Gas is one of the most important utilities that we use in our everyday life, mainly in the kitchen.
Our stoves primarily use gas as its main fuel and thus it is crucial for us to maintain its supply through a durable medium. In this extract you will learn what size gas line you need for your stove.
What size gas line do you need for a stove?
The gas line required for a stove is commonly a ½ inch black threaded pipe which is connected to the stove either by the means of external threads or internal threads of ½ inch fittings. Stoves of 45 CFH requirement would get their sufficient gas supply through a ½ inch supply line.
A gas stove is a gas based kitchen appliance that uses combustible gasses to operate. It is mainly used for cooking purposes and is one of the most crucial components of a household.
But since it runs on flammable gasses and the stove also has an igniter, it is important that the gas lines are properly sized and maintained in order to prevent fire risks.
Gas supply lines measure their supply rate in cubic feet per hour (CFH) in order to compare the supply rate with the demand of an appliance.
As for appliances, their energy ratings are measured in BTUs which give an estimation of how much CFH would be required for an appliance with a certain BTU rating. BTU measurements when divided by 1,000 would give an approximate value of the CFH an appliance requires – which can be helpful to estimate the size of supply required.
The main gas supply line to houses supply gas at a rate of 300 – 400 CFH which is provided through a 1¼ inch gas supply line – which gets branched off into other pipes which are sent to other gas outlets such as water heaters or stoves.
In case of stoves, they have an average gas demand of 45 CFH, and in order to supply gas at that rate – the gas supply line should be ½ inches wide in diameter. ½ inch wide gas line supplies 56 CFH to the stove, which sufficiently meets its demand.
GE stove:
General Electric (GE) Appliances are a renowned brand of cooking-ware and ovens. They manufacture various types of stoves as well which depend on gas supply to operate.
GE stoves require a ½ inch diameter connector which is connected to a flare union adaptor. The adapter in turn connects to the ½ inch gas supply line. It is recommended to have the supply line be 5 foot long for ease of installation.
What size flexible gas line for stove?
Flexible gas lines are made of corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) which can be identified by their distinct yellow coating over stainless steel.
These flexible pipes are often used to transport and supply gas to appliances while maintaining the strength of steel.
Traditional pipes used for gas lines are rigid and need many fittings to work with. Flexible gas lines are much easier to install and need less fittings, therefore being lightweight.
For this reason, gas lines in many houses now use flexible gas lines and connectors.
However, one thing that remained the same for both flexible gas lines and traditional gas lines is the pipe diameter.
Since the rate of gas supply depends on the size of the gas line, the flexible gas line must be ½ inch wide in diameter to meet the gas demands for a stove.
What is the standard gas line size for stove?
The main gas supply has a standard gas supply rate for all households, however each house has a different number of appliances that run on gas supply.
To accommodate that, the gas supply line gets branched off into thinner gas lines that are connected to their corresponding appliance.
The main gas supply line has a line size of 1¼ inch diameter which supplies gas at a rate of 300 – 400 CFH. This gas has to be distributed throughout the house at different gas outlets.
To put into perspective, the average gas demand of a gas stove is around 45 CFH, therefore in order to redirect sufficient amounts of gas from the main supply line to the stove, the gas line size should be ½ inches in diameter.
A ½ inch gas line is capable of supplying gas at the rate of 56 CFH, which meets the gas standard demand of the stove.
What happens if gas line is too small for a stove?
If your gas line for the stove is too small, there could be some unwanted and harmful consequences. Below listed are some of the symptoms you might face if your gas line is too small for the stove:
Formation of toxic fumes:
When there is insufficient amount of oxygen for the fuel to combust properly, toxic fumes such as carbon monoxide are produced.
Besides these toxic fumes, soot is also produced due to incomplete combustion which would lower the efficiency of your stove.
The carbon monoxide and other fumes produced by the small gas line to your stove is harmful for your health and in long terms – it could result in severe illnesses or permanent health issues.
Drop in gas pressure:
If the gas line is too small, the appliance will pull too much gas from the line in attempts to meet its gas demand.
This pull would cause a drop in gas pressure in the supply line. This in turn would affect any other gas dependent appliance’s performance if run at the same time as the stove.
Flame might get extinguished:
Another phenomenon that might occur is that the gas supply could drop to such a low rate, typically when other gas demanding appliances are being used at that time, that the flame in the stove ends up getting extinguished.
Although the gas is being supplied at a very low rate, it is not sufficient enough to keep the flame ignited and to make the stove usable – other appliances need to be shut down.
What size gas line for a gas range?
A gas range is a traditional cooking appliance that is found in every household across the U.S. It is a combination of oven and a stovetop – made to cater to all sorts of cooking needs from baking to boiling and sauteing.
Gas ranges use gas as its primary fuel source and electricity for ignition.
Therefore, the gas supply line connected to the gas range has to be sufficiently large enough to provide it with the amount of gas necessary for it to provide all its functionalities properly.
The gas supply rate in U.S. households is on average 300 – 400 CFH supplied through a 1¼ inch gas line.
This main supply line has to be distributed through a smaller gas line to the gas range. A typical gas range required 45 CFH of gas supply and thus a ½ inch gas line would provide sufficient amount of gas for it to function properly.
How do I know what size gas line I need for stove?
Different gas stoves may have different gas supply demands, and in order to find the right size gas line for your stove – follow the steps below:
Measure the length of pipe required:
Determine the farthest distance between the gas supply line and your gas stove, this is important in order to determine the gas line size since the gas pressure drops as it passes a longer line.
Therefore, the gas line size must be kept large enough to prevent significant drop in gas pressure.
Determine the gas demand of the stove:
Another important factor to take into account is the gas demand of the stove. If the stove requires low gas supply rate, a thin gas line would suffice. However, high demanding stoves would require wider gas lines.
Therefore, to prevent running into the risk of incomplete combustion or poor performance – check the gas ratings of your stove.
Take into account the size of other gas lines:
Your main gas supply is branched off into all the other gas outlets. Therefore, having many gas appliances could result in a low pressure in the stove’s gas line if not large enough.
Refer to the local gas line sizing table:
Once all the necessary information has been taken into account, refer to your local gas line codes to determine which size gas line should be used.
Final Thoughts
A gas line for a stove coming into the kitchen is typically a ½ inch black threaded pipe that is connected to the stove through the use of external threads or internal threads of ½ inch fittings. A 12 inch supply line would be sufficient for stoves with a 45 CFH requirement.