Does a tankless water heater need a bigger gas line?
Typically, the gas piping has to be upgraded to support the tankless water heater due to the volume of fuel that is required. In all cases, a near 200,000 BTU gas appliance will require a minimum of a ¾-inch gas supply line. In specific conditions a ½-inch gas line may be used.
How big of a line do I need for a tankless water heater?
A water heater tank might have a 30k BTU/H input, whereas a tankless may need 90k to 130k BTU/H. For this reason, it is likely that you will have to run a newer, larger gas pipe from your gas meter to feed your new tankless gas water heater. In most cases, you’ll have to jump up two sizes – from 1/2-inch to a 1-inch line.
How big of a hot water heater do I Need?
The 5-10 GPM ones are most appropriate for the majority of households. Note: For low water needs up to 8 GPM, the electric tankless hot water heaters are appropriate. For bigger needs (8+ GPM), you should choose one of the best gas tankless hot water heaters here .
Can a tankless water heater upset your gas meter?
Adding a new gas appliances or upgrading gas appliances (think a kitchen remodel with a new commercial style range) can upset this balance. Just the act of switching to a modern tankless water heater can increase demand by 160,000 Btu/h or more.
What’s the difference between a gas and tankless water heater?
This energy is measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs) per hour. A water heater tank might have a 30k BTU/H input, whereas a tankless may need 90k to 130k BTU/H. For this reason, it is likely that you will have to run a newer, larger gas pipe from your gas meter to feed your new tankless gas water heater.
A water heater tank might have a 30k BTU/H input, whereas a tankless may need 90k to 130k BTU/H. For this reason, it is likely that you will have to run a newer, larger gas pipe from your gas meter to feed your new tankless gas water heater. In most cases, you’ll have to jump up two sizes – from 1/2-inch to a 1-inch line.
How big of a gas pipe do I need for a water heater?
You can see that, in a typical gas system, a tankless water heater with a capacity of 199,900 BTU will require a 1-inch pipe size for a 20 ft branch length (based on the 0.3 in w.c. pressure drop in Table 2). The same appliance would require just a ½” pipe size based on Table 4 the 3.0 in w.c. pressure drop.
Adding a new gas appliances or upgrading gas appliances (think a kitchen remodel with a new commercial style range) can upset this balance. Just the act of switching to a modern tankless water heater can increase demand by 160,000 Btu/h or more.
How big of a gas meter do I Need?
The Btu/h per cubic foot of gas can vary, but PG&E uses an average of 1,000 Btu/h for every cf/h of gas. Thankfully, this makes them math pretty easy! If you have a meter with a maximum continuous capacity of 250 cf/h, it can provide a maximum of 250,000 Btu/h. As long as the continuous meter capacity is larger than the demand, everything is fine.
