NPT to propane fitting

[greg86z28]

I'm working on a project tapping off our main gas line (after the regulator) to run a fixed line to our deck for our grill. We have LP service at our house.

Right now I've got everything run up to the shutoff. Now I'm trying to figure out how to go from the shutoff to the grill.

One catch is we want to be able to disconnect the grill and use a turkey fryer (for brewing beer).

Both hoses for the fryer and grill are different. Because of that, I was thinking if I could reuse them it would be best, especially if we ever wanted to hook up a different propane sourced piece of equipment in the future. No messing around with making hoses and figuring out if you need a regulator.

Is there a fitting that goes from 1/2" NPT (male) to the standard Propane tank hookup (male)? I tired googling and was failing.

Thanks!

 

[NUTTSGT]

First off, I just want to get some clarification. When you say main gas line, are you referring to the LP running into the house or Nat Gas ?


Yes, there is, should be fitting available. Granted we switched the propane grill at the fire house over to natural gas (from LP or bought the NG version, can't really remember) but we plumbed right off the black pipe in the station. We have a "quick-connect style of hose" from the wall to the grill.

I know Menard's has a large selection of LP fittings. They are located near the heating section. I don't know about the other big box stores.

If you don't have a Menard's to check out their selection, I would suggest talking to your LP supplier. If he he's also a dealer (like ours) for LP grills and heaters, he should have what you need in stock. Possibly even hooking it all up for you and testing if you are a regular customer. If he doesn't sell/do that type of work, maybe he can give you a recommendation of who does or where to go.

 

[samss]

Something like this: https://propanewarehouse.com/shop/fittings/acme-fittings/1-34-male-acme-x-34-male-pipe-thread/

 

[95vette]

Hello, You need a 1/2 pipe to 3/8 tubing flared adaptor. Jim

 

[greg86z28]

First off, I just want to get some clarification. When you say main gas line, are you referring to the LP running into the house or Nat Gas ?


Yes, there is, should be fitting available. Granted we switched the propane grill at the fire house over to natural gas (from LP or bought the NG version, can't really remember) but we plumbed right off the black pipe in the station. We have a "quick-connect style of hose" from the wall to the grill.

I know Menard's has a large selection of LP fittings. They are located near the heating section. I don't know about the other big box stores.

If you don't have a Menard's to check out their selection, I would suggest talking to your LP supplier. If he he's also a dealer (like ours) for LP grills and heaters, he should have what you need in stock. Possibly even hooking it all up for you and testing if you are a regular customer. If he doesn't sell/do that type of work, maybe he can give you a recommendation of who does or where to go.

Our house has LP. I'm tapping off the main line into the house, right after the regulator.

I do know the quick connect fittings exist, but then I realized that I'd have to remake each hose for each piece of equipment, because they all are rubber hoses with crimped fittings. The turkey fryer (just a big burner) has a variable regulator as well, which means I'd need to source one of those.

I'm concerned that if I have to start making new hoses to work with a quick connect, then it's going to get pricey.

Another option is to find a quick connect male fitting to male propane fitting. Buy a few of those to screw into the existing hoses (show in picture below).

 

[OccupantRJ]

Look at your regulators. Turkey cookers normally use a high pressure regulator, color coded in red, and a grill normally uses a lower pressure regulator. The adapter fitting to be able to switch regulators easily would be the way to go in my opinion.

 

[The Cobbler]

you need to use quick connects .
also the turkey frier, as mentioned is higher pressure than the grill.not sure if the quick connects are rated for high pressure)
what is your first stage pressure(usually red at the tank) ? if it's high enough to operate the frier, you may be in luck.
you will need a second stage regulator(usually brown at the house) for the grill

I also think you're getting into territory where code compliance is important. just saying

 

[greg86z28]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try to provide a little more info and get more if needed!

As mentioned, our house is LP.

I'm running my line to the grill right after our main regulator (see photo).

