My GC said adding the line wouldn't be a problem, but they probably should do a load calc to make sure I have enough BTUs.

What are the concerns here?

On gas already we have: hot water heater, central furnace, dryer.

Is it really possible that we wouldn't have enough gas flow to also support a gas range / oven?

FYI - this is an ongoing reno on a 1960's house.

Would have to do with existing line sizes in the house. Gas company may be able to bump up the service pressure at the meter if it is too low.

TexAg1987 said:

---

Would have to do with existing line sizes in the house. Gas company may be able to bump up the service pressure at the meter if it is too low.

---

Is this a common problem? Or is gc just being cautious?

You may need to do test in order to get release once addition is made in order to get gas turned back on. I would have it tested.

The piping needs to be large enough to carry sufficient gas to run all of your appliances if they happen to all be on at once.

flown-the-coop said:

---

You may need to do test in order to get release once addition is made in order to get gas turned back on. I would have it tested.

---

I don't have a problem with doing the test. I'm just more concerned that I may not be able to get a gas cooktop and just wondering how likely of an issue that might be.

I seriously doubt you'll have an issue. Most residential gas meters are rated to handle demand up to 250,000 BTU. The appliances you listed typically come in around these values:

gas water heater: 40,000 BTU
furnace: 60-80,000 BTU
dryer: 20,000 BTU

Even with everything running, and assuming you have a standard meter (and gas lines in the house that aren't ridiculously small), you should have plenty of capacity to handle a cooktop (typically around 50,000 BTU with all burners on max).

I recently went though this exercise when I was investigating adding a tankless water heater at the end of the house furthest from the gas meter. The tankless heater demand of 180,000 BTU was a bit on the high side given our meter and the other gas appliances, but the nail in the coffin was the fact that it would be drawing from a 60' run of 3/4" BIP (after all the other appliances had tee'd off). The pipe diameter and distance both play into the calcs, but again I seriously doubt adding a cooktop would get you into trouble unless you're hanging it off the end of 100' run of 1/2" pipe or something.

Quote:

---

Would have to do with existing line sizes in the house. Gas company may be able to bump up the service pressure at the meter if it is too low.

---

I also looked into this. Seems that a semi-standard practice is to have the gas company replace the meter/regulator with a version that supplies gas at 2 PSI to the house, instead of the usual 1/2 PSI. This has the benefit of allowing a large increase in the total BTU load given the same size lines. The downside is that you'll then need external regulators at each appliance that reduces the pressure back down to 1/2 PSI, since that's what most appliances are designed to operate on.

Vernada said:

---

flown-the-coop said:

---

You may need to do test in order to get release once addition is made in order to get gas turned back on. I would have it tested.

---

I don't have a problem with doing the test. I'm just more concerned that I may not be able to get a gas cooktop and just wondering how likely of an issue that might be.

---

Testing your gas piping is something you'll want to have done ahead of time. As noted, there are plenty of utilities and/or cities that, once you shut off the meter, require a pressure test before turning it back on. Many folks have learned the hard way and had to scramble.

To echo what others have said, yes, it does matter. Part of a brand new gas piping design includes calculating the total developed length, which involves pipe sizes, load, fittings etc. Think of it like a water line, a shower, and flushing a toilet. You'd really hate to get all the way to having the cooktop installed and then find out it's lacking the pressure to work correctly.

It will also depend on your definition of cooktop - a 4 burner from HD or Lowes, or something shiny from Viking to make us all jealous.

UnderoosAg said:

---

It will also depend on your definition of cooktop - a 4 burner from HD or Lowes, or something shiny from Viking to make us all jealous.

---

Looking to do a something like a 5 burner dual fuel so only the cooktop needs gas. Not Viking. Looking a kitchen aide and ge profile right now.