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Natural gas questions for the grill masters here

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lykaon78

Golden Member
How much should I expect to pay to install an external gas line hookup for a gas grill? The main gas line in my house runs right by the spot where the line will exit the house? Just looking for a ballpark number.

Is it worth it? I grill year round.
 
Its definitely worth it. I had a direct line to my grill at my old house, and it was nice not having to run out for propane, or worry about running out of gas.

As for how much it costs, it can vary quite a bit by installer, how long the line has to be etc. I'd budget and couple hundred bucks to be safe. You can find out for certain by getting a few estimates.

Also, make sure you have a gas grill that can run off of natural gas. Not all are set up that way. In fact, its usually necessary to pay a bit more for the natural gas version of any given grill.
 
Sho'Nuff said:
Its definitely worth it. I had a direct line to my grill at my old house, and it was nice not having to run out for propane, or worry about running out of gas.

As for how much it costs, it can vary quite a bit by installer, how long the line has to be etc. I'd budget and couple hundred bucks to be safe. You can find out for certain by getting a few estimates.

Also, make sure you have a gas grill that can run off of natural gas. Not all are set up that way. In fact, its usually necessary to pay a bit more for the natural gas version of any given grill.
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I'm going to buy a new grill after I install this line. I have a couple of guys from Angie's List coming out for estimates but was looking for a ballpark number so I have a frame of reference.
 
I can't see it costing more than 200, 300 absolute tops for a few feet of line. The guy will have to turn off the gas service, T into the line, cut/thread and fit new pipe and then test. Additionally if you have pilot lights that went out due to gas service interruption, those will have to be re-lit as well. I'm estimating for 1 to 2 hours of labor and a few feet of new run plus parts (pipe and new valve fitting fitting(s))

Def do this. It sure beats not running out of propane. Natural gas is cheaper than propane and burns hotter as well. Its a no brainer. Your grill will need new jet(s) that are sized correctly for gas instead of propane, most likely a kit that comes with the install.
 
I just keep a spare tank ln the garage so when one runs out I just swap with the full tank and then fill the empty tank later in the week.
 
On that note, does anybody know how much it would cost to run a gas line to the kitchen (assuming a single floor house) in order to replace an electric stove with a gas one?
 
Parts are cheap, it's the labor that will suck. I'm going to say about $50 in parts and another $150-$200 in labor. So bout two fiddy.

As for worth it? ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY. I'm beyond spoiled now. I turn a lever and my grill is ready to go. Plus NG is about 1/3 the price of propane. You'll make that material cost up in a few years of heavy grilling.

I do several hour long slow cooks of roasts and things on the grill instead of heating up the kitchen now. Don't ever have to worry about running out midway through a cook and having to swap and replace a tank.
 
If you grill a lot, natural gas pays for itself after awhile. Problem with propane is when you think you have enough, you never have enough. Then you have to lug the tank to get it refilled, which is more expensive than gas.

I think we paid about $250 to get the line installed and we needed a long run of copper pipe inside the house to do it. Watch Home Depot because their contractors like to use the "difficult job" ploy and will try to charge you double the advertised rate.
 
Grill Masters never use Gas grill 😉

Save your money and get yourself a nice stove top cast iron griddle. Same crap, no need to buy "grill" or gas/tanks etc....
 
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I don't know what an installer would charge, but many plumbers and hvac installers are certified for gas lines. (because they work with water heaters and furnaces)

I ran my own lines when I converted to a tankless gas water heater. I just turned the meter valve off, bled the lines the best I could, and bought the appropriate black iron fittings... I used a gas-rated pipe thread sealant. (you can also use yellow teflon tape rated for gas) My local pipe supply got me a 21 foot section of 3/4" pipe for $35 plus tax delivered. You could probably go with 1/2" easy for a grill. I just needed the volume because it was for a 155k btu water heater. There are tables that tell you what the pressure drop for various pipe lengths and diameters are. It can help you appropriately size your system. Once you get it close to where you want it, you can switch to a flex pipe and terminate the fittings.

There are gas line recepticals that make hooking it up outdoors a lot easier. I want to do something like this if I don't do a built-in grill. Basically, it's just a male adapter that allows you to plug your regulator straight into it....just as you would a propane tank. Just remember when building a system to put extra valves in where you may want to service a particular leg without disrupting service to the other appliance. For instance, I have my water heater and dryer on one leg.....my gas logs and furnace on another....my range on another...
 
Update: First quote was $800, they estimated approximately 4 hours of work. Angie's List reviews said they were pricey but did great work so we'll see how it goes with the second plumber tomorrow.

