Gas meters

[lakeros]

Not sure if thise is even possible but is ther an adjustment on a 1/4lb meter to increase the amount of pressure/gas. Gas company says the only way to do that is to replace the unit with there next level up 2lb unit. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

[PLUMBER RICK]

generally it's the pressure regulator that controlls the gas pressure. if the meter is undersized then the volume of gas will drop off.

the gas co. should supply a meter that will supply the volume of gas that you need. you need to supply the proper down stream piping that will handle the flow.

did you add a pool heater that is starving the system for gas:confused:

rick.

[lakeros]

Nope i am installing a tankless hot water heater it says it need 14" max for full burn and then i have 2 gas heaters ( checking on what they require) so i could have an issue of starving one or all if they all run at the same time. The gas comapny says i have a 7" now to the house. Investigating the line in the wall tonight to see it size but i am going to assume it is 3/4" since that is the connection from the meter and i do not see anything reducing it to 1/2

[HVAC HAWK]

to get 14 " from the meter they would have to turn in the regulator in all the way and that's not the wright way to do this .you may have to go with 2lb system and go with a regulator on the the other heaters .

[plumbdog10]

Not sure if thise is even possible but is ther an adjustment on a 1/4lb meter to increase the amount of pressure/gas. Gas company says the only way to do that is to replace the unit with there next level up 2lb unit. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

Your gas system needs to be sized, drawn, and then the Gas Company approached with the resulting factors.

[PLUMBER RICK]

Nope i am installing a tankless hot water heater it says it need 14" max for full burn and then i have 2 gas heaters ( checking on what they require) so i could have an issue of starving one or all if they all run at the same time. The gas comapny says i have a 7" now to the house. Investigating the line in the wall tonight to see it size but i am going to assume it is 3/4" since that is the connection from the meter and i do not see anything reducing it to 1/2

gas is sized based on btu demand and distance from the meter. 7'' water colum is common for us here with southern calif. gas co. the common tankless is approx. 190,000 btu. we use 1,100 btu per cubic foot. that would equal approx. 173 cubic feet. based on these numbers, 30' is the max distance from the meter for 3/4'' pipe.

you also have to add the other gas appliances and their total developed length to this formula to size the main. chances are a tankless heater is going to require a dedicated line directly to the meter. very similar to a pool heater gas line.

by the way, for the record, i'm not a fan on tankless heaters. search this forum on tankless heaters. too much to repeat.

rick.

[lakeros]

Thanks for all thee replies. It is 18' from the meter to my tankless using 3/4 pipe and then stubbed to 1/2". From that point on heater is only another 5' away and the other is 15' away. I am working with the gas company on getting the 2lb system installed. Thanks again. Plumber Rick - the reason for thee tankless is we have extremely hard water out here in AZ and eat through tanked heaters - i was luck to catch this one when it exploded, just a couple hundred dollars worth of damage to the house.