Can a portable generator be feasibly tied in to a natural gas line?
Asked by
janbb (
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October 28th, 2013
On the eve of the anniversary of Sandy guess what I’m thinking about? Had decided last year not to go for the expense of a standby whole house system but I am thinking of a portable. A friend told me they could sometimes be tied in to your natural gas line. True or not?
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27 Answers
Our business uses a Generac, run on natural gas.
Stationary Generator—yes, the usually run on natural gas or LPG.
Portable Genarator—- maybe, most are gasoline.
Absolutely. It might not meet code but it can be done easily. You just need a tap in the line. Or you can plug it in where your dryer or hot water heater is connected. $15 tops for fittings and flex hose.
Stationary are expensive to buy, install ( must be done by licensed tech in my state ).
Portable not so expensive BUT can not be run continuously ( must refuel sometime four times a day) and also must have positive disconnect from utility feed.
@LuckyGuy You must be talking about a portable unit set-up for gas but the mixing box ( carburetor on gasoline model ) must match up with the type of fuel LPG and natural gas have different pressures.
Ok – did some online searching as well. This is not a question in general about generators but about hooking portables into gas lines. There is at least one company that makes one – Yamaha – that can be switched between propane, gas and natural gas.
I’m not finding any portable NG generators when I google it.
Our house is off grid and we have a propane generator to back up our solar and batteries.
We also have a portable diesel generator if all else fails.
@Tropical_Willie Yep That is exactly what I am talking about. Some places discourage them because they can be accidentally bumped or moved.. But…. you can buy the kit online and install the piping yourself. (It will likely not meet code since it was not installed by a licensed contractor.)
@jannbb, you could hook it up to a BBQ gas line if you have one.
@Judi Yes, that is the idea.
In an emergency no one is going to be saying, “hey, you can’t use that generator! ”
My worry would be that they would turn off the gas for some safety reason and you would be up a creek.
Well, the one I’m looking at now can convert to gasoline, propane or natural gas.
Just remember if you catch the house on fire or someone dies from Carbon Monoxide your insurance will say “Thanks for all the payments and NO you are not covered; your policy is void by your actions.”
You must have the installation done by a licensed technician and have a building permit if required by your municipality.
@Tropical_Willie, even if it’s portable? The nature of it being portable is that it is not permanent and doesn’t require a building permit similar to the gas BBQ that is hooked to the same gas line.
Hooking it up to natural gas, gasoline or a LPG tank and then ATTACHING to household wiring system in some municipalities require it to be to code; AND insurance companies love to void a policy after you have paid for half a century if you don’t have every ” I ” dotted and every ” T ” crossed.
In my city a hard-piped BBQ is a permitted installation with a gas line done by a plumber.
I can see if you hook it up to the household wiring. I was thinking she would be hooking it up to an extension cord just to comfortably get through a few days of power outage. If she is going to bypass the grid she should have an electrician get a permit and create some sort of bypass switch.
I have heard that some people turn off their main breaker and use a homemade, double-sided power cord to backfeed their generators into one of their outdoor outlets to feed the freezer, refrigerator, sump pump and some lights. I have heard…
But that too does not meet code.
My friend has said I would need to have a transfer switch installed on the mains.
@janbb Ummm….. Yep. That is the right way to do it. Otherwise if someone forgets to flip the main breaker when they were backfeeding they could electrocute the poor guys working on the wires.
But, like an elephant, some people never forget.
@LuckyGuy If you go that way, the double male plugs have to be 240 volt. 6000 watts at 240 volts would be 25 amps.
Minimum for the double ended power cord would be $100 in my area, just saying.
Also the backfeed outlet may have to be wired into the mains box and be outside the house, also just saying.
40 amps would cover a house with refrigerator/freezer, half dozen lights, microwave and small TV. No Electric water or large electric stove/oven.
40 amps powercord could cost $200
@Tropical_Willie If said individual used 14 ga.3 conductor wire with a 110V plug on both ends and plugged it from the 2000 Watt (20 amp) generator to an outside outlet that was already on the same phase as the refrigerator, freezer, sump pump and some other critical items, the generator setup would be quite portable, can run for many hours, and the ‘installation’ cost quite low.
But it would not be capable of powering the full house nor meet code. It would last a long time and be quite fuel efficient during disasters.
In a really big disaster, wouldn’t the gas stop flowing?
@RocketGuy There are all kinds of possible scenaria but in the case of Sandy, it didn’t. In any case, the one generator I am considering can be run on propane, gasoline or natural gas.
I don’t know anything about it, but that sounds dangerous.
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