Right now, my connection ends at the shutoff valve. I need a fitting that goes between the shutoff valve and the propane connection (see 2 photos, one is the grill, one is the turkey fryer). That way I can simply screw/unscrew any propane equipment with the standard portable tank connection. The turkey fryer adjustable regulator says 5 psi. My house line should supply at least that I would think correct? I can double check, but I don't know how to do that - I'll have to read up.




Would this fitting work? It's 1/4" NPT to the standard Propane POL connection. I'd need to buy a fitting to go from my 1/2" NPT to the 1/4" NPT but that is fine.

 

[Adk Mike]

I can answer any question you have. I’ve done this for years. 2 main things.
If your on the low pressure side ( the pressure in the house) you need to remove the regulator in the grill and run it direct. The turkey cooker will not work.
If your on the high pressure side from the tank before the house. Us a fitting that looks excactly like the value on a modern 20 pound tank. Then just hook the grill or turkey cooker direct. Using the regulator supplied. I like that the best.
Call your propane supplier and ask them to get you a barbecue grill box. They come both in high or low pressure models. I hope this helps. Mike
It’s not easy for the consumer because the industry is designed so you don’t get hurt.

 

[Adk Mike]

One last thing. That picture is of a POL by 1/4 inch NPT. If you have one smash it with a hammer. It could get you KILLED. It will take tank pressure and put it to something at tank pressure way above where any appliance is designed. Mike

 

[OccupantRJ]

Also, you may find that your local gas company will not sell you certain parts. This is a liability issue for them. Don’t take it personally. Get what you need online. I found another link that seems to have what you need. 4th page. Look for Male acme x mnpt fitting in the size of your handgrip fitting and valve. Measure a grill tank fitting for the correct size. Likely 1-3/4”, but check that. Support that piping at your valve to prevent breakage.

Adding to what Mike said, at point of use, LP often runs about 11 inches water column or so pressure, about a puff of your breath. Turkey cookers may run 5 pounds per square inch, so you must tap into the proper pressure to allow your two regulators to do their job, and to be safe. Gauges are available to check gas pressure, both manometer and standard gauge types.

http://www.lp-gasequipment.com/products/pdf/LPGas_Cat2010_p52-58.pdf

 

[greg86z28]

I made a mistake with my units. I saw 11 inH2O and missed the unit and assumed PSI. That's why I thought the turkey fryer would work when I saw the 5 PSI on the regulator.

It's not an issue for me to repipe to BEFORE the house regulator (tank pressure then). I have a primary/secondary regulator setup (one regulator on the tank, one regulator at the house).

If I do this, can I still use that 1/4"NPT x POL fitting? I understand that it's dangerous because you can supply tank pressure to a piece of equipment not rated for it, but isn't that the purpose then of using the stock hoses and stock regulators with whatever equipment I'm using?

For example if I hook up my turkey fryer to the tank pressure line, but I'm using the turkey fryer flex line with turkey fryer regulator, that's acceptable correct? Same with the grill, I can hook the grill up to the tank pressure line as long as I'm using the grill's flex line with the grill's specific regulator?

Thanks again everyone for your help and knowledge! I definitely am not a plumber here. I found my setup is a little different than most people's wishes - most people just want their grill hooked up!

 

[finn]

I don’t know much about gas fittings, but it seems to me that you haven’t thought this though if you don’t plan for shutoff valves and requirements for weather protection.

The fitting you proposed has an exposed o ring and isn’t suitable as a disconnect point left exposed to the weather when not in use, so it’s not suitable to connect a portable device like a grill to a permanent, fixed gas line.

Like others have said, I suspect the only approved connection point between a portable device and a fixed tank is some sort of engineered quick disconnect, protected by a weather rated shutoff valve within a few feet of the termination.

Also you will need a rigid, well supported gas pipe near / leading to the termination point

 

[greg86z28]

I guess I'm trying to figure out what the approved connection is.

Are quick connections acceptable? You can find them rated for "high pressure" up to 250 PSI.

What if I used the following connection (attached). I'd have to buy a male quick connect and POL fitting for each piece of equipment I own, that way I'm retaining the flex lines and equipment specific regulators.

