gas line stub out, how low can it go....

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Another-Plumber

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installing a 3/4 gas line behind a stove, what is the lowest i can stub out? i believe it is min of 6 inchs, customer wants it at 2 inchs...any thoughts? im in california...
 
Good to see you around again, it's been awhile.

I am under IPC, so it doesn't apply to California. And I am not as sharp on gas code as I am on plumbing code, but I can't remember anything about a minimum height. Is a drip leg required?
 
not sure if the specs on page 6 says stub out at 2 inchs, or that the opening behind the range where the gas line stubs out.....
 
on second thoughts, the gas line would almost have to be at the slab in order for it to fit under the range, since the shut off must be atleast 1 1/2 inchs in with...
 
I know up here you need to have a drip pocket at your last drop before the appliance and a flex hose going into the appliance
 
you need a drip on the leg that serves the appliance, and you have no minimum on the height at service entrance.
 
In California, a drip leg is relatively new. So....is this now mandatory? From what I understand, this is only recommended, but not required?
 
I apologize for scratching my head on this one, but I am confused. If a drip leg is mandatory, how can a manufacturer circumvent the law? Are older homes exempt? If a plumber (or gas fitter) is required to change out an appliance, and a drip leg is mandatory, are they required to install drip legs on all appliances? Or is this only a recommendation?

I certainly not trying to corner anyone, but this just seems confusing to me, and thought I'd ask this question.
 
Manufacturers can make anything they want to as long as it fulfills the minimum standards dictated for the item by state or federal law.
The old rule of thumb " When in doubt, follow manufacturer recommendations." is a dated idea. Industry standards were typically the gauges that were used for installations and manufacturers set the industry standards. When quality was more of a concern than cost, this was acceptable.
It seems that the standards, mostly due to the free market, have varied so much that now local and federal governments had to step in and create their own interpretations of what is acceptable in order to protect the public from bad products or installation methods.
The problem is that there are so many opinions and so many governing agencies, it's hard to find commonality between regions.
A drip leg may be required as the more strict and superseding regulation, but in some areas a drip leg is not required and an installer has the flexibility to either install one or not without compromising the minimum standards for the materials, yet still fulfill the local regulatory requirements of the install. Now a manufacturer can distribute nationally, the installer is liable for meeting local codes and regionally customized manufacturing isn't needed...which would corner the market on certain products and allow lawmakers to get in bed with manufacturers for kickbacks.
Home Depot and Lowe's sells products that are illegal to install in my county, but they are still allowed to sell them because the product itself is not illegal.
 
Thanks for the reply Cad.

To take this one step further, if a qualified electrician does work in a home, he is required to update all wiring to the code as written today. Does this also apply to qualified plumbers? To me, these laws are as clear as mud.

My hat goes off to all of you professionals!
 
This applies to my area, I don't know about others.
Updates are mandatory, but there is a bit of a grey area there, too.
If an old 3.5gpf toilet is repairable, it isn't mandatory to replace it as long as it still functions as designed. Now if I get a refurbished 3.5gpf from my garage that I've been saving for a rainy day and replace the existing toilet with it, then I'm in violation of the water conservation act.
The federal govt. also stepped in and made certain things mandatory from a manufacturing standpoint. Examples, all gas fired residential water heaters manufactured after 2004 shall be FVIR tanks. All toilets 1.6gpf or less, reduced lead in faucets. The list goes on.
On water services, any time an old water service is replaced or repaired connecting to the meter, backflow devices must be added and pressure regulated if 80 psi or higher.
This is something to think about when a plumber comes into your house to replace a faucet, toilet or HWT and states "It's the law that I have to add a backflow and a regulator to update your house to code, or I can't do the work and I'll have to report you." Not true.
There are usually local provisions to protect homeowners from having to spend thousands of dollars for basic service repairs and updating. Home inspectors forget this when evaluating homes and try to apply new construction inspection standards to the inspection of a 50 year old home. Can you imagine if before any home could be sold, it had to meet modern code standards? It would cost somebody tens of thousands of dollars and they could never recoup the costs in the sale.
 
Sometimes...well, most of the time, I see my posts as long-winded. So, I appreciate that you tolerate them so well.
You should hear the unedited versions that go on inside my head. They sound like a freakin' dissertation for a doctoral degree. That's cuz of the occasional OCD and dyslexia compensation.
Just kidding.(...or am I?:eek:)
 

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