@JamesW Thanks for the advice and extra documentation!

Looks like the 1-1/2" is only a few extra bucks per fitting, so I'll probably go that route.
My plan is to have a professional come in and disconnect the 1/2" branch at the meter and replace with 1-1/2" and a shutoff (trying to avoid personal interaction with the setup at the meter). Then I'll run the new pipe through the yard, put risers on both ends, and install the hardlines through the shed to the unit.

I have done a decent amount of plumbing in the past, home repairs on water lines and worked for the sewer department for 12 years. Does this sound like a task I could take on myself?

 

[JamesW]

Does this sound like a task I could take on myself?

Only you can decide if you feel comfortable doing a project.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Again, this is where you might look into local building codes. Some municipalities might require a pressure test to be performed on any new line you install in order to get a “green tag” that the gas company would require before hooking up their source to your plumbing. You should check first and see what is required. You may be able to do the pressure test yourself and in the presence of a building inspector to get the go ahead or your local building code office might require it to be done by a licensed gas plumber. It varies a lot from location to location.

 

[JamesW]

I asked about the 2 PSI regulator and he said that I would also need a regulator on each appliance if I went that route.

You could put one regulator on the line going into the house and a second regulator at the heater if you wanted to do 2 psi and use the existing line.

However, the line looks old and maybe in poor condition.

So, I would do a new line unless you were sure that the existing line was in good condition.