Natural Gas Question

[abdij]

Just moved to SLC and our house has a gas hookup outside from the past resident's hot tub. Unfortunately he took the hot tub with him. The upside is that I can now hopefully brew with natural gas. I know basically nothing about natural gas but just got the natural gas conversion kits for my Blichmann burners. Here's my question: I know that setting up natural gas is something that you want to have a professional do, but, since I've already got this connection, do I need a pro? If not, could someone point me to a resource to or explain what I need to do to hook up two Blichmanns? Thanks.

(can't figure out how to rotate the image. the valve isn't pointing up. the picture needs to be rotated 90 degrees)

 

[chawn]

You're dealing with less than a pound of pressure. I imagine you can handle it.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

ditch the blichmanns and get yourself a double industrial natural gas wok burner. those suckers are like a gazillion btu's!!

 

[Singletrack]

I am not one to use a "professional" for much of anything, since I consider myself a Renaissance human, but I say you are right to use caution with gas. Either take the time to learn about it, or hire someone.

Do your own research, but a BBQ hose with a quick disconnect may be a good solution for your case. Codes vary, but if your Home Depot has them... (Not what I would do, but you know, Renaissance and all that.)

BTW, I use the Blich on NG. Good setup.

Edit: I see you have 2 burners. In that case, in may not be as easy as screwing on one BBQ hose. ...and I guess that's all I want to say. Best wishes.

 

[illinibrew04]

I just hooked my brew stand up to natural gas and it runs three blichmann burners very well. You do need a hose with quick disconnect. I bought the 1/2 ID model here:

http://www.tejassmokers.com/NatGasHoses.htm

Yes, it's more expensive, but it feels very well made and I wanted the higher flow through the 1/2" as opposed to the big box grill hookups which are 3/8". Get the shortest one you can since longer hose causes more drop in your BTU's. I haven't noticed any significant difference in my burner performance since switching btw.

Also, you need something to hook up to the flare fitting in your conversion needle valve. I used the 1/2" x 3/8" flare reducers here:

http://www.brasscatalog.com/catalog...=SAE+45+Deg+Flare&shape=&master=Flare+Reducer

I then connected to the yellow appliance connectors you can get at Home Depot or lowes. I did my own plumbing with iron pipe and it wasn't that hard to do. Just get yourself a pipe wrench and use plenty is sealant. I hope this helps as I had some trouble piecing together parts.

 

[ndinh]

First off, just be glad the past owner took the hot tub. Our house came with a nice jacuzzi and it was a pain and expensive to maintain and heat up. Ditched it and now we have a real backyard. Now back to your question. I bought the same 1/2" NG hose with the quick disconnect as recommended above. They're worth every penny and feels super safe and thick. The hose is connected to my stand and the disconnect is connected to the house gas outlet like yours. Since yours already has a valve, it's much easier since you won't need to shut your house gas line off. I would remove the rusted 'T' and buy a SS nipple (looks like 1/2" opening but measure to make sure). The nipple will screw into your valve that's already there and the disconnect will screw into that. If you can't remove the 'T' just screw the disconnect directly onto your current setup. If you wan't the disconnect pointing down, you can buy a SS elbow. Make sure you use the yellow gas tape on the threads and not the white one that we all use for liquids. Good luck and a NG setup is the best upgrade I've done.