Gas line for pool heater

This seems just like another thread that was active about a week ago.

That depends on your incoming gas pressure and the size of your other appliances.

However I highly doubt tapping off of the current 1" line will be a good idea but that also depends on how far it is from the gas meter and how many turns it has.

It's possible your current meter will work, but it's also possible it won't.

You'll need to know the total btu/h your appliances (Furnace, water heater, stove etc) and you need to know the incoming gas pressure before you can start to figure out anything. It may be best to get someone in there that does gas work if you don't know how to get those.

No. You need a Professional Licensed Master Plumber to size and design the heater, piping, meter size. Definite building permit and gas pressure test. Mad Dog

Don't matter, Chris. Only Licensed plumbers should be working on gas piping. End of story.I don't know of any gas supplying utility that DOESNT require that. Do you? Mad Dog

Gas? On Long Island? MD

Things had gotten way too Lax with natural gas. A few years ago we had some real disasters where unlicensed guys did shoddy gas work the lead to explosions with injuries in NYC. A LMP that was signing off for them (illegal) got charged h Licensed revocked.

Following that, the D.O.T. (Federal) got involved. Now, with the new gas qualifications, even Licensed, master plumbers are not allowed to work in any gas piping before and through the Gas meter without the specific train. Furthermore, the ONLY person s authorized to shut off gas to the building is the gas utility.

In a dire emergency, any one can shut the gas cock off, but cannot turn it back on. The new law and certification is VERY clear that even a L.M.P. cannot shut the main gas cock before the meter or on the meter. The only exception is he installed an additional gas shut off cock downstream of the meter, which will involve a permit & gas pressure test.

So, what this means, if you want to or need to shut the gas off to change a gas cock on a boiler, HWH or any appliance, or do any pipe work, ONLY the gas utility can turn off & on. People wait a long time waiting for them. Mad Dog

@Mad Dog_2

How would the inspector or gas utility know if someone shut off the gas to make a repair? You fix what you have to fix and fire everything back up. What that will lead to is someone doing it on the fly with a live line.

As an electrician, were not supposed to cut a meter seal or remove a meter without permission. So when the panel is going up in flames or the main breaker is bad were supposed to just let it burn the house down.

I had this happen to me in East Hartford a few years back. Relative called me with lights blinking and no 240 volt appliances working, no heat and snowing out Friday night. Bad meter socket with wires arcing didn't (but could have) easily burned the house down. Electric meter was locked with a POCO lock so couldn't pull the meter. Had to go up a ladder in the snow and cut the live wires off at the service drop and wait for the utility

One leg of the power was arcing in the meter. When the utility got there we disconnected the bad leg which only left them with 120v for the weekend. Moved the boiler circuit to the good leg which gave them heat but no HW or stove.

even I did my gas line for my permitted and inspected boiler, and I can tell you when I reran it, it was a lot cleaner than whoever threw every weird length of pipe and fitting down there previously.

LRCCBG. No, it's not the exact same thing.

1. A master plumbing contractor's license, insurance, WC, Bonds, et al, protects the client if something goes wrong. You have someone liable to go after. What can you take away from an unlicensed uninsured guy that blows the building up? Nada.
2. "Employees Under the direct supervision of the LMP" are allowed to work on gas piping. That doesn't mean that ONLY the LMP can touch gas OR that he has to be present, looking over his guys' shoulder. Good LMP's & his foreman & supers are very experienced and will police their own employees work, gas & otherwise. They train them and see the results of their work on a daily basis.
3. An LMP that "Covers" is most often unscrupulous and won't even verify that the guy has any clue what he's doing. It's all about a easy buck. They hurt our industry & Laws that are in place, I Blame them, largely.
4. "Signing off and "covering" anyone under your license, who is not your employee is illegal. unfortunately, it is overlooked & ignored more & more. In fact, it's a free for all. Our trade is a mess.

People are slashed and pushed in front of trains just about every day in NYC...just because it's the norm, doesn't mean we should throw up our hands are let it be, right? If those of you spent the years, time, dedication, and money, and deal with compliance issues that WE have, you'd see things differently.

I don't know everyone's trade, profession or licenses here, but they are in place for sound reasons. Just because I can take my Hand, grab a scalpel, and make an incision, doesn't mean I'm licensed or qualified to do medical procedures. You guys mind if I operate in YOUR field with no training, licenses or certificates? What's the big deal?

