I would strongly consider hiring a licensed plumber to do the work,
preferably one referred to you by someone you trust. I ran a lot of black
pipe when I was younger (mostly steam and compressed air, and some ammonia)
and I still hired a plumber to install the gas stuff to my new
house. Considering the money you will spend on pipe threading tools, and
the criticality of getting it right, AND getting it bought off by an
inspector, I think you may be money ahead by having it done rather than
making it a DIY job.
BTW, I have threaded a bunch of pipe both with hand dies and by pipe
machine. Threading pipe by hand is no fun, and you really need a good pipe
vise to do it right, not just a bench vise. Also, once the job is
finished, you won't have a lot of use for the pipe tools unless you plan to
start a second career as a plumber or a pipefitter, unless, of course, you
want to come and plumb my shop for air. If you DO decide to do the work,
you should consider renting a pipe machine and dies; it will save you a lot
of work. I wouldn't mess with teflon tape, either, but would get some good
professional pipe dope rated for natural gas service.
Dave C
At 11:49 AM 4/2/2004 -0500, Mark Andy wrote:
>Thanks very much for any pointers. With the new house, finances insist
>that I do the work myself unless I really, really, really shouldn't be.
>I'm a competent person, willing to buy tools I don't already have, etc.
>but I also haven't played with gas lines at this level before. I want to
>do this safely and to normal codes of course.
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