retrieved 13 April 2015, original source: http://www.amerigas.com/pdfs/CSST-Lightning-Safety-Warning.pdf -, Philadelphia building codes: "Definitions, B. section 12 35 30-residential Casework." The use of corrugated stainless-steel tubing jacketed with yellow PVC or polyethylene (CSST) as piping for natural and LP gas has been growing rapidly since its introduction in 1989. CSST x 25 ft. In my Brother-in-Law's condo, the gas line was snaked all over and not really strapped anywhere, although it was protected by nail plates at stud and joist penetrations. The 2009 edition of NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code, includes new requirements for bonding CSST gas piping systems to the grounding conductor of the buildings electrical system, to reduce the possibility of damage by lightning strikes by reducing the electrical potential between metallic objects and building systems, including gas distribution. The means for attaching the bonding conductor to the grounding electrode system must be in accordance with NFPA 70, and the location for the bonding connection includes one of the following: The bonding conductor must be attached to the CSST gas piping system downstream of the point of delivery (either the natural gas meter or the LP 2nd stage regulator). Gas piping codes and industry sources of CSST are included. Where the clamp is attached to rigid pipe, the pipe surface must be clean and free of paint and coatings to enable a metal-to-metal connection. TracPipeCounterStrikeis designed to withstand significantly higher levels of lightning energy when compared to conventional TracPipewith the yellow jacket. If it were water piping, it would be PEX. To the untrained eye, they do look a lot alike. KAERMO CSST Gas Line, 1/2 ''100FT Flexible Gas Line, Natural Gas Line with 2 Male Adapter Fittings, Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing, Propane Grill Conversion Kit. You can also see the pipe sizing chart for the manufacturer Gastite here. Would it still be a good idea to bond your CSST even if you have the black stuff? connect a short piece of black pipe to the elbow, and connect it to the regulator installed by the propane supplier. Both arc-resistant jacket systems provide equal protection along the entire length of the piping system, and the extra bonding described in this CodeNotes is not required. Ideally, you want to put the bonding clamp in a spot where the wire will be asshort as possible back to the electric panel. Usually no more than a few feet long. the other end of the CSST would run through the attic and down . Flexible gas lines (also known as corrugated stainless steel tubing - CSST) have been installed in millions of homes in the U.S. and around the world. hbbd``b`$CC`$X VHD'fx0u, $Lf : ! [At left, a new CSST gas piping installation, incomplete, is illustrated, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates (found at page bottom, Click to Show or Hide) .]. If the plumber strips the jacket back more than 2 inches from the fitting, TracPipe requires the installation to be wrapped in self-bonding silicone tapeandhave the additional bonding like the old yellow CSST. Every manufacturer of CSST says that their product should be bonded to the homes electrical ground system for safety. If you are concerned with your install I would have an electrician check the bonding of the system to make sure things are done correctly. If your home is newer (say built in the past 20 years or so) there is a very good chance you have CSST installed as part of yourgas distributionsystem. Can csst be supported on the bottom of floor joists in basement. Check out willingness detailed code escort here! House Fire Due to Faulty CSST Installation. I'm a dwelling contractor in Wisconsin, I would like more information on Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) used for gas piping in buildings. I wonder if you would do an article on it? In Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference (PCIC), 2010 Record of Conference Papers Industry Applications Society 57th Annual, pp. Electrically bonding the CSST will ground the gas line and help prevent damage and subsequent fire risk. Website: www.gastite.com, Email: gastite@gastite.com, Metal-Fab, Inc. (manufacturer of Diamondback CSST gas piping). Yellow "Standard" CSST gas pipin galso requires special electrical ground bonding to reduce risk of damage & leaks in areas of high lightning strike activity. Uniform Plumbing Code, the . Goodson explained that CSST was generally not a good electrical ground, thus lending importance to the "direct bonding" discussion for this gas piping system. 974 Breckenridge Ln, Suite 138 However, new homes with CSST require electrical bonding or grounding to protect against lightning strikes. I think it is the black csst, May have a continuous ground, through the length of the pipe. Copyright Home Inspector Secrets 2023 FACs will come with a data tag hanging on them, unless the installer tears it off. When CSST piping is installed underground outside of the building, the portion of CSST which approaches the building, by necessity, becomes above ground and is exposed. Read Also >> What Is The Code For Stairs? Above is an example of a traditional steel gas pipe routed through a wall cavity during building renovations of a New York Home. [No additional manufacturer bonding requirements]. He's talking about CSST (corrugated stainless steel tubing) gasline. Are Flexible Gas Lines Safe? The bonding conductor can be a solid or stranded copper or aluminum conductor. Or if we look at the February housing start data that means that almost 100% of new homes are using CSST gas piping - which sounds a bit dubious. Joe stated that the exposed two inches should perform just fine on all CSST diameters, not