That is ridiculous. It's not like you want a new line, just a bigger meter on the existing line. Why do I suspect that quote was for a new service, not an upgrade?

You might try again with a different rep. If they persist, consider propane.

Residential pool heater only go to 400K BTUs, BTW. A 500K unit would come under Commercial usage. I wonder if the 499K size you wrote here was what you told the gas company. That might put things in a different pricing tier.

Scott

Hey Scott- I know it is ridiculous, I'm positive the heater is 499,000 btu's, it's a raypack, I will check the paper work again, I don't remember the numbers, but he said if I needed the first upgrade it was free, but if I needed(this number might be wrong) the 800,000 there would be a charge and that was the quote! Can I safely use heater without the upgrade?

Two things happen using a high BTU appliance on a undersized meter/service/supply line:
1. The gas supply is insufficient causing the gas pressure to be too low resulting in improper combustion which leads to heater failure or erratic operation
2. The meter is attempting to work outside of it's calibrated range, normally causing the meter to misread, resulting most often in overcharging for correct net gas used

Here's the tech data sheet for Ray-Pak residential heaters:

http://www.raypak.com/Raypak_digital_data.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Ray-Pak Tech Data Sheet-Residential Pool Heaters

I had to upgrade my gas meter, the gas company should do it for free.

We have a 400K pentair, an outdoor grill, and a line for a future firepit. I figured about 725K demand if the house boiler fired in May or Sept. Orange and Rockland here in NY upgraded to 800 residential meter for free.

If they won't go to the 800, find out what the secondary pressure is. Our gas company here sets the meter at 7" WC. Plus I gave the guy 20 bucks and tweaked to 8+. But the heater needs only 4" to operate. If you have big pipes, then you will have some surplus volume, and you might be OK.

Add up your gas appliances BTUs.

I would expect the furnace, hot water heater, stove top and oven or range, and dryer. Add them all together and then add 400 for the heater to get the size you need. I seriously doubt you would need an 800K BTU capable meter. 600 or 700 if you have two furnaces.

Scott

Individual utilities can charge what they want. $2000 is a bit much but if they are allowed to do it by their regulatory body, I'm not sure what your options are. Propane is really not smart even at $2000 - Unless you like an ugly tank on your property and paying twice the price for heating your pool.

Now a heat pump might be a decent option - it will probably cost more than $2000 more than gas but less to operate. Then again, your electricity rates are probably high enough to eat up much of the savings.

Solar? $4000 is probably the upcharge but payback will be just a few years.

Not free. $300.00 in League CITY TX (Houston Area)

How big is this pool?

do you plan on heating it during winter?

racket-it's only approx. 15,000 gall- 16x32ish, and no we don't plan on using in winter, only may, and september, what do u think? could I get away with not upgrading??

In my jurisdiction, you can't take that shortcut. You must have a meter that can handle every gas load at once at full tilt. Doesn't matter that you might not run the heat when you heat the pool, the next owner might. Code usually doesn't allow shortcuts.

Centerpoint is my Gas Co, upgrade was $350.

They came out, calculated possible max load based on appliances, shut off gas, upgraded meter, hooked up to heater, ran heater to test. Checked and ran each appliance, and tested entire meter area and plumbing at heater with gas detector. Whole time of visit 2.5 hours, very very professional technician.

michelle, david has hit the nail squarely on the head. The fact that your pool is only 15K is moot. Its a matter of supply and demand that dictates the meter size.

Scott