A 3.78mm opening is required for natural gas.
For a gas fire pit, what size gas line do I need?
This article is about using hard piping to transport gas from its source, such as your residential metered supply or a huge gas storage bottle, to the position of your fire pit. However, what size pipe do you require?
If your gas supply has 100,000 BTU available for your fire pit and the fire pit is 20 feet away from the gas source, you’ll need a 3/4-inch diameter hard pipe.
If the same fire pit is 100 feet from the gas source, a 1 diameter pipe is required. Over 100 feet, the 3/4 pipe would only deliver 68,000 BTUs! (Natural Gas), two-thirds of the needed amount!
What is the difference between propane and natural gas in terms of orifice size?
Natural gas and propane are delivered at different pressures. Typical cooktop burners produce around 40,000 BTUs per hour. The orifice size on a propane stove is around 0.082 inches (drill size 45), however the orifice size on a natural gas stove is almost 0.125 inches (drill size 35).
Do you require a natural gas orifice?
You purchased a gas grill to use with a propane bottle, but you’ve now relocated to a home with natural gas. Do you think you can just plug it in? No, that is not the case. This is due to differences in orifice size. The same is true if you bought a natural gas grill and then moved to a house where you have to buy LP bottled gas. We’ll go over what an orifice is and how it works in a gas grill.
In gas grill applications, the orifice controls the flow of gas, whether it’s natural gas or LP gas (propane). The spud orifice (shown far left) is a male fitting that screws into the valve, whereas the hood orifice (seen far right) is a female fitting that screws onto the male valve end (see far right picture). An orifice is required to operate a gas grill.
The size of the orifice hole dictates the grill’s BTU rating and gas type. The BTU rating of your grill burner will affect how much heat it produces. There are no gas types that may be used interchangeably. Natural gas orifices will have a wider opening since it is a lower pressure gas, but propane orifices will have a smaller hole because it is a compressed gas. They can’t be used interchangeably. You should never utilize a Natural Gas or Propane orifice drilled for Natural Gas on Propane or Propane for Propane.
Using a Natural Gas orifice on a Propane grill will result in a dangerously big flame due to too much gas flowing through the hole.
The manufacturer has created and designed a BTU rating for each grill. This BTU rating can be found on the information sticker on every gas grill and will tell you how much heat each burner is capable of producing. As a result, orifices aren’t considered “universal.” They will not only have varied hole sizes, but also different diameters and thread sizes. Thread patterns aren’t all made equal.
The grill must be converted if you need to switch gas types. Changing orifice types or converting a gas grill should only be done by a certified gas technician because it can be dangerous. Both forms of gas are dangerous and require professional repair.
Because they will be drilled to the BTU specification of the brand and model grill you own, conversion kits are sometimes available from the manufacturers. Due of liability concerns, many manufacturers are no longer allowing grills to be converted. It’s difficult to keep track of who’s performing the conversion. Because it is combustible and gaseous, the liability can be prohibitive, especially if a novice does the work and is injured.
It’s important to keep in mind that some valves can’t be converted. The flame thrower valve is one of them. You can read more about this valve by clicking on the link.
There are some “blank” orifice choices available in the aftermarket. They’re termed blank because they have a startup hole to give the specifically designed gas drill bits a place to start. If an orifice needs to be replaced, an aftermarket option may be available. In order to fit in the valve, it must have the same threads.
All drilling of these orifices, once again, should be done by a licensed practitioner in your area.
What happens if you use a natural gas orifice with a propane orifice?
Running propane through an orifice designed for natural gas will result in a huge flame and a lot of soot. The flame will be larger, causing damage and maybe an explosion. Because the orifice jet for natural gas is larger than the one for propane, this is the case.
Is a regulator required for a natural gas fire pit?
You’ll need a regulator to connect a propane tank like the ones usually used on a gas fire pit. When using gas for a fire pit, especially propane or natural gas, sufficient gas pressure is essential for optimal performance. In order to get the most out of it, a pressure regulator is occasionally required.
A natural gas orifice is what size hole?
Natural gas pilot orifice sizes typically range from 0.014 to 0.026 inches (inches diameter). For example, a commercial cooking appliance pilot should be 0.026 (1,835 Btu/hr at 4 pressure) and a natural gas water heater pilot should be 0.018 (879 Btu/hr at 4 pressure).
Are all orifices for natural gas the same?
A threaded brass orifice or “spud” is used to meter gas at the right flow rate for each burner on most gas cooktops. The quantity of gas available at each burner is determined by the gas flow rate, which is determined by a combination of supply pressure and orifice diameter. This determines the BTU output rate or range.
Natural gas and propane or LP gas have various orifice diameters for these very small pieces. This means you’ll have to adjust the orifice fittings to match the fuel you’ll be using.
When switching from a lower pressure natural gas fuel source to a higher pressure LP or propane gas fuel supply, the new orifices will be smaller in diameter to support the higher fuel pressure without releasing too much fuel too rapidly.
What is the size of an orifice?
The orifice diameter is the valve’s internal aperture and is used to compute the valve’s flow capacity. It makes no difference whether you use metric or English. It’s the hole on the inside. The inlet size refers to the thread size and type where the valve is attached.
Why is it that natural gas necessitates a larger opening than propane?
Appliance conversion entails replacing gas orifices, burners, and/or appliance regulators in order for an appliance to run on a different fuel. These internal fittings and gas usage connections are made to work with a certain gas at a given pressure. Because natural gas has a lower pressure than propane, changing the appliance to one of the two gases necessitates compensating for the pressure difference. Connecting a natural gas appliance to a propane piping system, in other words, will result in appliance failure and possibly danger. This is due to the fact that natural gas orifices are larger than propane orifices due to gas service pressure. In this situation, the greater pressure gas passing through a wider orifice will cause more gas to pass through the burner, resulting in more flame…an unnaturally enormous flame. Because of the lower pressure gas and the smaller orifice, using a propane device with natural gas will likely result in a very small flame or no burner flame at all. This is the primary goal of converting a propane to natural gas or natural gas to propane equipment. Furthermore, appliances cannot be switched from electricity to propane or the other way around.
What is the definition of orifice in natural gas?
A small, high-precision hole in the gas orifice dispenses fuel into the combustion or burner tube. The orifice distributes precisely the appropriate amount of fuel to mix with precisely the right amount of air, resulting in the perfect flame for the job in your appliance.