Natural Gas

Termite

Excellent logic, and a very good explanation.

From the table for a little reassurance...

1" pipe running 60' = maximum 260,000btu/h (a little undersized for your total future load)

1-1/4" pipe running 60' = maximum 530,000btu/h (more than adequate)

javan

This was a good read for a guy getting ready to run gas to a new furnace, as well as swapping out the old 40 gal gas-fired wh for a wall mounted instantaneous.

Thanks guys!

Termite

Glad to hear it Javan. Adding a tankless water heater to a home's gas system is equivalent to adding an average furnace, in terms of gas demand. It often requires some re-plumbing to get it done.

javan

I am comfortable with the pipe size I have coming into the house to feed the furnace and the WH. Just need to run the new pipe to the furnace, since I already have a gas WH. Just the flex needs to be upsized to the new WH. I may start another thread for this though.

jamiedolan

Thank you very much for the confirmation on this. So with the 1-1/4 inch pipe, It sounds like I could even add a Tank less water heater at some point if I wanted to. (I've seen them up to 199,000 BTU)..

I am wondering if you know where I can get 1-1/4 inch black Iron and fittings? I checked with the big box stores and they do not carry 1-1/4 black iron pipe nor the fittings. I am checking with some plumbing supply houses to see if there is someone that will sell me a few pieces of pipe retail.

With my Gas Meter, Should I check with the gas company and see if there is an upgraded meter that should be installed at all? or is my current meter adequate for my current and future needs? Would my current meter support the full 530,000BTU/h with 1-1/4"? So whats the limit to the amount of gas the 1 inch (gas co side) can supply? I take it that gas is much different than water where a 1 inch line can only even put out something like 14 GPM @ 60psi. (I assume it is different because water is the same pressure coming into the meter and it is going out into your home, and gas is some higher PSI coming in and it is 1/2 psi going out into your home?

Thanks Again.
Jamie

Termite

Any decent plumbing supply house will have 1-1/4" black iron pipe. Shorter nipples might be harder to come by...Most plumbers cut and thread on site (you can probably rent the tools if you want). You may need to have them cut and thread your short lengths, if any.

As for the meter, I don't know. Nearly all meters deliver 1/2psi, but I was unaware that there were meters for higher gas demands. I would contact the gas utility and inquire about your current meter versus your future gas demand needs.