At $800 its hard to make the math workout to justify NG over propane. I'm using about 2 propane refills each year. So that would mean roughly a 10 year pay back (before the cost of the NG). At that rate the cooking quality better be so much better than propane.
 
lykaon78 said:
Update: First quote was $800, they estimated approximately 4 hours of work. Angie's List reviews said they were pricey but did great work so we'll see how it goes with the second plumber tomorrow.

At $800 its hard to make the math workout to justify NG over propane. I'm using about 2 propane refills each year. So that would mean roughly a 10 year pay back (before the cost of the NG). At that rate the cooking quality better be so much better than propane.
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Quality will be the same. It is not just the price of the propane, but the ease of mind of knowing that you NEVER EVER have to worry about how much gas is left in the tank. You will probably end up grilling more because of it as well. I know I did when I got my house with the line in it already. Went from grilling MAYBE once a week...maybe...to 3-4 times a week. Lately, I've been making my lunches on the grill every day.
 
lykaon78 said:
Update: First quote was $800, they estimated approximately 4 hours of work. Angie's List reviews said they were pricey but did great work so we'll see how it goes with the second plumber tomorrow.

At $800 its hard to make the math workout to justify NG over propane. I'm using about 2 propane refills each year. So that would mean roughly a 10 year pay back (before the cost of the NG). At that rate the cooking quality better be so much better than propane.
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Get a second quote. There's no way it should cost more than a couple hundred bucks if you live in a typical home. Installing gas lines for BBQs isn't rocket science and shouldn't take more than a couple hours at most. The guys that did ours were packed up and done well under that time and we had a pretty long run.
 
If you're paying $800, why not just go out and buy several extra propane tanks? I believe I have 4 or 5 of them. I never have to worry about being out.

"At $800 its hard to make the math workout to justify NG over propane. I'm using about 2 propane refills each year."
I was just thinking about refilling the tanks tomorrow - when I drove by and looked at the price, it's currently $9 to refill a tank. Those trade your tank in for a full tank places are a huge rip-off. At $9 per tank, 2 tanks per year, that's 44 years before it pays off.

Also, propane burns hotter than natural gas; and for a lot of things, you want that grill HOT.
 
DrPizza said:
If you're paying $800, why not just go out and buy several extra propane tanks? I believe I have 4 or 5 of them. I never have to worry about being out.

"At $800 its hard to make the math workout to justify NG over propane. I'm using about 2 propane refills each year."
I was just thinking about refilling the tanks tomorrow - when I drove by and looked at the price, it's currently $9 to refill a tank. Those trade your tank in for a full tank places are a huge rip-off. At $9 per tank, 2 tanks per year, that's 44 years before it pays off.

Also, propane burns hotter than natural gas; and for a lot of things, you want that grill HOT.
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This is very true. If you go NG, do not go cheap on the grill. You will want one that retains heat very well.
 
DrPizza said:
If you're paying $800, why not just go out and buy several extra propane tanks? I believe I have 4 or 5 of them. I never have to worry about being out.

"At $800 its hard to make the math workout to justify NG over propane. I'm using about 2 propane refills each year."
I was just thinking about refilling the tanks tomorrow - when I drove by and looked at the price, it's currently $9 to refill a tank. Those trade your tank in for a full tank places are a huge rip-off. At $9 per tank, 2 tanks per year, that's 44 years before it pays off.

Also, propane burns hotter than natural gas; and for a lot of things, you want that grill HOT.
Click to expand...

Didn't know it was that much cheaper to refill my tanks.... that makes the math even worse.
 
Installers that bury plastic line without a locate wire should be shot on site. They make my job a nightmare.
 
lykaon78 said:
How much should I expect to pay to install an external gas line hookup for a gas grill? The main gas line in my house runs right by the spot where the line will exit the house? Just looking for a ballpark number.

Is it worth it? I grill year round.
Click to expand...

Call your gas company. They will send a guy out who will give you a free estimate and will also do the work.

I recently had this done and it was $300.
 
lykaon78 said:
Didn't know it was that much cheaper to refill my tanks.... that makes the math even worse.
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In Kaliforniscan, it costs more to refill, AND you have to pay to have your tanks inspected. If the tank is more than a year old, or has a dent, scratch, chip, rust, doesn't have a *current* certificate, or the inspector just wants to sell you a new tank, you will have to buy a new tank.
If you have friends, or family over for an afternoon, it's fairly easy to go though half a tank. So, yeah the math is even worse.
 
I had gas run to my stove when we moved in. It cost me $150 and he ran about 15 feet of pipe and installed a shutoff. Given the added expense of punching a hole in an exterior wall and sealing around it afterward I'll say $350 on the high end. Get some more quotes. Rule of thumb is three quotes on everything.
 
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