Adding A Pool? You MUST Know This About Your Gas Meter!

If you have or are thinking of getting a new pool installed you need to read this! If you are going to add a pool heater on to your homes existing gas meter 99% of the time, you are going to need to get your meter changed out by questar gas company! There are a couple of ways to do this to keep it cheaper for you but keep in mind that if you have a pool built and the contractor just throws a heater in there with out having questar gas come to your home, It is probably installed wrong! Please do your research on this for it is causing home owners thousands. It is an unforeseen problem that even your pool builder has no idea the problems that he has created for you!
Underground gas lines should only be installed by a licensed Plumber OR H.V.A.C contractor!
GAS LINES NEED TO BE INSTALLED CORRECTLY.
Some problems we've seen have been..
- Poor flame height, due to lack of gas.The heater may seem to be operating ok to you but inside is where the problems are. This will cause huge amounts of carbon to build up on the flame sensor and you will be calling every year for a new flame sensor to be installed because your heater either will not stay lit or will repeatable shut off and try to fire again! We had one call last year that the homeowners had just an in ground hot tub. The meter was not changed out and they said the tub took between 14-16 hrs to get it up to temp. This was caused by lack of fuel. This will result in the heater burning a very small flame for a very long time and killing your hard earned pay checks when your gas bill arrives. Also make note that we have found that unless you are changing the gas pressure on your home, 80% of the time, your new gas line didn't even get inspected! DEMAND an inspection on any underground gas line.!

-Another huge problem we are finding is many landscaping contractors who are installing gas are using short wand risers! These have been BANNED by Questar gas and are no longer allowed to be installed in the state of Utah unless certain guidelines with questar gas are met. In other words, If someone ran underground gas at your home or business, and you can see any of the yellow pipe that they installed after all is said and done, It is against code.

-Gas pipe buried with electrical. This is a big no no and any plumber or h.v.a.c contractor can tell you that, but pool contractors and landscapers won't! Why, because they don't know! They only know that it is a lot cheaper to do it themselves than to have a licensed contractor do it for them. It is a lot easier for them to just tie into your meter(Regardless of how much gas can pass through your meter) and call it good. Use caution with this!

-Fire pits. These little babies are popping up every where and we have installed hundreds. But some people are still installing them incorrectly to try and cut corners. If you have a Dante valve installed in your pit, Make sure it is in the side of your pit and not 2 or 3 feet away from your pit sitting face up! The Dante valve is a valve that has a shiny face on it and requires a key. Many are installed wrong! If they are installed in the flooring around your pit, you are probably going to have problems with it. The reason is dirt! Dirt gets down in these things and starts chewing away at the o ring that seals it.! Once it is gone , you have a gas leak and if it is concrete, well you have a major problem! Also inside the fire pits, the pipe should be ran in stainless steel! These things sit out in the weather all year and if you have black iron pipe in the pit and you have dirt around it, well your gonna have a leak! Dirt contains moisture and if it is sitting on the pipe, it will rust!

Just make sure you have done your homework with the gas part of your remodels or pools or whatever your project is.It could end up costing you!
If you are ever in doubt of any gas related problem or concerns please email us at dixiegaslinesplus@gmail.com Or call jeramy @ 435-229-9961

Why do You need to change Your gas meter..

This is a very common question We get all the time. When your home was very first built, or when you got natural gas to your home, the plumber or hvac contractor who installed the piping, installed it for the appliances that were there when the meter was set. The gas line is sized to accomadate the btu's that your home is said going to use. Then the inspection comes along, passes with flying colors and all is well! This is true until you decide you want to add a high gas consumption appliance. For example, on-demand-water heaters, swimming pool heaters, firepits, home power generators, and so forth. The meter on your home, is only designed to deliver enough fuel for what it was origanally signed up for. These pool heaters and other high demand appliances use almost as much natural gas fuel, as when running a regular mid sized home! The meter needs to be re-sized. Many pool contractors (who should not be touching the gas anyway) may try to hookup a large sized line from your heater to your meter, without even knowing if it is going to work efficiently. Even if you think "well my pool heater works just fine the way it is", chances are unless you had questar gas company check your meter when your pool heater was installed, It is installed incorrectly. If your pool heater was installed incorrectly or would just like us to come out and check it for you, please email us at dixiegaslinesplus@gmail.com

Underground Gas Lines Depths and Codes

There are only a couple of occasions that iron pipe be used underground any more! Times are changing and things are getting better all the way around! polyethylene is the new and improved and is your best bet to a safe and reliable underground fuel line.The minimal burial depth should be no less than 18" from top of finished grade. This is also the same for iron pipe but rest assured that your poly pipe will not rust like the iron pipe will. It comes in all sizes and lengths and should be used for all applications. Fire pits, BBQ's, detaches garages, or pool heaters!
We have installed lines that are up to 300' from the meter with no problems at all running on 2 lbs of pressure. Questar will only increase your gas pressure if you meet their specific guidelines. One of which, you must consume OVER 701 Cubic Feet per Hour. This includes all of your existing appliances and also your new appliances, say like for a new pool. BE FOR WARNED! If you are building a pool in Utah, be sure to get a FREE pre-evaluation from questar gas company to let them check your meter and fuel line size from the main in the road to make sure you will be OK with fuel pressure and volume of natural gas. Make sure this is installed by a licensed PLUMBER OR HVAC CONTRACTOR! They are the only ones that are officially licensed to install underground gas pipe! An R.M.G.A certification is not a license to install gas pipe! We are fixing many of these that people think they know what they are doing and don't! Be sure your not had by this!
This underground fuel line must be buried 3' on a parallel of any electrical and may NOT be put in the same trench as electrical! There are certain cases of where the city official may approve it if it needs to be in the same trench. Water is OK to be in the same trench! If you will be coming up through concrete, you will need to sleeve the gas pipe from the concrete.
Also ,don't forget to install your tracer wire! International fuel code states that this wire be no less than 14 gauge and buried separate from the gas line with 2" of earth separating the two.
BE FOR YOU DIG ANY TRENCHES BE SURE TO CALL BLUE STAKES AT 1800-662-4111! This service is free and could save you hundreds of bucks! Be sure to call them 2 working days before you dig to give each utility company time to mark their lines! If you have any questions on depths, sizing or codes, feel free to contact Jeramy at 435-229-9961