Code Violation For Gas Line

Bobcat69

I currently have 2 -> 50 gal hot water tanks ( 40000 btu's each ) and

furnace (110000 btu ) about 75 feet total from meter (1 inch pipe).

from there about 15 feet to outside gas grill (BTU ? ) then about 40 feet to a pool heater ( 250,000 Btu ) . all at 1 inch pipe except where it goes to the grill 1/2 inch (taped into 1 inch pipe )

We are adding a GE Cooktop 48000 btu (max 5 burner ) . because of a finished basement (drywall ceiling ) I plan on taping into the gas line where it comes out of the house for the Grill /pool heater , it will be running 10 feet along the outside of house and then coming back into house , then running thru joist to where cooktop cabinet will be , , , is there any code violation of tapinging into a outside line , and then running back into the house ?

any help / comments are greatly appreciated

thanks Bob

JamesNLA

Bob, you got more problems than pipping violation. As far as I know, that is not blowing code. Don't take my word for it but I think that it OK.

Your problems are the huge HUGE undersizing of your gassing system. It's amazing things still work.

That pool heater should have it's OWN 2" gas line directly from the meter. The HWH's and furnace max out the 1" line you have, let alone all the other stuff you have on it. You might want to consider having a plumber properly size the gassing and correct it, as it stands it's really undersized.

gmp

Propane or natural gas? I bet if natural gas, even the meter is undersized also

JamesNLA

Probably right on that. If whoever put that heater in didn't size the line right, chances are they didn't change meters either.

However there is another possibility. I have heard that some utilities will go at a higher pressure on the service. Around here, SoCal Gas Co won't do it. Our meters usually give us about 7 to 10" of WC. I heard in other states that they will bump up as high as 25-35"WC and regulate all the appliances. Don't know if that is true or not, but an inspector trainer I know told me about that when we were working on a large job together. Have you ever heard of that? What if the regulator take a sheet, who pays for the new appliance?

gmp

Never seen that done on a residence before...only commercial and industrial.
Heck, worried about replacing the appliance...I'd worry bout replacement of a house or a life.

I need to locate my books on meter sizing. Seems to me that cubic feet per hour comes to mind

JamesNLA

I use gasTite's software to caulculate out all that. Pressure drops and CFH is the main variables but more often than not, guys just tap off the main trunk and call it a day. I will say however I have made good money correcting things like that, pool heaters at 250K and above.....different story.

Bobcat69

thanks for all your answers,

can anyone answer .....
what are the potential dangers of a undersized line ?

is it simply a matter of efficiency ?

the furnace is never ran at the same time as the pool heater, and never will be ....

everything seams to work just fine , and has for years

just curious

thanks again

Tippy

I had a homeowner that had a 250k BTU heater starving for fuel last night. The gas company came in and confirmed that the meter was too small. The previous gas co technicians who came in when the boiler was upgraded just bumped the pressure at the meter up to almost 20 inches of water to get the boiler to see the 7 inches required when under load. This "worked" for 2.5 years. However last night was cold so the whole distribution system was under load and the pressure dropped down enough to cause the boiler to howl and have post-ignition "pops". I would say the boiler was running extremely inefficiently starving for fuel. If I were in your shoes, I'd resize the pipe from the meter to the furnace, add the cooktop and then call the gas company in to put the correct meter in (or at least check the meter).

JamesNLA

The above reply is EXACTLY the answer to your question.
Not to mention there are some appliance manufacturers that will void your warranty if not properly installed, that also means gassing it correctly.

It doesn't matter that you will "never" run the pool heater and furnace at the same time, it's still undersized. If a pool heater wants 250K of gas, and you got a 1" line feeding it, it better be located right next to the meter, with it's own dedicated gase line, let alone feeding an entire house. Bottom line, is I don't personally think it's much of a safety issue. There is a code violation with the sizing so far out of wack. So that can get you in a few different ways. One, your stuff won't work properly and you could be damaging your gas appliances, possibly tripping a safety shutoff device, because a particular appliance is not getting what it is sopposed to be getting. Or #2 when that home goes up for sale, you just may get blessed with a savy buyer or inspector and they will want you to pay for the resizing or have Escrow pay for it, either way it will cost you cash and more importantly a possible sale of a home.

It's your house so do what you want, i think the replies you have been given have made it more than clear on what you should do.

Good Luck!!