Natural Gas. Pipe size and placement

[Alemaker]

I'm thinking of running (having a plumber run) a natural gas line to my back yard. I'd be using this for brewing of course, but would also like to run my gas grill on it too.

Is there a standard size pipe that they run for all gas lines? Or is there a size I want to make sure is run to have adequate fuel for brewing 10+ gallon batches?

Also, I guess most people hook up the hose to a connection on the side of the house? Or do they have the gas line run under the patio away from the house? I think I'd rather do the latter since I don't want to burn my house down or have a long gas hose running across the patio.

Just looking for some ideas here. Not sure about the costs involved in something like this either. Is tunneling under stuff to run gas pipe a big deal?

 

[JNye]

I'm thinking of running (having a plumber run) a natural gas line to my back yard. I'd be using this for brewing of course, but would also like to run my gas grill on it too.

Is there a standard size pipe that they run for all gas lines? Or is there a size I want to make sure is run to have adequate fuel for brewing 10+ gallon batches?

Also, I guess most people hook up the hose to a connection on the side of the house? Or do they have the gas line run under the patio away from the house? I think I'd rather do the latter since I don't want to burn my house down or have a long gas hose running across the patio.

Just looking for some ideas here. Not sure about the costs involved in something like this either. Is tunneling under stuff to run gas pipe a big deal?

I would use 1/2" plastic, completely underground. Too many factors to speculate on cost, How many feet of tunneling? How hungry is the guy you are hiring? If you dig it for him the cost will go way down. I am a plumber.

 

[Bobby_M]

In my opinion sizing depends on how far away the large main trunk is and how much BTU you think you might want to throw at the same time. How many burners? My rig burns a lot better when I connect to a 3/4" pipe in the back than on the 1/2" line in the garage.

Bottom line is there's not much downside to slightly oversizing. My vote is for 3/4".

 

[jmick]

I absolutely agree with BobbyM on the 3/4"

If you have to pay someone to dig and bury, there is no reason not to go big. You don't want to find out later that it was too small.

 

[JNye]

i actually agree too...i was speculating on size based on my situation, which would be one burner 25 feet away to my detached garage. but yours could be very different.

 

[Alemaker]

Thanks guys. This has been helpful.

So what about flexible hose? I'm assuming that I don't want to go too long on that, or else I'd be creating a bottleneck there. I don't know how large those can be.

Also, is there a risk of supplying too much pressure to smaller burners? Could I see a problem with incomplete combustion by over supplying gas? Or is that kind of self regulated with a smaller diameter connecting line at the burner itself?

 

[sourmash]

I run mine on 3/4" NG (standard brutus system with 3 wok burners 23 tip) and I ran a reinforced rubber hose with a quick disconnect. The disconnect is a bit on the pricey side but worth it in my opinion. My rig is hooked up easily 70 from the meter at the house and I have no problems with the flame.
http://www.instawares.com/dormont-in-snapfast.dor-a75.0.7.htm

 

[Marsdude]

I agree with the previous posts that using a larger gas line is better. No need to worry about too much pressure with a larger line. A larger line just provides more volume, the regulators will determine the pressure.

I did want to answer your last question:

Just looking for some ideas here. Not sure about the costs involved in something like this either. Is tunneling under stuff to run gas pipe a big deal?

It seems like you are thinking about running this gas line under your existing patio. I don't know the details but it is usually harder to tunnel under something that it is to trench around it if that is possible. Even though the trench and gas line that will go in it will be longer it should be easier and cheaper.

 

[Alemaker]

I agree with the previous posts that using a larger gas line is better. No need to worry about too much pressure with a larger line. A larger line just provides more volume, the regulators will determine the pressure.

I did want to answer your last question:



It seems like you are thinking about running this gas line under your existing patio. I don't know the details but it is usually harder to tunnel under something that it is to trench around it if that is possible. Even though the trench and gas line that will go in it will be longer it should be easier and cheaper.

I don't know if I'd have to tunnel under my patio, but to get to the main gas trunk, I'll probably have to tunnel under my driveway. The gas comes in on the side of the house near the garage, but the back yard is on the other side of the garage/driveway. I doubt anything that's already in the house is bigger than 1/2".

 

[motobrewer]

coming into your house is most likely 1" or 1 1/4". then you probably have 3/4 to your furnace / water heater.

 

[Alemaker]

coming into your house is most likely 1" or 1 1/4". then you probably have 3/4 to your furnace / water heater.

OK. I'll check it out. If that's the case, I may be able to tie on and run it over the garage through the attic. Then we could bury a line in front of the patio to about the center of it.

 

[Marsdude]

I don't know if I'd have to tunnel under my patio, but to get to the main gas trunk, I'll probably have to tunnel under my driveway. The gas comes in on the side of the house near the garage, but the back yard is on the other side of the garage/driveway. I doubt anything that's already in the house is bigger than 1/2".

OK, I can't quite visualize your situation but I will throw a couple of ideas out there that may or may not work for you.

I have seen gas line run just under the siding on the outside of a house, attached to the foundation wall. It was painted and blended in fairly well.

The other possibility is to run the gas line inside your garage, up the inside wall and in or attached to the roof, then down the other wall - if that would get you to where you need to go.

I have tunneled under a wide sidewalk before using lengths of 3/4" galvanized pipe attached to a running water hose. The water digs the tunnel for you. I hesitate to recommend this but it might work.

 

[Bobby_M]

Of course water tunneling will requires a decent sized trench on one side to allow for the initial length of pipe. You could use a bunch of 3' sections and keep adding as you go though. I'm sure the code varies by region, but in NJ, there's a rubber coated corrugated gas hose that is legal for use inside walls and such. It's a lot easier to retrofit through a house than black pipe. I don't think it's rated for exterior use, but I'd use it for my portable setup with quick disconnects.

You may have too much pressure with 3/4 without using a regulator at the point of use, but you sure don't want a restrictive line doing the regulating for you.