Do I have enough gas to run my grill

LeadPipe · 08-26-2010, 06:22 AM

I am shopping for a natural gas grill. The grill I am looking at produces 68,000btu, it is a very large grill. I have an existing gas line running to my porch. I never used the line because when I bought the house I had an LP grill. Before I spend $ on a grill I want to be sure it will deliver enough gas to run the grill properly. The gas co told me the gas pressure they deliver is 7" of water column. The gas line is 1/2 black pipe and runs directly to the main line. It is 55' long with 7 elbows. There are no other appliances hooked to this line. Is there a way to test or calculate to see how many btu this line will deliver?
Thanks
John

DFBonnett · 08-26-2010, 01:34 PM

I had the same question when I got an NG grill. My grill is mid-sized and the run is much shorter so 1/2" sufficed. My best guess would be that you'll need 3/4" but you might do well to contact the manufacturer for their recommendation.

LeadPipe · 08-26-2010, 01:52 PM

Thanks for posting

I did contact them, they were not helpful. All they would say is the gas pressure supplied by the gas co had to be a certain amount. I am within range there but it’s the loss of gas pressure due to the pipe run being so long that has me concerned.
John

**havasu** · 08-26-2010, 03:34 PM

I had a similar long run with 1/2 inch pipe and several elbows for my fireplace, and there were not enough btu's to run it. I repiped with 3/4 black pipe with less elbows, and it did the trick. My ng bbq is branched off of a 2" pool heater pipe, and works great.

**Chris** · 08-26-2010, 05:39 PM

I ran my BBQ off of a 1/2" supply that was stubbed out of the back of my house from the builder and kept it 1/2". It is a 50 foot run with 6 bends in it and it work fine, I will try and get the BTU's from my grill later on.

DFBonnett · 08-26-2010, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadPipe

I did contact them, they were not helpful.

Do they offer a downloadable installation manual on their website? That's how I determined that 1/2" would be adequate for my mid-sized Weber.

LeadPipe · 08-26-2010, 08:13 PM

Thanks guys

LeadPipe · 08-26-2010, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFBonnett

Do they offer a downloadable installation manual on their website? That's how I determined that 1/2" would be adequate for my mid-sized Weber.

I will check that, thanks

LeadPipe · 08-26-2010, 10:36 PM

Natural Gas Pipe Size Calculator

Found this calculator on the web, looks like I will need 3/4" pipe. Now I need to figure out how to tap into 1 1/2 black pipe to run the new line. Any help with this? thanks
John

LeadPipe · 08-27-2010, 02:45 PM

I just found a capped 3/4 T off the main line a little further down the pipe. I am in business. I am going to remove the black pipe, cap it, and run 3/4 flex pipe to the grill. Thanks for the help!
John