Standby generator gas issues?!?!

15 years ago

I am going to be installing a standby generator... got all my numbers together... contacted the gas company. My current meter has to be upsized to handle the cfm requirements... no problem. Problem comes in with the pressure. My current regulator is 5-7" WC. The generator requires 7-11. All my house appliances are good up to 10.5". So, I assumed that the gas company would just give me a 7-9" regulator like I see on MANY other homes. NO! They tell me they are standardizing on installations for generators, and will only give me 1 lb pressure (28") and it is my job to drop it down from there. That does not make sense to me! Has anyone else run into this with your gas company when having a generator installed? I know older models required much higher pressure... but 7-11 is not too high... they could easily feed me 7-9 for house and generator and we would all be happy.

The gas company handled the meter and pipe right up to the stub coming out of my house when the original meter was installed... should I just go buy a 7-9 regulator and give the gas company guy a good tip to just pop it on for me when they replace the meter? OR, should I actually go to a dual regulator set-up where my generator gets 9-11 and my house stays at 5-7 where it is now? If the Kohler generator says it will work on 7-11, does that mean it will work just as well at 7 as it will at 11 or would it work better at the higher end of the range?

I would appreciate info from anyone who has been through this!

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Comments (8)

ionized_gw
15 years ago
I don't know why the gas co's policy does not make sense to you. At higher pressure they can use a smaller pipe so it costs them less.
jscozz
Original Author
15 years ago
Actually, the pressures I am referring to are on the house side of the meter... which is homeowner responsibility... I don't think that is their motivation... I am guessing that they have so many different regulators and meters out there that for maintenance reasons they are trying to get down to a standard set-up.
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jscozz
Original Author
15 years ago
Anybody else have to do their own gas regulator install for a generator?
stinkytiger
15 years ago
Hi,

Yes but I am on propane. I have two regulators, one for the genset and one for the cooking stove. Both were put in by the propane company.

Best, Mike.
petey_racer
15 years ago
WHY is this in the electrical forum???
wayne440
15 years ago
The OP is installing a generator. I suppose he/she thought installation issues regarding same would be relevant to this forum.
petey_racer
15 years ago
Well a generator has two distinct portions. The electric side and the gas feed side.

Fair to say 99% of electricians do not also do the gas portion, nor are they experts on it.

IMO this is a subject for the plumbing forum.
brickeyee
14 years ago
"Fair to say 99% of electricians do not also do the gas portion,"

In some places a fair number of plumbers do not have a gas endorsement on their license.

Utilities are normally only responsible for delivering to a defined demarcation point (though the actual point varies with the utility and local laws).

The gas demarcation is often the output of the meter.

The user is then responsible for all further delivery and regulation.

Delivery pressures vary by company and local rules.

Increasing pressure for higher volume is often much more cost effective than replacing pipes to allow a lower pressure.