i am doing a house with 2 furnaces and 2 water heaters (340,000 btu)coming up and using the longest length method of sizing gas pipe i need to run 1 1/4 main line through the house...

i am not educated with gas meters. i assume i may need to ask for a larger than normal gas meter. what type of meter should i be asking for?

500,000 btu
is 1 1/4" big enough?
might need 1 1/2"...
the meter bar for a 500,000 should be 1 1/4" but you can increase from there.

The gas utility company will let you know when you file with them.
Here for instance, we refer to the meter bars as Class 250 (250K BTU) Class 500 (500K), Class 1000, (1 Million BTU's). The gas company will also let you know if the gas meter set-up needs to be upgraded including replacing the pressure regulator but each area handles it differently; who's responsible for what, utility co. or licensed Plumber.

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John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

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This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

340,000 btu's ...not 500,000.....not until they add the pool heaters.

so a 250,000 btu meter has a max of 250,000 btu's?

this is what ive always thought and went by....but like i said im not educated on it.

when i asked the gas co if a 250 meter was big enough for 340000 (was going to ad a pool heater till prices went through the roof)and they said it was good to go.....still check with your local people...good luck

here the pipe is ran before the meter is set. the inspector tells the gas company what the btu usage is and they bring the meter for it.

run the pipe sized for what you are doing and forget about it.

if a pool heater is added we can always have the meter upgraded for free if need be

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i put it in the bid that the builder is to supply a 500,000 meter

One for 350 cu.ft., but the gas company will decide the meter based on your demand. I have NEVER told the gas company what size meter to install.

Meters are sized by cubic feet, not btu's. The common computation is 1,000 btu's per cu.ft., but it depends on the gas composition. Some are 1,100 btu's and others are less than 1,000.

A 2psi system is very common up here, the gas company will accommodate so you will have plenty of gas, just size all the piping accordingly. Time to use that new NFPA54 book.

2409,7+48am

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Me either. I submit a Work Request, (which is now done electronically) and the gas co. will send a service layout after a co. rep reviews my request, co. records and visits the job-site indicating exactly what is required to be done.

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

i have never talked once with the gas company..the builder always handles it around here.

around here the gas company only talks to plumbers. they do have a sales department but they never talk technical talk to retail customers.