just the one in diameter tubing, as the table states. This article describes CSST: corrugated stainless steel tubing used for gas piping in buildings. What Is The Code For Water Heater Installations? Charles Lee Clifton, retired senior director of plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas resources for the International Code Council, has more than 45 years of experience in the plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas industry. Bottom line: CSST flexible gas piping is indeed sold in versions that are rated for outdoor use. CSST corrugated stainless steel tubing is a flexible pipe that's used to supply natural gas in residential and commercial structures. IF YOUR HOUSE GETS HIT BY A DIRECT LIGHTNING STRIKE, YOU REPLACE WHATEVER IT DESTROYS, AND BURY ANYONE WHO DIES. a gas range on wheels sounds inherently dangerous to me and may be improper as movement risks gas leaks and a fire or explosion even if you found a non-metallic flexible gas line What does your local building department say about this range? Of course there are protection, routing, electrical grounding and other requirements for such . Furthermore, in most jurisdictions, gas lines are not allowed to travel beneath the slab of the residence (sidewalks, patios, etc, are ok, but not under the garage or living spaces) unless installed in a gas -tight conduit, sealed at each end. Asking $300 for all. What you really need to pay attentionto is the keyword may. The truth is you cant know what will happen, as lightning does what it wants. According to Jim Narva, executive director of the National Association of State Fire Marshals, that association is focusing on informing homeowners of the need for retrofit ground bonding of older CSST installations. The idea is fairly simple. The council open to all ICC members and serving the needs of PMG officials and industry professionals consists of a great team of professionals who are willing to share their technical expertise and experiences. Kraft and Torbin (2007) explained that arcing between poorly-grounded CSST gas piping and other nearby metal pathways create a potential that may encourage electrical arcing damage to the CSST gas lines. 1.2 CSST: A New Concept in Gas Piping . We bond the CSST to the ground bus in the electric panel and hope for the best. You run the risk of crushing or damaging the CSST tubing when you place the clamp on it and that is a bad thing. An older home is likely exempted (grandfathered-in) from current CSST gas line code, but homeowners that have flexible gas lines should have it evaluated by a qualified plumber or electrician. I have a townhome built in 2006. hb```f``*d`e`` B@1630dii>~!eQYgm,Dfw~Ca:y1m 35eUTX41jv3s^v[9:v-=xV'tnIcd kyyE00 Treichel, Steven A. SECTION G2424 (415) PIPING SUPPORT INTERVALS. The IRC has two tables to determine pipe size in Chapter 24 for flexible gas lines. The 1999 NEC Handbook Section 250-104 (b) says that it should be bonded to the grounding electrode system. This guide isn't meant to detail every code, and I have summarized a few of the most important codes for flex gas lines from the IRC Chapter 24 Fuel Gas. My OPINION is that for such items an allowance, rathe rather than doing the work, is a better deal for both buyer and seller.For the seller, you avoid getting dragged into an abyss of unknown hassle and expanding costs.For the buyer, she can be certain that the work is both done properly AND that the work was performed by someone who is accountable to her. I am looking to bond out CSST gas line which is in our crawl space of the house (dirt floor) and the copper water pipe is close by. . Once the breaker trips, that is called clearingthe fault and you know something is wrong by the loss of power. Hi Alex As far as I know, there is no additional bonding requirement for flexible appliance connectors. Here is one for sale at Home Depot for a few bucks. %%EOF Goodson, Mark E. "Leak prevention method for gas lines." Its when things go wrong the ground wire steps up and become the hero. Many U.S. states around 2006 enacted a CSST gas line code that requires electrical bonding of CSST such as this example in Virginia. We had trouble relating industry estimates with US Census data and U.S. Energy Information Agency data, but there is no doubt that the piping has been installed in many homes in Canada, the United States, and Japan. And even if the CSST is made with an arc-resistant jacket, your local city or state may still require bonding. Instead in those situations it's common to use steel piping for such gas lines. Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on 48, no. I'm finishing my basement ceiling which includes building a bulkhead around ductwork, plumbing and two CSST gas lines. Good idea! This is a relatively new, flexible gas line used all over the country. Since this path has really low resistance, it causes the amperage to rise in the circuit, and the breaker to trip. You also need to make sure the clamp is not placed on the actual CSST tubing itself like the photo below. Youll have the opportunity to discuss issues that you face as a community, and how ICC might best serve you. He retired from the International Code Council after 13 years of service. If this event takes place close enough to your house, it can enter the structure via any available path. FACs are usually smaller in size (diameter) than CSST. Most FACs are painted yellow from the factory. CodeNotes CSST Bonding. National Electric Code (NFPA 70 . The article discusses CSST uses, sources, installation specifications, and safety measures to protect the gas piping from damage by abrasion, puncture, lightning strikes or other hazards. One would think that excluding concerns for corrosion, similar worries apply to (and generally