 

[greg86z28]

Also, you may find that your local gas company will not sell you certain parts. This is a liability issue for them. Don’t take it personally. Get what you need online. I found another link that seems to have what you need. 4th page. Look for Male acme x mnpt fitting in the size of your handgrip fitting and valve. Measure a grill tank fitting for the correct size. Likely 1-3/4”, but check that. Support that piping at your valve to prevent breakage.

Adding to what Mike said, at point of use, LP often runs about 11 inches water column or so pressure, about a puff of your breath. Turkey cookers may run 5 pounds per square inch, so you must tap into the proper pressure to allow your two regulators to do their job, and to be safe. Gauges are available to check gas pressure, both manometer and standard gauge types.

http://www.lp-gasequipment.com/products/pdf/LPGas_Cat2010_p52-58.pdf

Thank you for the link

I will look at the pressure rating of my first stage regulator on the tank tonight.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I guess I'm trying to figure out what the approved connection is.

Are quick connections acceptable? You can find them rated for "high pressure" up to 250 PSI.

What if I used the following connection (attached). I'd have to buy a male quick connect and POL fitting for each piece of equipment I own, that way I'm retaining the flex lines and equipment specific regulators.

This will work if you want self sealing quick disconnects, as long as they are approved for LP gas.
With the fitting I referenced, you would unscrew/screw the hand grip of each regulator to attach or detach it. Weather caps are available for the acme thread fittings to protect them and keep dirt out. They can be tethered to the piping to prevent loss. Insects absolutely LOVE gas, and they will clog any opening in gas equipment with a dirt like substance in no time, so keep them capped or covered.

I am not a gas service man, but I ran and maintained a 20,000 gallon butane filling operation for small canisters for 28 years as part of my job, so have dealt with it a bit. Whatever you do, do it safely. Page 5 of that link has the caps with tether.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Look at page 2 of that link. It indicates that your regulators may fit 1-5/16” acme, but I am not readily seeing adapters for that. Check your sizes to see if that size is available to you. If not, you may have to connect the regulators directly to a quick disconnect half. Sometimes, the gas parts suppliers seem to not want to allow certain things to be connected in certain ways.

Edit: did find this.
https://propanewarehouse.com/shop/fittings/acme-fittings/1-516-acme-opd-x-14-fnpt/

 

[greg86z28]

Thank you OccupantRJ.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Thank you OccupantRJ.

You are very welcome. Sharing knowledge and skills should be a large part of why we frequent this place.

 

[maxpat82]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try to provide a little more info and get more if needed!

As mentioned, our house is LP.

I'm running my line to the grill right after our main regulator (see photo).

Right now, my connection ends at the shutoff valve. I need a fitting that goes between the shutoff valve and the propane connection (see 2 photos, one is the grill, one is the turkey fryer). That way I can simply screw/unscrew any propane equipment with the standard portable tank connection. The turkey fryer adjustable regulator says 5 psi. My house line should supply at least that I would think correct? I can double check, but I don't know how to do that - I'll have to read up.

just use a female BBQ fitting (QCC fitting)
pretty easy to find online and it's NPT on the other side.

like such: https://propanewarehouse.com/shop/fittings/acme-fittings/cylinder-adapter-qcc-x-14-mnpt/

 

[greg86z28]

Thanks for all the input in this thread. I'm going to T off before the 2nd stage regulator. My 1st stage regulator is 10 PSI.

I ordered this "gas box", which takes MNPT 1/2" and outputs the standard propane ACME male fitting that you can screw propane equipment to (using the standard 1-5/16" ACME). It also has a shutoff valve. This can handle tank pressure.






It'll give a nice clean look.

Thanks again for all the replies, learned a lot.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Now you are IN there! How about posting a link to that for others.

 

[greg86z28]

Here we go:
https://www.marshallexcelsior.com/gas-box-1-516-m-acmef-pol-single-outlet-12-fnpt-inlet-gray

They make a single outlet and double outlet version, in grey, ivory and black. The install instructions are here, it's a PDF, and also contains some specifications (max pressure, temp ranges, etc):
https://www.marshallexcelsior.com/sites/default/files/FORM 426 ME951 ME952 IOM REV B.pdf