Direct bury gas line?

Al killian

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1,940
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Floydada, Tx
I am going to add a gas line to the shop to keep it warm when doing finishing and glue ups. Main heat will be wood. Can anyone recommend what type of line to use for underground use?
 
Around here, they use an orange colored flexible plastic line that has a tracer/locator wire wrapped around it. It appears to be a flexible PVC. Plumbing contractors sell it in rolls, and it's about three times the cost of flexible water piping. A local plumber ought to be able to advise you.
 
I use just plain copper tubing. No codes out here but the lp gas company said I had to bury it at least one foot deep. We are supposed to use a special licensed plumber for gas lines too. But I did the connections myself to save the bucks. Gas company tests connections on first fill.
 
It may depend on how far you have to go....I know some folks have used a poly pipe for the buried part, but if the distance isn't too great I'd use copper (LP only). If it's nat gas yo may have to go with Gastite or such.
 
When we had the NG heater put into the shop, the heating company recommended that I contact the utility company because they could make up a plastic line at a fraction of the cost that the plumbers working for the HVAC company could. I contracted the ditch dug, the untility company made up the line, the HVAC company installed the line and ran black iron inside the shop. The utiility company had the city inspector come out and inspect the final job.

A few years later, when I hired a contractor to pull a new copper water line for me, the contractor cut the gas line between the house and the shop. He contacted the utility company. They came out and repaired the gas line going to the shop.
 
I use just plain copper tubing. No codes out here but the lp gas company said I had to bury it at least one foot deep. We are supposed to use a special licensed plumber for gas lines too. But I did the connections myself to save the bucks. Gas company tests connections on first fill.

Copper, while used for LP gas is not suitable for natural gas due to impurities in the gas which will eventually break down the copper and leak. It takes a few years but I see it all the time, working as a tech for a utility we light lots of water heaters that are almost choked off due to the black gunk from the inside of refrigeration copper. Years ago people saw plumbers using tin lined copper and didn't realize there is a difference and started making their own connectors out of it, tends to form holes where they flare the end for the fitting also.
 
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