Thread: Aluminum or Galvanized rigid gas supply pipe?

Greetings all,
I have long looked and learned, but have never posted. Well I am lost on thisone. The home wwas built in 195, and has a gas supply pipe running from a cast steel pipe and fitting to the water heater using compression fittings.

What I can not figure out is what is this material? It looks like brushed aluminum. I have never seen it before, and it just does not look right....
Any one? Beuller? Beuller? Beuller?

Thanks for the help. I have attached 2 pictures of said pipe. One is not so great.

Bob Fisher

Owner / Building Consultant

Open Door Inspections, Inc.

678-985-9800

Atlanta Home Inspections,Atlanta Home Inspector,Atlanta Commercial Inspections

bob@odinspector.com

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Sorry, home built in 1957.

Fisher

Looks like galvanized, which is allowed for NG. Did you scratch it with your knife? What color under surface?

Originally Posted by Bob Fisher

Greetings all, I have long looked and learned, but have never posted. Well I am lost on thisone. The home wwas built in 195, and has a gas supply pipe running from a cast steel pipe and fitting to the water heater using compression fittings. What I can not figure out is what is this material? It looks like brushed aluminum. I have never seen it before, and it just does not look right....
Any one? Beuller? Beuller? Beuller? Thanks for the help. I have attached 2 pictures of said pipe. One is not so great.

Is it threaded into the tee fitting at the top? Hard to tell from the photo. If threaded, I would expect galv. like Wayne said. I have never not heard of any threaded aluminum pipe.

The second photo looks like a flare nut. It is a bit fuzzy, but I would suspicion some sort of tubing, not pipe.

Looks like electrical conduit branching of to the right in the second photo. Have you used a magnet to see if it is a ferrous metal?

Looks like MIL-61-ST6 annealed tubing to me. Not sure if code allows this as codes vary from state to state. This tubing normally uses flared fittings but I guess it could be threaded although this would not be the prudent thing to do.
CAG

Hard to tell in the photo, but I would agree with others if its is threaded it may be galvanized...its does almost look like alumimum though. Check out your local hardware/plumbing store and look at the various materials until you find the one you were looking at. Good luck

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

The second photo looks like a flare nut. It is a bit fuzzy, but I would suspicion some sort of tubing, not pipe.

That was my first impression as well. The first photo looked exactly like EMT and the second photo looked like a flare or compression nut, confirming for me that it's some sort of tubing if not EMT.

"A way of seeing...is a way of not seeing..."
I also like the electrical conductors laying over the gas-pipe!
It's always nice to see gas and electric, playing together, unrestrained..nicely!

Have seen this many times before when installing water heaters. It is alum. with flared ends and in my area, it is a must to replace it.

From the 2006 IRC.

- G2414.5 (403.5) Metallic tubing. Seamless copper, aluminum alloy or steel tubing shall be permitted to be used with gases not corrosive to such material.
- - G2414.5.1 (403.5.1) Steel tubing. Steel tubing shall comply with ASTM A 539 or ASTM A 254.
- - G2414.5.2 (403.5.2) Copper tubing. Copper tubing shall comply with standard Type K or L of ASTM B 88 or ASTM B 280.
- - - Copper and brass tubing shall not be used if the gas contains more than an average of 0.3 grains of hydrogen sulfide per 100 standard cubic feet of gas (0.7 milligrams per 100 liters).
- - G2414.5.3 (403.5.4) Corrugated stainless steel tubing. Corrugated stainless steel tubing shall be listed in accordance with ANSI LC 1/CSA 6.26.

"Seamless copper, aluminum alloy or steel tubing shall be permitted", then a standard for steel tubing is given, a standard for copper tubing is given, and a standard for aluminum tubing is ... huh? ... not given?

That would mean the aluminum call would need to be made by the gas company: Is their gas corrosive to aluminum?

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck;
[FONT=Times-Roman

"Seamless copper, aluminum alloy or steel tubing shall be permitted", then a standard for steel tubing is given, a standard for copper tubing is given, and a standard for aluminum tubing is ... huh? ... not given?[/FONT]

That would mean the aluminum call would need to be made by the gas company: Is their gas corrosive to aluminum?

For us most local codes forbid it. We have mostly basements in our area, and the water heater is in the basement. The basements get used for anything and everything. What happens is, that alum. gets bumped and banged into and causes leaks.

As for copper tubing, I never use it. It's allowed but would have to check with the gas company to make sure it does not contain too much hydrogen sulfide;
from New York State Building Code:
G2414.5.2 (403.5.2) Copper tubing. Copper tubing shall comply with standard Type K or L of ASTM B 88 or ASTM B 280.

Copper and brass tubing shall not be used if the gas contains more than an average of 0.3 grains of hydrogen sulfide per 100 standard cubic feet of gas (0.7 milligrams per 100 liters).

Thank you all for the great replies.
Sorry I have not responded sooner. Been busy these last two weeks.
Lee, Thank you, you were on the mark as far as what it was, and how it was laid out. Aluminum pipe, with flaired ends.

Bob Fisher