How Do I Cap A Gas Pipe?

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  • docrowan
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2007
    • 893
    • New Albany, MS
    • BT3100

    How Do I Cap A Gas Pipe?

    I have a wood burning fireplace that was converted to a gas insert that I'm converting back to wood burning. I've had a chimney sweep clean it and inspect it. He removed the insert for me and capped off the fitting inside the fireplace, but he wasn't licensed and bonded in my city to remove the gas pipe. The pipe enters the ash dump from outside the house and is all plumbed with regular threaded black iron pipe. If it was water I would have no problem at all in removing the pipe and capping it off outside, but I've never worked with gas before. I hate to call a plumber out for something that will take 15 or 20 minutes, so any advice would be appreciated.

    Obviously I'll need to shut off the gas at the meter, which will kill my gas water heater (the only other thing that uses gas in my house.) I'm very familiar with relighting it. Is there anything else I have to watch for?
    - Chris.
  • Ed62
    The Full Monte
    • Oct 2006
    • 6022
    • NW Indiana
    • BT3K

    #2
    I know they make teflon tape specially for gas installations. The regular teflon tape is white, and I think for gas usage, it is yellow. Some will argue that either will work. I prefer to err on the side of safety, and use the yellow. Do not use galvanized pipe for gas. I should have added that you will want to check for leaks when you're finished. Do that by dabbing a soapy water on the threads where it could leak. If you see bubbles, it's leaking.

    Ed
    Last edited by Ed62; 02-11-2009, 01:27 PM.
    Do you know about kickback? Ray has a good writeup here... https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...mare-explained

    For a kickback demonstration video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/910584...demonstration/

    Comment

    • master53yoda
      Established Member
      • Oct 2008
      • 456
      • Spokane Washington
      • bt 3000 2 of them and a shopsmith ( but not for the tablesaw part)

      #3
      Shut off the gas at the meter, (Obvious) remove all piping necessary back to area desired. Use the yellow Teflon tape, because it is approved and has consistent thickness, or use Teflon pipe dope. Use a black pipe CAP do not use a plug in a fitting.(some jurisdictions do not allow the use of pipe plugs on gas piping due to the plug possibly cracking the fitting if tightened to tight.)

      Turn the gas back on and use a 50%mixture of dish washing soap and water and spray all piping connections that have been disturbed. If no bubbles show up, go to the meter and turn on the gas and observe the lowest meter needle for movement for five minutes, if you have no movement of the meter then the piping system is sound and you can relight the pilots on the water heater or any other appliances.

      another concern on the fireplace is that the damper is normally removed or pinned open when a gas insert is installed, you may want to have it reinserted or made so that it can be closed when you are not burning your fireplace. An open fireplace will double the infiltration of outside air to the house


      The question of using normal or yellow Teflon tape has to do with the thickness of the tape. The yellow tape is thicker and meets specifications set by the AGA for gas piping.

      Functionally you could use the white tape if you used enough wraps to get the thickness of the yellow tape but it is not approved for use on gas piping and could possibly cause a question in case of a fire on you insurance.
      Last edited by master53yoda; 02-11-2009, 03:07 PM.
      Art

      If you don't want to know, Don't ask

      If I could come back as anyone one in history, It would be the man I could have been and wasn't....

      Comment

      • os1kne
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2003
        • 901
        • Atlanta, GA
        • BT3100

        #4
        I can't add much, you've got some good replies already. The only thing that I would add is that my success rate with the pipe dope is better than with the teflon tape. The pipe dope is messy and will probably cost a little bit more, but worth it IMO. It's not a hard job, just follow the instructions above and take your time.

        Good luck.
        Bill

        Comment

        • ragswl4
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2007
          • 1559
          • Winchester, Ca
          • C-Man 22114

          #5
          Originally posted by os1kne
          I can't add much, you've got some good replies already. The only thing that I would add is that my success rate with the pipe dope is better than with the teflon tape. The pipe dope is messy and will probably cost a little bit more, but worth it IMO. It's not a hard job, just follow the instructions above and take your time.

          Good luck.

          I would agree with pipe dope. We have installed our gas piping in the new home and used the dope. Tested with air in accordance with the local code and passed the test and signed off by the inspector. Held air for 24 hours, no leaks.
          RAGS
          Raggy and Me in San Felipe
          sigpic

          Comment

          • Tom Slick
            Veteran Member
            • May 2005
            • 2913
            • Paso Robles, Calif, USA.
            • sears BT3 clone

            #6
            make sure you use a black pipe cap. I don't know why but galvanized pipe is not used for gas.
            Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison

            Comment

            • eccentrictinkerer
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2007
              • 669
              • Minneapolis, MN
              • BT-3000, 21829

              #7
              White teflon usually has a density of 0.4 vs. yellow tape density of 1.8.

