Heating pro's.. what size gas line?

[mowin]

First, yes this will be inspected and pressure tested. Recently purchased a home with a 330 gal above ground propane tank. Tag on tank says manufacturered in 1988.  House was built in '87.. 

I want to move the tank. The only thing running on propane at this time is kitchen stove/oven. However I want to change the boiler next yr to a direct vent LPG. I also want to add a 10k stand by generator.  

1500 SQ foot single story home.  Trying to figure out what size line to run. Going to use home-flex underground line(not the CSST) with pre bent risers. Trench will be 18" deep, with no traffic except lawn mower. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by mowin

[G-Man]

3/8 solid flex copper line is what runs to my house from 500lb tank

The regulator takes care of pressure. Run hole house off it boiler 2 stoves and dryer

[philoshop]

Check with the local code enforcement officer, and with the gas supplier you intend to use. They'll probably give you different answers, but since the code guy will do the inspection, go with his recommendation. It's been fifteen years since I did that kind of install, and codes seem to change almost daily in NYS. PITA!

[nodeerhere]

I say 5/8 soft copper from tank to the house 

[Steve D]

47 minutes ago, mowin said:

First, yes this will be inspected and pressure tested. Recently purchased a home with a 330 gal above ground propane tank. Tag on tank says manufacturered in 1988.  House was built in '87.. 

The first thing to do is contact your propane supplier. There is a good chance they will "move" it for you. install the required line, and pressure test inside and out for next to nothing. Most companies will only fill tanks that they own.

I am pretty sure it is a requirement to pressure test on each install. Every time we have changed suppliers they put a new regulator on and pressure test.

[dbHunterNY]

that's a loaded question. i don't size gas lines but co-workers do. never know if you'll need to drive over it for some reason. 18" is plenty deep but sometimes with rain and in spring ground is soft. also it's possible the generator that big will require a different regulator for higher pressure (about 11" WC) than the rest which might be slightly lower. that size gen set needs about 160k BTU/hr for flow. your house is around 90k BTU for boiler sizing. Assuming you keep the tank about 40 or so feet away a 3/4" line would be enough to feed everything probably if all can be on the same pressure as the gen set. 1" would be overkill unless you started to get close to double the distance. get someone like your supplier to size it for you. i just do electrical in our office.

[dbHunterNY]

54 minutes ago, Steve D said:

The first thing to do is contact your propane supplier. There is a good chance they will "move" it for you. install the required line, and pressure test inside and out for next to nothing. Most companies will only fill tanks that they own.

I am pretty sure it is a requirement to pressure test on each install. Every time we have changed suppliers they put a new regulator on and pressure test.

around here if you own your own tank they will still fill it without replacing regulators and what not. they'll do a casual inspection and will likely tag it if fine. a lot of people around here own their own tanks and price out propane for each fill.

[Dom]

2 hours ago, G-Man said:

3/8 solid flex copper line is what runs to my house from 500lb tank

The regulator takes care of pressure. Run hole house off it boiler 2 stoves and dryer

3/8 line is plenty for most homes agreed.Can I ask why a gas dryer? Do you find it works/drys better than just the electric dryer I asked because I still dry in the spare room on a rack or on the clothes line.

[dbHunterNY]

another thing is the 330 gal tank will be enough vaporization rate to feed the generator but boiler and generator i'm not sure, i'd think it would be. boiler doesn't have the draw a gen set does.

[Bigfoot 327]

If it were me I would check to see if there is a propane "co-op" in your area. Not available in the county that I live in, but I know a couple people in other counties that belong to co-ops and could not be more pleased. Wife's niece owns 1000  gallon tank and buys years worth of propane each summer when the price is low. They heat their house, pool, water and cook with propane. Her unit price is a fraction of what I pay.

[G-Man]

25 minutes ago, Dom said:

3/8 line is plenty for most homes agreed.Can I ask why a gas dryer? Do you find it works/drys better than just the electric dryer I asked because I still dry in the spare room on a rack or on the clothes line.

I pay way more for electric than gas. Was cheaper and less costly to install. Wire was crazy expensive when I built.my.house The way i work I just throw in dryer and dry. Or I'd hang to dry. Propane dryer can get very hot .. i only.use medium heat setting on High I've melted nylon zippers 

I use about 600 gallon of propane a year for all my hot water and cooking and drying on a 3000sq ft home. 

[dbHunterNY]

1 minute ago, Bigfoot 327 said:

If it were me I would check to see if there is a propane "co-op" in your area. Not available in the county that I live in, but I know a couple people in other counties that belong to co-ops and could not be more pleased. Wife's niece owns 1000  gallon tank and buys years worth of propane each summer when the price is low. They heat their house, pool, water and cook with propane. Her unit price is a fraction of what I pay.

we use oil on the farm and for our houses. had apartments but no longer. kept account but added friends and family to keep volume. we get oil at a locked in rate over port cost. works like a co-op and nobody can touch the price.

[Dom]

15 minutes ago, Bigfoot 327 said:

If it were me I would check to see if there is a propane "co-op" in your area. Not available in the county that I live in, but I know a couple people in other counties that belong to co-ops and could not be more pleased. Wife's niece owns 1000  gallon tank and buys years worth of propane each summer when the price is low. They heat their house, pool, water and cook with propane. Her unit price is a fraction of what I pay.

Can I ask what area not the town nor address? I live in co-op other than water we pay for our supply.They have natural gas down in town but no propane.I'm just asking cause if I didn'e know where my shut off valve was then I wuold be nearvous as heck

[Dom]

12 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I pay way more for electric than gas. Was cheaper and less costly to install. Wire was crazy expensive when I built.my.house The way i work I just throw in dryer and dry. Or I'd hang to dry. Propane dryer can get very hot .. i only.use medium heat setting on High I've melted nylon zippers 

I use about 600 gallon of propane a year for all my hot water and cooking and drying on a 3000sq ft home. 

That's a fair/fare answer.This could be an option in the near year.

[Bigfoot 327]

35 minutes ago, Dom said:

Can I ask what area not the town nor address? I live in co-op other than water we pay for our supply.They have natural gas down in town but no propane.I'm just asking cause if I didn'e know where my shut off valve was then I wuold be nearvous as heck

Niece lives in Cortland County. 

I have a friend/contractor that lives in Schuyler County and swears by his co-op (this is not the same one that the niece belongs to). If there is one in your area, you  should be able to find it with an internet search.

[mowin]

Thanks guys.  I know the building inspector well. Our code is 12” deep.  I'm going to go with the 3/4". 

As far as any propane co. coming and moving the tank and installing a new line for nothing, that's wishful thinking. Got several prices already. My nephew owns a mini, so digging the trench is easy and free.