LP & natural gas piping installation, inspection, testing & repair; gas controls, gas regulators & LP gas tank defects home page and index to key articles.

In this article series we provide descriptions and photographs how to select, install, diagnose or repair leaks or operating problems in fuel gas piping, regulators, or controls used on gas fired appliances or heating equipment, addressing both natural gas and LP gas equipment.

In this article we also discuss the procedure for converting from LP gas or "bottled gas" to natural gas or "piped in gas" at a building.

Fuel Gas Controls, Valves & Piping

Beginning here with help in identifying the type of fuel gas supplied at a building: natural gas vs. LPG or propane, this article series describes the selection, installation, troubleshooting & repair of various types of fuel gas controls, gas meters, gas valves, gas piping and gas-fired appliances.

How to Identify the Type of LP Gas or Natural Gas Fuel Source

Immediate LP or natural gas safety hazards: if there is evidence of an LP or natural gas leak at a building, gas odors, for example, you should:

• Do not do anything that is likely to cause a gas explosion, such as lighting a match, operating an electrical switch, or even using a telephone in the building
• Leave the building immediately and keep a safe distance away - 100 feet or more.
• Notify other building occupants of the safety concern
• Contact the local gas company and/or fire department 

More details about LP or natural gas immediate safety actions and hazards are

at GAS LP & NATURAL GAS SAFETY HAZARDS.

Our photo at left shows a gas meter installed indoors in a building utility basement. This will be a natural gas installation in which fuel gas is delivered to the building by a municipal gas supply system.

How to Recognize Piped in Natural Gas Supply at a Property

Natural gas is supplied by the utility company through piping, usually buried in the street in front of or behind the building, and entering the building through a gas meter which is located outside or at older installations, possibly inside the building.

Above right you will recognize yellow piped-in natural gas supply piping connected to a digital gas meter located on a building in central Mexico.

Below is a large gas meter and regulator installation at a New York facility.

How to recognize LP gas or Bottled Gas Supply at a Property or Building

LP Gas or "bottled gas" or liquid propane gas is supplied (usually) by a local LP gas distributor who fills an LP gas tank located on and serving the building.

The LP gas tank may be above ground (usually at a building exterior wall) or it may be buried at the property. Below at right we show a large LP gas tank or "bottled gas" serving a community of homes.

Natural gas and LP gas appliance compatibility

These two fuels are similar in that both are used to provide energy to home heating systems and other appliances but they have some different properties of operating gas pressure, weight, method of distribution, and chemistry.

Most gas appliances are delivered already set up to use either natural gas or LP gas but not both without having to make some device adjustments or parts changes.

Most gas appliances can be converted from one fuel to the other - what is involved may be simply changing gas metering orifices in the equipment (for example at the burners on a stove) or it may also be necessary to change or adjust a gas regulator located inside the appliance.

Watch out: Do not hook up an LP gas-ready appliance to a natural gas supply nor can you connect a natural-gas ready appliance to an LP gas supply without reviewing and acting on the manufacturer's instructions for converting the appliance from one fuel to the other.

It is virtually always the case that some equipment adjustments and changes are necessary to switch between natural gas and propane gas.

As JR, an industry manager familiar with gas pressures pointed out, these two fuel gases operate at different pressures. In residential appliances

• Natural Gas system pressure: Natural gas operates at a nominal pressure of 7” WC (about 0.253 psi)
• LPG or Liquid Propane Gas system pressure: LP gas or propane operates at a nominal pressure of 11” WC (about 0.397 psi)
• Actual NG or LPG gas pressures vary: [Note: the exact pressure you see in the building at an appliance may vary from these numbers depending on the gas distribution piping system size, diameter, number of appliances served, number of appliances operating, regulator adjustment, and other factors.
  
  See GAS REGULATORS & APPLIANCE / HEATER CONTROLS
  
  and GAS REGULATORS for LP TANKS and LP or NATURAL GAS PRESSURES for a table showing the range of variation in LP gas pressure in the tank at various temperatures. - Ed.]

Typically the conversion between fuels requires simply the rotation, inversion, or adjustment of parts already present on the gas appliance.

Gas Regulator Conversion Step 1 Above: an oven burner control internal part is rotated to convert between LP or Natural gas

Gas Regulator Conversion Step 2 Below: the stove top gas burner air shutter position is adjusted.

Gas Regulator Conversion Step 3 Below: a component inside the gas regulator is inverted.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Details on converting between natural gas & LP gas or bottled gas: if you are planning to convert from one gas fuel to another, such as from LP gas (bottled gas or liquid petroleum gas) to piped in natural gas, see our advice and safety warnings

at GAS APPLIANCE CONVERT LP-to-NATURAL GAS.

Gas Pilot Light Instructions

Moved to

Gas-Air Ratio Regulators

• Hauck, RRG GAS-AIR RATIO REGULATORS INSTRUCTIONS [PDF] (1994) Hauck Manufacturing Co., PO Box 90, Lebanon PA 17042, Tel: 717 272 3051

...

Continue reading  at FLEXIBLE GAS CONNECTOR INSTALL or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS FAQs - questions & answers about residential gas piping posted originally at this page.

Or see these

Gas Piping & Regulator Articles

• GAS BURNER FLAME & NOISE DEFECTS
• GAS BURNER PILOT LIGHT PROCEDURE
• GAS IGNITER DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
• GAS METERS - home
• GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS - home
• FLARE FITTINGS
• FLEXIBLE GAS CONNECTOR INSTALL
• GAS CONNECTOR for BBQ GRILL
• GAS PIPING CLOG REPAIR
• GAS PIPING CLEARANCES, CODES & DEFECTS
• GAS PIPING, FLEXIBLE CSST
• GAS PIPING SIZE & MATERIAL
• GAS LEAK DETECTION, LP / NG
• GAS PRESSURES LP vs NATURAL GAS
• GAS REGULATORS & APPLIANCE / HEATER CONTROLS - home, Natural Gas regulators & appliance regulators, NG & LP
• GAS REGULATORS for LP TANKS - home, LPG / Propane systems
• GAS REGULATOR CONVERSION NG-LP
• GAS WATER HEATER CONTROL VALVES - pilot light, gas valve, thermostat for temperature control

Suggested citation for this web page

GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to GAS APPLIANCES, PIPING, CONTROLS

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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