              Around here yellow is code for gas pipe.

              I take care of several luxury condos built in the late 70's.

              The plumber used white teflon to pipe gas to all the fireplaces.

              They just finished replacing ALL the gas piping in all the units due gas leaks caused by teflon tape failure. If you use tape, use yellow.

              My dad was a master plumber and used pipe dope for gas, aways.
              You might think I haven't contributed much to the world, but a large number
              of the warning labels on tools can be traced back to things I've done...

              Comment

              • SARGE..g-47

                #8
                I ran a feeder line off my fireplace starter by T'ing at the fireplace.. over the ceiling of my shop and down a pole in the center. Then connected a space heater myself. I checked it with soapy water as mentioned. All was well but..

                I called my plumber and gas man to come over and double check behind me. He repeated the procedure and checked all fitting and declared it certified. He gave me a reciept and I paid him $40 which was a pre-arranged amount for checking behind me.

                Did I feel that my work checked out OK and the heater was ready to light? Yes... but... in case of house fire caused by gas in the future I wanted a certification that the work was inspected and certified by a qualified person that was authorized to do so.

                Why.. I was told to do so by my State Farm agent who is a life-long friend. If there were a house fire caused by a gas leak you could have problems if the fact you did it yourself and you are not certified to do so in my state. I can't afford to replace a house out of pocket.. they can.. They want someone to certify it I understand and had it done in that manner as $40 now out of pocket or $100,000 + latter out of pocket is a pretty large gap that's hard to fill.

                Just me I suppose...

                Comment

                • os1kne
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2003
                  • 901
                  • Atlanta, GA
                  • BT3100

                  #9
                  Sarge has a pretty good idea. We all like to save money by doing home improvements ourselves, but working with gas is probably the one thing that can have catastrophic results very quickly - and it's also something that most DIY people won't do enough to get good at. We'd hate to lose our home, just because we were trying to save a few dollars.

                  If we have a leak with a typical water plumbing DIY project, we tend to know about it before it's a big problem - and we clean up the water and try again.

                  With gas, it's easy to have a big problem before you realize that there's a problem.

                  Good luck!
                  Bill

                  Comment

                  • atgcpaul
                    Veteran Member
                    • Aug 2003
                    • 4055
                    • Maryland
                    • Grizzly 1023SLX

                    #10
                    Does the pipe have to be moved far away from the fireplace even before it's
                    capped so the pipe doesn't heat up when you start a fire?

                    I guess you could argue that with the pipe capped, you've eliminated oxygen
                    from the fire equation (heat+fuel+oxygen=fire).

                    Just wondering if this is necessary, too. I have no idea.

                    Paul

                    Comment

                    • master53yoda
                      Established Member
                      • Oct 2008
                      • 456
                      • Spokane Washington
                      • bt 3000 2 of them and a shopsmith ( but not for the tablesaw part)

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Tom Slick
                      make sure you use a black pipe cap. I don't know why but galvanized pipe is not used for gas.

                      you could use galvanized pipe it will pass the inspection by most of the the JHA ( jurisdiction having authority). Cost is the reason it is not used for gas.

                      If the proper workmanship is followed there is no reason you can not do the work yourself.

                      Contact the JHA (could be the gas company or it could be a government agency) and get the permit and have it inspected if necessary. I currently hold an unlimited gas license ( above 400,000 BTUs)
                      Art

                      If you don't want to know, Don't ask

                      If I could come back as anyone one in history, It would be the man I could have been and wasn't....

                      Comment

                      • docrowan
                        Senior Member
                        • Mar 2007
                        • 893
                        • New Albany, MS
                        • BT3100

                        #12
                        Originally posted by atgcpaul
                        Does the pipe have to be moved far away from the fireplace even before it's
                        capped so the pipe doesn't heat up when you start a fire?

                        I guess you could argue that with the pipe capped, you've eliminated oxygen
                        from the fire equation (heat+fuel+oxygen=fire).

                        Just wondering if this is necessary, too. I have no idea.

                        Paul
                        Paul,

                        It sticks up through the ash dump into the fireplace about 2 or 3 inches. I need to put a piece of sheet metal or steel plate over the ash dump and I can't do this with the pipe in the way. Since it is all plumbed with rigid iron pipe, I can't bend it down out of the way.

                        LOML is uneasy with me doing this, so I believe I'll bite the bullet and call in the plumber. I'm willing to purchase domestic tranquility for $75.00. Cheap at twice the price!
                        - Chris.

                        Comment

                        • jonmulzer
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2007
                          • 946
                          • Indianapolis, IN

                          #13
                          Originally posted by docrowan
                          I'm willing to purchase domestic tranquility for $75.00.
                          Is that all it costs? Where do you buy yours at? I will take a case!!!
                          "A fine beer may be judged with just one sip, but it is better to be thoroughly sure"

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