It's starting to get cold up north and I need to start thinking about heating my garage. I scored a free furnace this summer but I'm looking for advice on how to run the natural gas lines. What type of line should I use underground? I can run black pipe to the outside of my house and inside the garage but I've heard I should use plastic underground. I looked for it at the local Home Depot but didn't see anything like that. Is it a specialty product/am I going to have a hard time getting it because I'm not a plumber? Can I connect the black pipe to it outside or do I need to convert to some type of plastic inside the house? Sorry for all of the questions but I've had a really hard time finding any info on the subject. Thanks -JAM
Run soft copper, I have had mine buried for about 20 years so far, no probs. And make sure that your flame is at least a couple feet off the floor. Flammable fumes tend to gather near the floor and can explode if the furnace flame is too low. I built a stand to get mine about three feet off the floor, I used to install furnaces for a living and i know it is code around here to have the flame up that high in a garage.
I'm not too sure about your neck of the woods but typically I see a green coated metal pipe ran underground for gas out here in Cali. I would ***ume you could use thick wall PVC however make sure you stick it atleast 12 inches in the ground. I am sure you know this but I will say it anyway ventalation is REAL important.
Too many questions. 1. Is the garage a separate building from the house? If it is, it will have to have a separate shut off valve so the fire department can isolate the gas to the garage in case of a fire. Some cities/counties or gas utilities require a separate meter. 2. Inside the building use A53 black iron (steel) pipe and fittings. Your local building code may require a licensed plumber install all the gas pipe. Getting a gas tight seal on the steel pipe takes practice. 3. Your building code may allow plastic pipe underground for gas, but you need to check. It will not allow PVC. Most plastic gas piping is Polyethelyene (PE) and it is specifically rated for natural gas and uses fusion joints. Most gas utilities will want to install any underground gas lines or have a licensed plumber install it. 4. The heater will have to be mounted off the floor at least 18 inches. 5. The line to the furnace should come down to a tee with the branch going to the flex to the furnace. The down run of the tee should have at least 8 in. of pipe with a cap on it for a drip leg. This will be used to collect dirt, etc. I could go on and on. You should get a building permit for this. I have had cities in my area require people to back fit building permits when they discover work completed without a permit. And they don't make it easy to get the back fit permit and the fees are more than they would have been. Also, if there is any damage to the house or garage from a faulty furnace or installation, the insurance company can deny payment if the furnace was not installed with a permit. Think about this seriously.
It's been 25 years since I've done any gas piping but I would be flabergasted if they now allowed any pvc pipe in your area for natural gas. For screw pipe you need galvanized or maliable iron fittings so that they wont break if hit by accident. I'd get a hold of a licenced gas fitter in your area. This is nothing to play with. Advice from some stranger like me on a message board is just not too smart. Maybe you can pay him to inspect your work on the side to see that it meets code. It just aint worth it.
I'm gonna run mine in a sepearte pvc line with soft copper inside of that. If I have a problem, I'll just pull it out and replace it. This is the same way I do all my underground stuff.....never dig again... Yes, build a frame and get it off the floor..... I'm no expert, but there seems to be some really good advice here.......glad you asked, I'm getting read to do the same thing.... I've been taking an AC&R cl*** and the instructor gave me a free gas furnace and 2 ton AC condensing unit........going strait to the garage!!!!!
My local BIG plumbing supply store sells the plastic gas pipe and the fittings. About 8 years ago 50 foot of pipe and 2 fittings cost $100.00. Mike
DO NOT USE COPPER TUBING OR GALVANIZED PIPE. Copper and galvanized both react to natural gas and I have personally seen the results Copper is permissible if it is tin lined the tin protects the copper from the gas. Check my moniker I've been doing this for 10 years, those of you that have used copper should get rid of it immediately. Use either a coated black pipe that is meant for being buried or pe plastic (polyethelyne) pipe. Better yet hire it done if you don't know what you are doing.
I know I'm an old fart and not up to date on all the new products but we just had a big problem in Maryland. The Washington Gas co., our local supplier, just had to replace a bunch of underground fittings after a customers house was blown into kindling wood. It was something to see. Fortunately noone was home. Some new fangled rubber gasket affair that was obviously up to code when it was installed. I'm betting the code will be changed. They drug their feet because the problem was so widespread until the house disintegrated. If you saw what happened to this house you'd probably want an expert to check out your work. The leak was underground but the gas found it's way inside. For the record...I said galvanized fittings not pipe. It may have changed but gas lines were always black pipe with galvanized fittings (easily identified) because all galvanized fittings are malliable iron and not cast iron.
As a licensed gas fitter, I would recommend you get someone qualified to do it. They will know the local regulations as they are not universal. Some allow copper in the ground, galvanized fittings are not illegal where I am from, and using a house furnace in a garage can be a problem. I would recommend building a little pad and add on to the side of your garage and placing the furnace out there. That way it can be supplied with its own combustion air and garage fumes shouldn't affect it. You can run a duct from the furnace room to the shop. They also have dampers for the duct to prevent fumes from entering it when the furnace is not blowing. If you do install it in your garage, make sure it is at least 18 inches from the ground to the pilot. This varies from area to area. Also if you are going to spray or use any thinners a great deal, shut the gas off until you are finished. A biggie is don't store gasoline anywhere near a furnace. I have attended several fires that were started that way. Only difference between lp and gas is the size of the explosion. As lp is heavier than air it will build up in the entire room or house to a level where it reaches an ignition point and then cause an explosion you will not believe. Natural gas is lighter than air so tends to go up and away from an ignition source. My recommendation is get a professional to install it. Where I live now, the homeowner can't do their own installations. Has to be a qualified installer. Makes sense to me. Don't know how many times I had to red tag a faulty homeowner install. Faulty as in you could kill yourself. Fordnutz
Thanks for the advice. I hate paying people to do stuff for me but in this case, it's probably a good idea.
Hi In My Humble opinion which as a Master Plumber I feel i am qualified to answer or provide you some help.First you need to determine the BTU of the furnace.Then you need to calculate the feet of pipe and fittings.You will also need to find out what other appliances tie into this line to properly size it. I don't know your exact building code but copper, galvinized or Trac pipe maybe acceptable. The problem with laying pipe underground are the fittings.Trac pipe is available in a single coil of 250'. It must be sleeved underground and can only be purchased and installed by a certified tracpipe installer.You are not supposed to be allowed to purchase the products with supplying your lic # to the supplierAs far as the heater it must def be installed a min. of 18" off the fllor due to explosive vapors hanging out down by the floor.When i lived in NY I had a Modine Space heater .Hung it from the ceiling .Plugged the fan into an outlet .wired a thermostat and in 10 mins you could work in a t shirt while there was 2 feet of snow on the ground.Also you might want to check out northen hydraulics for a propane radiant heater much easier to use and no h***le to install units usually sit right on top of BBQ style tank and heat extremely well .hope this helped
Sorry forgot to describe trac pipe .It is a stainless steel corrugated tubing which can be run without any fittings to make bends.It is available in 250' coil.Copper is also available in coils but anything over 100' is tuff to get.If you have a barnett/Wilmar supply they list 200' copper coils but they are special order
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