[elbert]

My line from tank to house is too small for a tankless water heater. Is it safe to move the regulator from the tank to the other end of the line where it enters the house? As I read it the pressure from the tank should be around 200 pounds so the pipe should be capable of handling much more pressure than that.

[scirocco70]

NO.

The regulator is attached to the tank for a good reason... namely that if you ever have a leak in the line somewhere, it will only leak at the regulated pressure (10psi? I don't know).

A high-pressure line that gets ruptured somehow (over time accidents happen) could empty the tank very, very rapidly. Also, a smaller leak could rupture the line explosively, as the gas is compressible and under pressure, which is very different* than a non-compressible (ie water) under pressure. A small leak could explosively rupture the line.

What I'm telling you is just my personal knowledge, I'm not a plumber and I don't install gas equipment for a living. Just the same I'm pretty darn sure you'd be violating code and worse, creating a potentially disastrous hazard by moving the regulator away from the tank.

It shouldn't be that hard to increase the size of the line anyhow.

Good luck!
~aaron



* find some writeups on the 'net about plumbing shop air, from a compressor to explain the difference. In short, people who are plumbing shop air with PVC are taking a real risk.

[leftwinga]

Do not ever mess with the propane regulator...
If you only have 1 regulator at the tank and none by the house where the line goes into then you have a twin stage system.. which means the regulator on the tank takes the tank pressure ( that will differ depending on the weather) drops it to 10PSI.. then drops it to operating pressure between 10"wc to 14"wc.
You have 2 options here... Have your gas company either switch yor system around to a 2 stage system which is where the regulator at the tank drops the pressure to 10PSI and that pressure runs to a 2nd stage regulator, which is usually located at the home where the line enters the house and make modifcations inside to increase capacity or the other option is to get 2 separate 100gallon tanks located in a closer proximity to where the heater is going to be and run a line large enough to handle the BTU load.
What ever you may do... just call your gas supplier///they should be willing to have someone comeout and give you a site survey and if they aren't willing to do for free.. threaten to switch suppliers.

[polecat150]

Clearence from a rinnai water heater vent to a propane regulator

[chh]

The project is to attach 2 40# propane cylinders to a Raypak 266K heater. This will heat my spa. I would appreciate any recommendations for a regulator. Someone said that I would need at the least a 13" wc regulator. No brand was recommended. Thank you.