prohibit the use of) flexible copper tubing when used for gas piping: it is not routed within building cavities. Ideally, you want to put the bonding clamp in a spot where the wire will be asshort as possible back to the electric panel. "Underground piping system." Always verify the flexible gas line code with your local state or city and with the manufacturer. The following example is excerpted from a local Oklahoma Building Code for Rogers County, Appendix H, , Subsection "Policy for installation of Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST)", in Appendix H-17General Information and This document requires that CSST gas pipe to be bonded to the premises electrical grounding system. I also found this sad story from NBC 5 News in Texas on a house fire that killed a man from suspected CSST failure. In 2009 the same authors reported that CSST could perform acceptably but made important and detailed recommendations for the ground bonding of CSST gas piping systems. gq Y7v0XSv 5&ZRK ";"f^ c}3 -E Would appreciate some clarity on CSST bonding- a number of the posts I have read are confusing to me anyway. His career began as a second-generation plumber, working for his father at Clifton Plumbing Inc., in Tampa, Florida. Gastite Division Stringfellow (2013) continued to report on electrically-induced gas distribution piping. Your account has been marked for password reset. Look for corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) used as gas piping in buildings constructed in the U.S. or Canada after 1990 and also look for it in older buildings where gas piping was newly installed or modified since 1990. Doesnt all this bonding assume that every joint in the gas line has good metal to metal contact to be able to carry the stray current to the bonding wire? Some CSST manufacturers will require a minimum of flex line support every 4-feet, but other companies may only need support every 8-9 feet. 248 0 obj <>stream TracPipeCounterStrikehas been shown to be up to 400 times more resistant to the damaging effects of electrical energy than conventional CSST. These clamps make a solid connection point to the CSST pipe and have a hole and set screw for the wire. Because it is flexible, the walls of the pipe have to be thin. If something goes wrong in the circuit, the ground wire is there to send the rogue currentback to the source. Mau, Andrew E. "Self-flaring, split bushing pipe fitting and hose assemblies employing same." Maybe. Some local jurisdictions further detail CSST gas piping installation specifications such as where and how it can be routed. Read Also >> What Is The Code For Toilet Clearances? Studies have confirmed that a lighting strike near a home can puncture the membrane of CSST as result of the power surge. When certain conditionsof an electrical storm are present around/in the home, the CSST can fail, create a gas leak, and start a fire. It is commonly used nowadays and . 2. meets code. Unlike traditional, heavy-walled gas pipes, CSST is extremely thin and therefore susceptible to damage and contact with sharp objects, dirt and debris, or harmful substances is to be avoided. Can csst be supported on the bottom of floor joists in basement. The bonding clamp and bonding conductor have already been attached to the black pipe. These are the hot wire (black), the neutral wire(white), and the ground wire (bare copper). 'm not aware of any cast iron gas piping in modern use. 800-818-3201 Free Shipping on orders over $99 ship free Ship To: 11234 . Or fastest delivery Wed, Apr 19 . Please enter your e-mail address below. Where is the bonding connection made on CSST? Thanks! This edition of CodeNotes Bonding of Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) Gas Piping Systems reflects the new 2021 editions of the International Fuel Gas Code and the International Residential Code. Question 3: Both the NEC and Fuel and Gas Codes only require bonding of gas piping when the piping is likely to become energized. An excerpt from their website states: TracPipeCounterStrikeis a patented CSST innovation based on our existing TracPipeCSST product, but that is engineered to significantly decrease the potential for lightning induced damage to fuel gas piping systems. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CSST Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing 37 Ft 3/4" Flexible Natural Gas Line Pipe at the best online prices at eBay! Flexible Gas Line Code (2023 CSST Requirements) Arie Carrier Tuijl | Licensed Place Inspector . Your email address will not be published. Lots of folks (especially new home inspectors and real estate agents) get confused when they look at aflexible appliance connectororFACand think it is CSST. The ribs on CSST gas lines are not as pronounced as they are on FACs. There was an oven installed at the adjacent kitchen. I was wondering if CSST can be bonded to the copper water pipe in Arkansas. I am concerned that it may be a safety issue. The painted FAC has very pronounced ribs you can see and feel on the tubing. Durham, Robert A., and Marcus O. Durham. Is cast legal for commercial application in Illinois? For an isolated leak replace just the leaky section. Original source: https://tracpipe.ca/wp-content/uploads/FGP_001_DI_Guide.pdf Also seeCAN-CGA-B149.1 Natural gas installation book used in Canada. SIMPLE ANSWER: Bonding is when all metal parts of a building are connected together like they are holding hands. The manufacturer will specify where and when shutoff valves will need to be required. Such lightning-related electrical arcing can weaken or even perforate the gas piping leading to dangerous gas leaks. 7.13 Electrical Bonding and Grounding 7.13.2 CSST. 'm not sure what the codes say about that. 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