Probably never be cheaper to do than when you have someone out there working on other stuff. I'd do it unless the quote seems way out of line.
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Attjack I am not surprised at the $1300 quote. Many years ago I ran gas from the furnace to the stove, fireplace and grill area myself, but it was with assistance of two old men who had done it before, and knew all there was to know about running black iron pipe. My father in law even had all the tools to thread the pipe. We were in the crawlspace too, and not burying it. I would NOT recommend running your own natural gas lines if you don't know what your doing, and don't have help from a retired HVAC guy or two.
While its convenient to not have to refill your propane tanks for the grill, I found it also was constraining, in that you HAD to have the grill in that one spot. You've got a "cook shack" where that might not be an issue, but I do sometimes want to rearrange my grill, or move them to somewhere else, like over by the pool. Once its converted to NG, that is not possible.
As far as conversion goes, while some companies such as Weber no longer sell conversion kits (they claim due to liability), it really is as simple as a larger hole in the brass orifice, and dispensing with the regulator at the grill itself. The hole is larger for NG than for LP, so when I did that, my dad went off and did some math, based on the BTU's of the grill I had at the time, and gave me the right size drill bit to drill out the brass orifice to the new diameter. NG has lower BTU's than LP, so requires more gas through the orifice to get the same output. I've searched online, and there are a few grill parts places that will sell you the right orifices, so you can keep the original ones for converting back if ever needed.
I still have the hookup behind my fireplace, at the end of the house next to where I keep my firewood (and trash cans!), and have been tempted from time to time over the years to buy something like a Campchef Smokevault 24, since it can run from natural gas, and it would be a smoker with an unlimited fuel supply. But.... then I think that I really don't want a gas smoker as much as another charcoal/wood smoker, and I don't do it. I guess the Smokevault could also double as an outdoor oven though.Last edited by jfmorris; September 27, 2019, 08:58 AM.Comment
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I asked my buddy who just had a line run from his basement to the back corner of his house this year what it cost him. He said it was $1200. My quote took it all the way to the outdoor kitchen so the quote they gave me sounds legit.
I am waiting to receive my new built in gas grill and I will permanently install it. This is the reason I'm still tempted to install a line even if I keep some cookers on propane. If I did have NG out there I might consider a heater too. -
On my 2 burner cooktop I switched out the NG orifice and taped it to the bottom of the cooktop. That cooktop would definitely get switched to NG if I go that route. I'm not sure about the EVO and would likely leave the Blackstone Pizza Oven propane since it's about 15' from the outdoor kitchen.
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I see it can be hard to justify spending that much on running a NG line, especially when you have other things you'd like to purchase. The main benefit of NG is of course the convenience of not having to run out for propane, or for some the anxiety of not knowing how much is left in the tank.
I start looking into running two propane tanks and some way to switch between them quickly. I found this and I think it would work - Flame King (KT12ACR6) 2-Stage Auto Changeover LP Propane Gas Regulator. Of course you could just have two tanks and just swap them, I know a guy who does that but admits at times that is even a pain.
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Here's another point, albeit perhaps a bit unnecessary for many folks. In February of 2011, the SW USA had an extreme cold event. For whatever reason, it disrupted the natural gas supply for several days. We were without NG for four days--bad news cuz we heat our home and our water with NG, plus our stove is gas (fortunately, we also have a wood fireplace). Up til this time, I had considered hard-piping NG to our Weber gasser. The cold event changed my mind--a little energy diversity is better IN MY CASE. Had the Weber been NG, the only other choice for cooking would have been charcoal.
BTW, as soon as the supply disruption hit and we understood we'd be days without heat, we ran down to the store to buy an electric space heater. Alas, the whole town was sold out of 'em. We do own a space heater now. LOLComment
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Wow, interesting that there are so many positive comments. I say that because I was considering the same thing, but my brother advised me not to. I trusted him because (1) he's a very smart engineer and (2) he previously lived in a house with a natural gas grill, so he had hand-on experience. According to him, the BTU output from natural gas is so much lower than propane that even with a larger orifice (ofrfrfficcee for Backroadmeats and FireMan ), you can never get as much heat. Of course, it wouldn't be the first or last time that my brother led me astray...Comment
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Fortunately my heat, hot water and fireplace are propane. 500 gal. underground tank. Got tired of lugging tanks for refills. Had a line run to deck where gasser is. Got regulator from Weber to make sure it matched and the pressure was right. Think it was $750 for install and $35 for regulator. Had to do a fairly long run of iron pipe. 2 shutoffs. One inside and one at the grill. Had to get permit and had plumbing inspection for install. I'll never look back.
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I will take the minority view here and I recognize that most will consider me overly cautious. I thought about changing my heating to natural gas and then adding a line for a grill. When I researched it and natural gas accidents in NYC, I decided to get rid of it completely from my property. What I learned is that many contractors who install it don’t know what they are doing (including the contractor who installed it in my building before I bought it) and we have had a few absolutely gnarly explosions in and around NYC due to it.Comment
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I disagree. From my research, natural gas may be marginally safer than propane all things being equal. However, NG is frequently delivered through one’s house & if not installed correctly or not inspected every now and then could create a massive explosion inside a home. In recent years, there have been 2 big explosions where I am in NYC that cost lives because of poorly installed/maintained natural gas lines. Propane tanks don’t cause the same risk. I’ve used them for grills and heat for years. -
This happened last year. I'll stay with propane. -
All the gas explosions I seem to hear about serm be up in the Northeast. I’ve not heard of many down in Alabama or Georgia, and I’ve always lived in houses with gas heat and appliances.
I would never want to live in a house without gas heat and a gas range. Heat pumps don’t cut it for me in the winter. But to each their own. I can understand your concern.Last edited by jfmorris; September 30, 2019, 07:22 AM.
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