If you’re going to use copper pipe lines outside, bury them at least 12 inches underground. If there is or may be vehicle traffic above the wires, bury them at least 18 inches underground.
Turn on the gas and connect the modified or new propane line to the tank. If you notice any leaks, turn off the gas at the tank, wait until you can no longer smell gas, and then fix the leak by installing a new fitting or tightening the current ones.
Disconnect the current propane lines from the propane tank and relieve any pressure in them.
Cut the existing or new line where the fitting will be installed (“T” or valve). Slide a threaded fitting over the line’s end and use the flaring tool to flare it. Rep for the remaining lines that connect the fitting.
With the crescent wrenches, thread the fittings together and tighten them down. Tighten all of the lines to all of the relevant equipment.
Is it possible to use copper tubing to transport propane?
Copper tubing and fittings were approved for use in gas distribution systems, including propane, by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) in 1999.
How deep should copper propane pipe be buried?
For the protection of the line and connections on both ends, the yard line is subject to depth regulations. Depending on motor traffic, depths range from 12 to 18 inches underground. The reason for this requirement is simple: the earth, dirt, sand, or whatever is covering the line must provide appropriate protection against damage to the subterranean gas line. The weight of a car can quickly crimp or destroy a copper line running beneath a dirt drive that is only a few inches underground. Similarly, stumbling over a line running over the ground’s surface might cause significant injury. Inadvertent movement of the gas service line can result in leaks forming at the line’s connections on both ends. The gas line must be buried at a safe and needed depth for these reasons. Illegal installations include propane gas pipes that run along the top of the ground (as seen above).
For propane, what size copper tubing is used?
Table 1 lists the many varieties of copper tube that can be used in fuel gas distribution systems in the United States, as well as their identification and availability. For many years, Types K and L copper tube (ASTM B 88) and ACR tube (ASTM B 280) with outside diameters up to and including 1 inch have been employed in fuel gas systems. Type L is typically used for interior distribution systems, while Type K is typically utilized for any underground lines. Seamless copper tube Type GAS (ASTM B 837) is routinely used and needed in Canada for gas distribution systems, despite not being widely used in the United States.
Table 2 shows the size of copper tubing used in gas systems. Outside diameter (O.D.) is used to identify tube and fittings in fuel gas systems rather than nominal diameters. In their references and when ordering, designers and installers should be explicit about size designations.
If the gas contains more than 0.3 grains of hydrogen sulfide per 100 standard cubic feet (scf) of gas (0.7 mg/100 L), copper and copper alloy tube (excluding tin-lined copper tube) should not be utilized.
What size propane pipe do I need?
Section 1 requires 1/2 inch pipe to feed outlets A and B, or 35 cubic feet per hour. Section 2 requires 1/2 inch pipe to serve outputs A, B, and C, or 94 cubic feet per hour. 3/4 inch pipe is required in Section 3 to supply outlets A, B, C, and D, or 230 cubic feet per hour.
Is it possible to install copper gas line underground?
In most circumstances, burying copper in direct contact with the soil is the best option for installing it underground. Copper has an inherent resistance to corrosion in most soils and underground conditions. While wrapping or sleeving the copper tube to offer an extra layer of protection is a good idea, it can lead to failure owing to poor sleeving or wrapping techniques. Installers should carefully assess whether sleeving or wrapping is necessary or prudent unless hostile soil conditions are present or expected. Installers should consider the following measures if they are required to ensure reliable installations and long-term system life.
Sleeving
When sleeving is required, it is critical that the sleeve be watertight to prevent groundwater infiltration. Failure to properly seal the sleeve might result in the collection and concentration of ground water contaminated with melting salts, fertilizers, or other chemicals near the tube surface, causing corrosion.
- Caution. Silicon caulk the gap between the tube and the sleeve. Caulks that contain ammonia or methanol, which can outgas as they cure and, in rare situations, cause stress-cracking corrosion of the copper tube, should be avoided.
- Caution. Use hydraulic cement to fill the gap between the tube and the sleeve. Hydraulic cement has no adverse response with copper, but it does create a highly hard connection between the sleeve and the copper tube, which can be a source of high stress as the surrounding soil expands or contracts. Work hardening and fatigue cracking of the copper tube may occur in rare situations. To avoid this, the earth at this place should be compacted properly and thoroughly during the installation process. 3.
- Preferred. Seal the sleeve using FerncoTM or comparable electrometric clamps and electrician’s duct seal (see Figures 3 and 4). (See Figure 5). Both of these allow the tube to stretch and shrink while still maintaining a watertight seal within the sleeve.
Is it possible to utilize PEX for a propane line?
