I have an existing gas line from inside my basement to a gas grill outside the house. It's about a 10 foot under ground run. My question is concerning the underground routing and water condensation problem. few times a year i have to disconnect both ends of my gas line and blow air from the end that connects to the gas grill and collect about 5 to 10 cc water from where the line is connected to the black pipe in my basement. Can this be a water condensation issue or something totally different. Please do advise.

in the old days we had to put drip tees at the base of every gas riser. they were meant to catch any condensation.
note the drip tee in this application..

Yes, it is condensation from the warmth of the tube leaving the basement and then condensing when it contacts the cold ground.

In the worst case, you could have a rusted pipe, especially since it is black steel, and ground water can enter the pipe because the gas pressure is too low to keep it out.

Thank you kindly for your succinct responses. Please tell me how do you put a drip tees at the base of a copper pipe that is connected to the black pipe, I can see how this can be done when black pipes are used through out, as its the case with our gas fire place. Please note there is shut off valve inside the basement where black pipe is connected to the copper pipe. By the way there are NO rusting issues in any of the pipes, good piont, that is good to know. Please advise.

the drip tee will do no good unless the pipe is pitched toward it.
can you post a picture of the connection you are describing?

you ALREADY have the suggested 'drip tee'

if you keep the valve closed it will serve no purpose

if the copper is pitched away from it - no purpose

there is no easy solution to your issue EXCEPT proper reinstallation 'from scratch' as you should NOT be building condensate inside a gas line w/o working provisions for same

the gas piping/tubing should pitch downwards to the 'drip leg'

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



Edited 1 times.

Thank you! You have raised excellent points. I will modify and reinstall so that the copper pipe is pitched downwards to the drip leg.

However, as shown in the picture, the copper pipe exits the basement very close to the ceiling and it comes out on the other side of the wall, 2-3 inches above the flagstone patio, (basement ceiling and outside patio are almost on the same level) and then it drops 18 inches (required by law) and gets buried underground and it runs for about 10 feet before it comes and connects to the post mounted natural gas grill.

Wouldn’t this downwards and upwards pitches create a flat “U” shape loop, a potential cause for condensation? Shouldn’t I be worried about that? Where would water from condensation go?

yes - you have created a running u trap

any condensation formed will (like any water) run downhill - any condensate trap MUST be at the low point to be effective

sounds like you have no ready solution except blowing out the line periodically

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Thank you for your time and attention. We purchased the house 22 years ago and I don’t know who did the original work.