Pex for temp. gas line ?

Rod Kotiga

 Hi all.

Has anyone ever used barrier or non barrier pex for a temporary gas line ?  I've got job where we think the gas line that's buried in the ceiling might be kinked and therefore supplying a hot water heater with erratic gas pressure when its firing. So what I was thinking is running a temp gas line with some 3/4" pex from the regulator to the water heater as a test only.  But i didn't want to be the first to break new ground and do something highly dangerous. If that's the case I'll just go buy a roll of Csst and use that for my test.



Rod K.

Gordy

I.d.

I think the I.d. Of 3/4" pex and black pipe are slightly different.



Not that I would approve such a use for pex temporary or not.

SWEI

Not PEX

but there are some approved PEX-AL-PEX options.

Jean-David Beyer

I do not know the gas codes, but I bet it is illegal.

Around here you cannot even use soldered copper tubing for natural gas. I suppose they worry that if the solder melts during a fire, there would be gas leaks and they would not want that.



How well does PEX stand up in a fire? Because if that stuff melted or burned, I would expect it to leak even worse that copper tubing.

Steamfitter66

MDPE is for underground gas only.

NO non metallic system is approved for indoor use. However construction sites have used an approved rubber hose before occupancy. If the house is occupied then csst or black pipe are the only approved options here. P AL P is approved for compressed air but not fuel gas pipping. No copper here either.

Zman

Gas pressure

If you test the pressure at the meter end of the system and get the same fluctuations, the problem is not in the line.

Is this a demand water heater? Is the line sized correctly?

Carl

Steamfitter66

I should have read your OP carefully.

Why would you need a temp gas line? I f you are qualified to work on gas lines you should Know what you need to do. A temp line is not needed. A simple gauge will tell you all you need to know.

icesailor

Copper and Nat. Gas:

It is illegal in most jurisdictions to use copper tube on Natural Gas. Not so on LP Gas. Nat. Gas is supposed t be corrosive. When Nat. Gas was manufactured, there was a lot of water vapor in it and the condensate was extremely corrosive. That's why they require drip nipples at low points and gas appliances. Most Natural Gas today is very dry and they use LPG and other dry gasses to control the BTU output of the gas. It probably doesn't make any difference today but most codes do not allow copper tube on Natural Gas. At least, not in Massachusetts.

Plus, you can't carry a lot of BTU's in 1/2# Naturel Gas.

j a_2

Get Help

I highly advise you to get someone in there that is lic, and insured…..Your question alone makes no sense…

Gordy

Just wondering

How an approved concealed gas line could become kinked?