PEX pipe is not the same as PE piping, and the two are frequently confused. Polyethylene, or PE, is a flexible plastic polymer that is ideal for piping in wells and other cold-water supply lines.
PEX stands for polyethylene that has been cross-linked. It’s made of polyethylene, a material with a stronger link between the polymer chains that make it up. PEX is now suited for both hot and cold water applications as a result of this advancement. It can also be utilized in some gas applications, depending on the building code.
PEX and PE are more flexible and have a significantly greater pressure rating than typical gas lines, thus they suit those requirements. They are, however, made of a soft material that could be damaged by nails, rodents, and other objects. As a result, in your location, either may not be permitted for use as a residential gas line. Even when the utility provider is able to install it, plumbers and homeowners are not always able to.
Is it possible to have propane pipes above ground?
(1)All pipe, tubing, fittings, and other piping components between the tank and the first shutoff valve must be designed with a factor of safety of at least 8 based on the minimum specified tensile strength at room temperature for the full range of pressures, temperatures, and loadings to which they may be subjected.
All other pipe, tubing, fittings, and other pipeline components must be adequate for the full range of pressures, temperatures, and loads to which they may be exposed, with a factor of safety of at least four.
For plumbing systems with a working pressure more than 100 psi, underground piping must never be less than Schedule 80.
Any material utilized, including gaskets and packing, must be compatible with natural gas and the conditions in which it is used.
(2)All piping and tubing must be run as close to the source as possible, with suitable allowances for expansion, contraction, jarring, vibration, and settling.
Exterior pipe must be well supported and protected against mechanical damage, whether buried or put aboveground.
Unless otherwise protected, underground plumbing must be buried at least 18 inches below the ground’s surface.
All underground piping must be coated to prevent corrosion in accordance with Section 533(b) or an equivalent standard.
For piping below ground, zinc coatings (galvanizing) are not considered enough protection.
(3)All welded piping must be manufactured and tested in conformity with the ANSI Code for Pressure Piping, Petroleum Refinery Piping, B31.3, 1966 Edition or a similar code.
(4)All valves must be capable of withstanding the whole range of pressure and temperature that they may be exposed to.
The service ratings must be stamped or otherwise permanently marked on the valve body by the manufacturer.
Strainers, snubbers, and expansion joints, among other piping components, must be permanently marked by the manufacturer to show the service ratings.
All materials, such as valve seats, packing, gaskets, and diaphragms, must be resistant to natural gas action in the circumstances they are exposed to.
(A)Valves, cocks, fittings, and other piping components made of cast iron or semisteel that do not comply with ASTM Specifications A-536-67, Grade 60-40-18; A-395-68; A-47-68, Grade 35018; and A-445-66 unless they have pressure-temperature ratings of at least 1 1/2 times the design service conditions.
Valves made of cast iron or semisteel that do not meet the three ASTM criteria specified above should not be utilized as primary stop valves.
(C)Valves with a design that allows the valve stem to be removed without disassembling the valve body or removing the entire valve bonnet.
(D)Plastic pipe, tubing, hose, and fittings, unless the Division has given written approval.
(E)Valves having valve stem packing glands that cannot be repacked under pressure unless they are separated from the vessel by another stop valve of an appropriate kind.
Service valves are exempt from this rule.
(F)Aluminum tubing for outside applications, as well as threaded aluminum connections and adapters that must be attached or removed as part of the filling or transferring operation for those connections and adapters with unique threads suitable for this service.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a type of natural gas that has been compressed.
Hose shall not be utilized in place of manifolds, pipelines, or tubing between dispensing tanks and cylinders and the loading and/or unloading hose connections, except that a segment of metallic hose not exceeding 24 inches in length may be used in each pipeline to offer flexibility where needed.
Each section must be fitted in such a way that it is shielded from mechanical harm and is easily visible for inspection.
Each section must include the manufacturer’s identification.
(1)On liquid lines between the tank and the first shutdown valve, flanged or threaded joints that have not been seal welded are forbidden.
(3)Except as provided in 536(c), piping with a diameter of 2 inches or less may be threaded, welded, or flanged (1).
(5)The plugs must be solid or bull plugs made of at least Schedule 80 seamless pipe.
(6)Threaded pipe and tubing with compression type couplings may be utilized for service temperatures of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit or above, except as prohibited in 536(c) (2).
(7)Pipe supports for piping with a service temperature below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit must be built to prevent support steel embrittlement by minimizing heat transfer.
(8)In low-temperature usage, bellows type expansion joints must have exterior insulation to prevent ice from accumulating on the bellows.
1.Amendment to subsections a)(1) and a)(5)(F) filed 3-29-74; effective the thirty-first day after that (Register 74, No. 13).