Propane Plumbing

[NewbeeMC9]

check gumpy's website,  I would prefer what he did if i was doing it.  seemed easier to work with too.

Search the archive, there was a interesting thread IIRC awhile back on this subject.  may have been on the old board.




oops, typed this last night, fell asleep and posted it this morning, sorry for the redundancy

[belfert]

Copper is used for most indoor natural gas here in Minnesota.  I don't know why California is different.  I'll probably use CSST in my bus.

[DrivingMissLazy]

I believe it has something to do with the odor they add to the gas reacting to the copper. I do not know if this same material is put in propane.
Richard

[JackConrad]

I do not know what is added to NG, but they add Mercaptin to LP. Without it, LP is odorless. Jack

[maria-n-skip]

Talked to my soninlaw last night...

  They (power company) currently use polyethylene (sp) and heat fuse all joints. It is yellow the
old stuff is orange.  A few years back I watched the comp. splice an orange pipe from a backhoe oops!
he had a hand press to attach the pipe to the fitting and a big clamp ring set-up.

   I've had to deal with copper in the past and it seems that when copper gets old it tends to get brittle
 not a scientific claim just what I saw.

  Single runs to each appliance. I'll think about that one....

 Skip

[JohnEd]

Skip,

The S&S I had had a single 1 inch run of black pipe down the center of the coach.  It had numerious "T"s where copper would take off for the appliance.  It wasn't single runs from the propane tank as I may have implied.  I think the objective was to hold the joints in the copper to an absolute min. (ie ZERO). I went back to that as it only takes one slow leaker to create a bad memory in the least.  In a bus, I think I would take the advice of this board and make a manifold and "do" run seperate gas runs of copper with a valve for each at the manifold.  Works for water.  The electric master cutoff is a must have for summer nights and leaving the coach.

My thoughts,

John

[DrivingMissLazy]

I was installing an awning or something on a S/S once and was drilling a hole thru the side. With my good luck, I drilled a hole into the black iron pipe carrying gas to the reefer. What a bitch to repair that.
Richard

[maria-n-skip]

Richard, Can't really hoha on that. I basically did a like move on mine last weekend......
             No gas and copper........So yep I'll be doing some plumbing.

   John Ed I was considering running two main black pipe one down each side.
      Drivers side furnace and generator.
      Passenger side Refrig, hot water, and furnace.

  With what has been said I am rethinking.........oh the 

Skip

[JohnEd]

Skip,

That would work just fine and in my limited experience that is the way it is usually done.  From what Gumpy Dog said his "trunk" line then has black iron feeders that run right up to the appliance.  Mine and most go to the appliance from the trunk with copper as there are usually a lot of bends and angles.  I think the seperate run design with a valve for each appliance run located at the manifold is "fancy".  It would come in handy if you needed to remove an appliance and still keep the gas available as then you need plugs for the appliance you are removing.

Good luck and send pics,

John

[oldmansax]

Here in Maryland they changed the code to allow only black pipe & the corrugated SS (brand name Gastite). They said they quit allowing copper because thieves were stealing it & selling it. That actually happened in Cambridge. A contractor had piped the entire house and the gas company came out, checked and passed the installation, turned on the gas & left. That night, we (the fire company) got a call for "odor of gas in the area". When we got on location we found thieves had ripped out all the copper and not even shut off the gas. We had to evacuate several blocks.

All I had to say about that was it's a shame the thieves didn't smoke........

[gumpy]

...  From what Gumpy Dog said his "trunk" line then has black iron feeders that run right up to the appliance. 

I should have been more clear. I used black pipe to go from the CSST up through the floor. Then I put on a shutoff valve, and used flaired copper
to go from the shutoff valve to the connection up in the stove.

On the other stub, I put on a shutoff valve, and brass fittings to install a quick disconnect for the camp stove.

[bigtim44]

On our bus I went with the CSST(gastite) like 'Gumpy' did and used his advice on the subject.I did the one night certification course at the local plumbers wholesale shop,then plumbed the propane on the bus with CSST(gastite).I have runs going to the stove,furnace,hot water heater and the fridge.No blackpipe or copper on our bus for the propane.
Tim

[gumpy]

I found a few more photos that show the two stubs off the CSST, including the black pipe through the floor. I've added them to the web page at http://www.gumpydog.com/bus/MC9_WIP/Propane_Distribution/propane_distribution.htm.

craig

[Dreamscape]

Great looking work Gumpy!

Great idea on propane delivery. Looks much easier than black pipe too.

Thanks for the heads up.

Paul

[JohnEd]

Craig,

The missunderstanding is probably mine and you were probably crystal clear.  I have never heard of CSST and I am sure that if you are using it it must be A-OK.  I was surprised to learn that the gas pressure in my house was .5psi or less.  I told the installer that I had believed all these years that the psi was 125.  He surprised me and said I was right about the pressure but that was the main feed line before the regulator.  When he said that I remembered that I had read the pressure off of a gauge in the main gas line in the steele mill.
in Pa.  And heard it quoted by the FD after a gas fire nearly destroyed a building.

Thank you, Sir,

John