Can a 1/2" gas line provide a combined 60,000 BTU?

Question

Can my 1/2" gas pipe deliver a combined 60,000 BTU with no problems?

I have just replaced my older electric clothes dryer with a new gas dryer (rated at 22,000 BTU) and would like to tap into my existing 1/2" gas pipe that feeds my water heater 8 feet away (rated at 34,000 BTU). I have spoke with plumbers and they are 50/50 on telling me that the existing 1/2" line will not provide enough BTU for optimum performance on both my water heater and clothes dryer.

I do not want to get ripped off as the job is $600 more expensive if I have to repipe 3/4" gas to the appliances nor do I want my clothes dryer to run for hours because not enough gas is available to dry my clothes.

Any help is greatly appreciated - and if you are an expert in this field say so in your answer !

Answer 1

The missing piece of information is the length of the 1/2 gas line.
Assuming it is less than 80 feet, you're in good shape.

For 1/2" iron pipe:

20' is good for 119,000 BTU/hr
40' is good for 82,000 BTU/hr
60' is good for 66,000 BTU/hr
80' is good for 56,000 BTU/hr
(your dryer and water heater combined require 56,000 BTU/hr)

3/4" iron pipe approximately doubles these values.

Follow the link below for more details and to read up on this topic.

Answer 2

1/2 in line will deliver about 58,000 +/- BTU. so it depends on you. Usually you will not have need for water heater while dryer is running. Water heaters are usually not runn for long periods of time. If you are washing clothingg using hot water(I never do) you might have a problem. otherwise I would not bother with new lines because the number of times you need lots of hot water while drying clothin is rare!