gas electric sepration

[WirenutNH]

Looking for some info on the following:

I have been asked to quote installing a LP gas generator and the owner is going to dig trench for gas and electric conduit piping, How far apart do they need to be in the trench? Also where the gen feeds enter the house the main house LP line is roughly 3-4' away what is the needed sepration

Thanks

 

[GoldDigger]

Looking for some info on the following:

I have been asked to quote installing a LP gas generator and the owner is going to dig trench for gas and electric conduit piping, How far apart do they need to be in the trench? Also where the gen feeds enter the house the main house LP line is roughly 3-4' away what is the needed sepration

Thanks

The problem is not so much where the wires enter the house (as long as it is high enough and reasonably well sealed). It is with lights, switches, breakers, receptacles or other potentially spark producing equipment.

Be sure to locate the generator itself far enough away from doors and windows (actually, the whole house) to minimize carbon monoxide hazards. A well maintained fixed generator will have lower CO emissions than a portable, but you still need to be aware of where the exhaust is going.

 

[Daja7]

Looking for some info on the following:

I have been asked to quote installing a LP gas generator and the owner is going to dig trench for gas and electric conduit piping, How far apart do they need to be in the trench? Also where the gen feeds enter the house the main house LP line is roughly 3-4' away what is the needed sepration

Thanks

You need to check local codes for that. there is no NEC code that covers this. I just completed one just like this. One trench for both gas and electric. I checked with the local authorities and was told as long as the electric was in conduit no seperation is required. we buried our conduit 18 inches and covered with a few inches on dirt since gas line only needs to be 12". I don't like to do this but it was code compliant and the home owner wanted it. My issue is if a backhoe starts digging and breaks both lines the sparks could and probably would ignite the gas. I prefer seperate trenches but code compliant. As far as distance from home each generator is different. Generac you can be 18" from home but MUST be 5 feet from any opening in the home. (windows vents dryer vents etc.) Kohler must be 5 feet from home as the enclosure is not fire rated. Same for some others.

 

[kwired]

My issue is if a backhoe starts digging and breaks both lines the sparks could and probably would ignite the gas. I prefer seperate trenches but code compliant.

There are other ways to look at that. If you hit both lines at approximately the same time you are igniting a smaller quantity of gas and are left with a "torch" on the disrupted gas line. If you hit the gas first and then have significant leakage before creating the spark, that is when you will have a less predictive explosion.

 

[Daja7]

There are other ways to look at that. If you hit both lines at approximately the same time you are igniting a smaller quantity of gas and are left with a "torch" on the disrupted gas line. If you hit the gas first and then have significant leakage before creating the spark, that is when you will have a less predictive explosion.

I prefer neither

 

[kwired]

I prefer neither

But how much separation is necessary to attain that?

Had a guy trenching a line for me one time hit a LP gas line, and he continued trenching for another 50 - 100 feet before he told me he thought he hit a gas line It was a 2 inch line and let a lot of gas out before we got the source shut off. If he would have had a spark happen on his digger (something simple as hitting a buried chunk of concrete or steel would do it) who knows what kind of explosion we could have had.

 

[mjf]

Useful tool.

 

[kwired]

Useful tool.

I have found it very useful at telling you what you have already damaged by the time you finally notice the tape, especially when using a trencher:lol:

 

[John120/240]

I have found it very useful at telling you what you have already damaged by the time you finally notice the tape, especially when using a trencher:lol:

Locate, Locate, Locate. it is FREE ..If you don't locate it is never free maybe deadly...

 

[MichaelKelley]

I too will suggest keeping generator far away from residential place to avoid carbon dioxide from polluting the surrounding. I hope they are using noiseless generator as well.

 

[kwired]

Locate, Locate, Locate. it is FREE ..If you don't locate it is never free maybe deadly...

One call centers only locate utility owned/operated lines.

My example of the guy hitting the LP gas line was my fault, I located (or in this case failed to locate) the line. One call was not going to locate that line as it was customer owned LP tank and lines running to buildings on the property. Problem was I traced the line as going down the center of a road, but did not trace all the way to the tank, if I would have done that it would have been marked before we started digging. It eventually turned away from the road to go around other underground obstacles at the time the gas line was installed. Lesson learned for next time something similar comes up.