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I'm looking to add a rather large natural gas firepit to my backyard. Unfortunately I can't run the pipe underground from the meter out to the firepit because there's about 100' of concrete it would have to go under. So my only choice is to go from the meter up into the attic, through the attic, down the other side of the house and then run it underground the rest of the way to the firepit.

I'm looking at two different large firepits right now. One is rated at 180k BTU's and the other one is rated at 250k BTU's. I currently have 1" pipe running in my attic. I was originally thinking we could just tie into this and then Tee off of it and run the new line the rest of the way through the attic and then down the house and out to the firepit. The total run would be about 175 ft. My dilemma though, if I'm reading the spec correctly, is that 1" line can only supply 144k BTU's at 175'. So I'm thinking that my firepit would be starving for fuel since I'm either going to get a 180k or a 250k firepit. I contacted the gas company and they assured me that it's fine, but I'm not sure I trust them.

I was wondering if I could get a second opinion from the experts on here. Not sure if it matters, but I'm in California and I have a gas meter that has a 1.5" output pipe that gets downgraded to a 1" pipe before it goes into my house and through the attic.

As a follow up question, if I'm right and I won't have enough BTU's for the firepit, could I Tee off the 1" line immediately as it enters the attic and run a dedicated 1.5 inch line through the attic out to the firepit? So I'd have 1.5" out of the meter, downgraded to 1" when it goes into the exterior wall where it will travel about 10' into the attic, then it would Tee off and be upgraded to 1.5" for the remainder of the 165' through the attic, down the other side of the house and through the ground to the firepit.

I'm not sure how natural gas flow works. Would that single 10' section of 1" pipe strangle the rest of the system that's downstream? Or Should I just bite the bullet and rip out the sheetrock on the exterior wall and replace the pipe going from the meter up into the attic with 1.5" as well? Trying not to do that if I don't have to, but if it's my only choice, then it's my only choice.

Curious what you guys think?

Thanks in advance! Full Meter Image Close Up of Tag

Mark
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  • "My dilemma though, if I'm reading the spec correctly, is that 1" line can only supply 144k BTU's at 175'" - unless you know your gas pressure and drop rate then this statement is impossible to confirm nor deny. – MonkeyZeus Aug 04 '22 at 18:07
  • I guess I don't know the answer to that. Is there a way the average Joe can figure that out? Is it printed on the meter somewhere? I guess I always heard/thought, the standard household gas lines were regulated down to 0.5 psi after the meter? – Mark Aug 04 '22 at 19:17
  • Can you run the line along side the home? – Gil Aug 04 '22 at 19:27
  • Take a picture of the label on your meter and add it to the question. The other option is to ask your gas company. – MonkeyZeus Aug 04 '22 at 19:32
  • @Gil Yes, I could run it above ground on the outside of the house, but it definitely wouldn't look very good. If given that choice though, I'd rather take off the garage wall sheetrock inside and upgrade the wall pipe to 1.5 instead and then just patch and paint the wall. Just trying to figure out the path of least resistance that still looks nice :-) – Mark Aug 04 '22 at 19:41
  • Paint and bushes will hide a lot and are much more cost effective then putting pipe in the walls. Another option would be to contact your gas supplier and maybe they can raise your pressure to give you enough gas for the burner etc. I am also a bit concerned about taping the existing line as I do not know what ir supplies. Enjoy the fire pit! – Gil Aug 04 '22 at 19:46
  • @MonkeyZeus I just added some pictures of the full meter and a close up of the meter tag as well. Thank you for your help on this! – Mark Aug 04 '22 at 19:47
  • @Gil Ya, I inquired about that as well. I was originally thinking that we could raise the PSI till it gets to the attic, then once in the attic, I could Tee off of it and put a regulator on one side that feeds the main house, and then on the other side of the Tee, leaving it at a higher psi till i get to the fire pit and then putting another regulator there to bring it down to what is needed. The gas people didn't seem to buy off on that though but never got a reason as to why though. – Mark Aug 04 '22 at 19:50
  • Apparently they did not say no. All of my gas appliances have regulators on them that will take about 10" if my memory is correct, it has been several years since I looked at them. If you are going to use a contractor they may have better luck on the increase pressure, the gas companies do not like DIYers. You may also check with your local inspector and see if he would approve it. He would also be a wealth of information for this. – Gil Aug 04 '22 at 20:06
  • Looks like your unit is set up for 415 cf/h or 415,000 btu/h @ 1/2" drop. I'm trying to find a chart that would reveal the PSI, or more technically inches water column. – MonkeyZeus Aug 04 '22 at 20:07

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