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question on size of gas line

updated sat 2 jun 12

 

Shelley on tue 29 may 12


Hi All,

=3D20

A bit of help would be greatly appreciated:

=3D20

We are currently constructing a small building at the Art Students =3D
League to
house a gas kiln, with plans to have sufficient gas to build additional
kilns in the future (when and if we ever have the money!). We have a =3D
very
long run from the meter and have installed 143 feet of gas pipe to reach =
=3D
the
building. We=3D92re trying to decide if we should incur the additional =3D
expense
of having the 2=3DBD inch main line continue inside the building where it =
=3D
will T
off to the new kiln or if we would be ok with a two inch line. We can =3D
get
13 WC from the meter, although we will fire at between 3 and 4 WC with =3D
four
venturi burners. The kiln will need approx. 600,000 btus (I=3D92m erring =
=3D
on the
side of too much rather than too little on this one). =3D20

=3D20

One friend said I should ask the plumber to calculate whether we will =3D
have
13 WC at the kiln with a 2=3D94 main line, so that we will have enough gas =
=3D
for
the future, if we have more than one kiln firing at a time. The plumber
said he does his calculations based on load (btus) and suggested I talk =3D
to
the local gas company.

=3D20

Any advice on whether to go with a 2=3D94 or 2 =3DBD=3D94 main gas line ins=
ide =3D
the
building, before we drop down to 1 1/4=3D94 pipe to the kiln?

=3D20

Thanks in advance!

=3D20

Shelley

=3D20

Fredrick Paget on wed 30 may 12


Natural gas is distributed at high pressure in pretty small pipes.
The street pressure is 30 psi I think and the big transmission lines
are in the hundreds of psi.

We recently had a disaster where 8 people were killed in a San
Francisco suburb when a 30 inch transmission line carrying around
400 psi failed, exploded and burned up the neighborhood. .

I don't know what your setup is but you would not need large pipes
for great lengths if you brought the meter in close to the kilns. Or
the other alternative is to get a higher pressure out of the meter
such as 1 or 3 psi and you can get the gas you need for upgrades
using the pipe you have. You run the kiln on the higher pressure
directly controlling the gas with a needle valve or you can put a
regulator at the far end to give the low 7 inch water pressure,
which is about 1/2 psi or 1/4 - I can't remember but check if you
want.

The gas company here let me get a higher pressure setting on my
meter/regulator when I had to use an existing 3/4 inch pipe for a 125
foot run with 3 or 4 90 degree bends. The regulator at the meter was
upped to one pound per square inch pressure in the pipe to my kiln .
They charged me $500 for the upgrade. Recently they put a "smart"
meter on that gas meter so that the meter reader is no longer needed
and does not need easy access.

Fred Paget
--
Twin Dragon Studio
Mill Valley, CA, USA

Lee on wed 30 may 12


I don't know what you can do at your site, but I was able to upgrade
my residential pressure from .25 to 2psi and the Gas company only
charged me $200.00 . I was able to run smaller copper 60 feet and
that saved me more than the copper would have costs.

--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue

Neil Estrick on wed 30 may 12


The bigger the better, especially if you're planning on adding kilns in t=
=3D
he future.=3D20
But talk to the gas company because they can run the numbers to know for =
=3D
sure.=3D20
Ask them about running two kilns in the future.

Lee on thu 31 may 12


On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 7:40 PM, Fredrick Paget wrote:

> I don't know what your setup is but you would not need large pipes
> for great lengths if you brought the meter in close to the kilns. Or
> the other alternative is to get a higher pressure out of the meter
> such as 1 or 3 =3DA0psi and you can get the gas you need for upgrades
> using the pipe you have. You run the kiln on the higher pressure
> directly controlling the gas with a needle valve or you can put a
> regulator at the far end to give the low =3DA07 inch water pressure,
> which is about 1/2 psi or 1/4 - I can't remember but check if you
> want.

7 inches is .25 psi. This was what was required for my Olympic Torchbearer=
=3D
.

My pressure was upgraded from .25psi to 2 psi for $200.00 2psi is
27.7 water column inches.

You can find converters online.

I have step down regulators to 7 inches for my household pressure and
a step down to 14 inches at the end of the 60 foot run, at the kiln.

My kiln hit cone 13 in 10 hours. I am guessing people that
have trouble getting temp. have too low pressure at too long a run of
pipe.

--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue

Lee on fri 1 jun 12


On Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 4:25 PM, wrote:
> Lee said......"2psi is 27.7 water column inches."
>
> Just to be clear, actually 1 psi is 27.7 water column inches.

Yes: 1 pound/square inch =3D3D 27.679 904 843 Water Column [inch]

here is an online converter:

http://www.onlineconversion.com/pressure.htm


--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue

dmcarts2u@AOL.COM on fri 1 jun 12


Lee said......"2psi is 27.7 water column inches."


Just to be clear, actually 1 psi is 27.7 water column inches.=3D20




D. Michael Coffee
http://www.dmcarts.com




=3D20