Simple DIY projects are fine. Ill even tell you how to do things, to a point. But, when it crosses over in to LIFE SAFETY issues or possible environmental damage, like Natural gas, Propane, Fuel oil, Carbon monoxide, going in to an electrical panel, why don't we leave that to professionals who do this everyday. Each man/woman to their trade... Mad Dog

Agreed Ed...You don't have to go much past Westchester County to see Hillbilly Plumbin & Heatin...Eastern Long Island too! The biggest issue I see is they don't really like what they do..forget about loving it...no enthusiasm...no pride. I can count on one hand the Plumbing & Heating guys, I've known who actually SOUGHT to join the trade. Most of us fall in to it...good $$$, steady.

Guys that come here and lurk here are a rare breed. If I hit Megamillions and never had to hold a real job again, I'd have a Big Horse Rescue Farm with all kinds of pets, Motocross Course & Bikes, Hunt & Fish alot, take care of all my fambly and friends....but still install, design, repair plumbing & heating…it's THAT integral to my being. Mad Dog

The BTU's were not provided for the 3 other appliances but just with arbitrary numbers, figure a furnace at 80MBH, 22MBH dryer and 48MBH stove. That's a buck 50 plus the same for the pool heater on a 250 American temp. compensated meter is still short 50MBH, not counting pressure drop. You'd probably have to have the utility change over to 2 psi and put MP regulators in. The one at the pool heater will probably need about 6 feet of large diameter pipe as a buffer before it enters the heater cabinet so the regulator can sense properly. Watch your clearance from the regulator vent to any source of ignition.

Years ago, when I was a factory Q/A mgr. investigating a severe delayed ignition with significant injury on Long Is. I found the inlet pressure was about 5 wci entering the house. There was a clear sticker on the meter stating if you touch Long Island NY/ Nat'l Grid's meter you can go to jail so I had to recommend them increasing the pressure instead of me.

You will inherit any faults or mistakes from the past as you become the last man in. New piping should undergo a pressure test and inspection. That means if the first guy failed to provide electrical bonding, it's in your lap.

While I've done piping on the DL, our Happy Doggy makes a point: Going through a LMP with a pressure test and inspection covers you so you cannot be held liable for any Oops!'s. It keeps your fire insurance in force and it provides someone with insurance to subrogate to in the event of a loss. It shields you from passing on an occult or hidden defect when transferring the property.

Different jurisdictions can have radically different regs, codes, ordinances, etc. Add to that you must comply with the mfrs. requirements. The most restrictive applies. If an unlicensed person does gas piping in NY, NJ, MD, etc., they can go to jail with heavy fines. In PA, you'd have to check with which of the 1,347 various jurisdictions you're in. Very, VERY few require a fitter or plumber's license. Most will want you to pull a permit and pass a pressure test. Pressure tests can vary from the minimum pressure/ time in the IFGC or NFGC to local regs that are off the charts.

There are ways to run a gas line under a concrete sidewalk. Lots of reasons not to run gas up through an attic, down then out. Will want to use steel threaded pipe for protection but hard to work with in existing structure. Up and down creates a trap so you'd probably want to incorporate one at least on the riser.

I hope your pool company sized that heater. Heating a pool in the Northeast is pretty expensive because of the massive heat loss, even with blankets. Most pool heaters up here are flame throwers. After a month or two of sucking the grid of gas and your checking account of cash, they turn them off and deal with it. Paint the pool black and live with passive solar.

Clarified...And then he gets what he deserves. It's sad how often this goes on. Old timers would do it as a "retirement gig." That's understandable, and if the LMP policed the job, met with the inspectors, and kept qaulity, high, no one was going to break his shoes.

The problem is the LMPs that sees it as an easy $$ grab and they feel entitled to it. I won't even say it's greed. We are all struggling terribly with the high C.O.L.A., college tuitions, business Overhead...all through the roof but I still won't do it...I'd rather struggle. Mad Dog

Good for you...you preemptively struck "Corporate." The trend with all these , large, corporate acquisitions of mom & pop shops and 2nd & 3rd generation fambly business is rife with similar stories .Mad Dog