GAS LINE LEARNING LIBRARY / SALT LAKE VALLEY
Gas pipe materials: what is in your home?
Steel pipe, flexible stainless tubing and buried plastic can all be part of a home’s gas system. Here’s where each is used, how to identify it, and how modern black-jacketed CSST changes the electrical bonding requirements.
Try the interactive gas-system lessons ↗Gas words, in plain English No trade vocabulary needed.
- Demand / load
- How much gas the equipment needs. An appliance label gives its fuel input in BTU per hour; add the relevant appliances when assessing a shared pipe.
- BTU/h / input rating
- British thermal units per hour: the rate of fuel energy going into an appliance. Heat output is what it delivers after losses, so use the input rating for gas-supply calculations.
- Flow / CFH
- How much gas passes a point over time. CFH means cubic feet per hour. A cubic foot is a volume, like a box one foot on each side.
- Pressure / pressure drop
- Pressure is the push on the gas. A pressure difference moves it along a pipe. The reduction in pressure along the route while gas flows is called pressure drop.
- Capacity
- How much gas a pipe, meter or other part can deliver at the specified pressure. The connected appliances determine how much capacity is needed.
- Branch / upstream / downstream
- A branch takes gas from a shared route to part of the system. Upstream means toward the supply; downstream means in the direction gas travels toward the appliances.
- Meter / regulator
- The meter measures gas use. A regulator controls pressure.
- Shutoff / sediment trap
- A shutoff is a valve that stops supply to a section. A sediment trap is a capped pocket arranged to catch debris before it reaches an appliance’s gas controls.
- Inlet / manifold
- The inlet is where gas enters an appliance. The manifold distributes it to the burners inside. Pressure requirements at these two places can differ.
- Combustion air / venting
- Combustion air is air needed to burn fuel. Venting carries the resulting exhaust away.
- Clearance / access
- Clearance is required space around equipment or piping. Access means being able to reach a part for inspection or service.
- Code / commissioning
- Code means installation rules adopted for the job’s location. Commissioning means checking and starting equipment according to its instructions, then confirming that it operates as required.
The gas piping
you may find at home.
A home can have several gas-piping materials along the same route. Steel and CSST distribute gas through the building, short connectors serve individual appliances, and gas-rated polyethylene is used for buried outdoor runs.
RIGID BUILDING PIPE
Steel / “black iron”
Black iron is the common name for rigid steel gas pipe. Straight sections join with threaded fittings, including elbows for turns and tees for branches. Supports hold the pipe in place; coatings protect exposed steel from corrosion.
FLEXIBLE BUILDING TUBING
CSST
CSST stands for corrugated stainless steel tubing. Its thin, ridged metal wall bends around a building’s framing, and a jacket covers the tubing. Modern black-jacketed, arc-resistant systems add electrical protection. Each system uses its own matching fittings.
THE FINAL APPLIANCE CONNECTION
Appliance connector
A short flexible connector joins an appliance to the gas supply, usually at the nearby shutoff valve. Its rating and installation instructions establish which appliances it can serve and how it can be routed.
AN APPROVED UNDERGROUND SYSTEM
Gas-rated polyethylene
Gas-rated polyethylene, or PE, is plastic piping made for buried gas service. At the end of a buried run, a riser assembly brings the connection above ground and protects the transition to metal piping.
References: Gastite underground gas piping and risers; manufacturer piping and connector distinctions.
Black-jacketed CSST
and electrical bonding.
Listed arc-resistant CSST has electrical protection built into its jacket. FlashShield+ and TracPipe CounterStrike use that protection as part of complete piping systems that eliminate the manufacturer’s extra dedicated CSST bonding wire.
What bonding does
Bonding electrically connects metal piping to the home’s grounding system. This helps keep nearby metal parts at similar voltage, reducing the chance of electricity jumping between them as a spark. That jump is called arcing; a nearby lightning strike can cause it.
CONVENTIONAL CSST · OFTEN YELLOW
An extra bonding connection
Conventional CSST, including older yellow-jacketed tubing, needs an extra bonding wire to help protect it from lightning-related arcing.
ARC-RESISTANT CSST · BLACK JACKET
Protection built into the system
An arc-resistant jacket protects the tubing from electrical arcing. FlashShield+ and CounterStrike require no extra dedicated CSST bonding wire when installed as their complete systems. Standard gas-piping bonding still applies, just as it does with steel pipe. A properly grounded gas appliance can provide that electrical connection.
What to look for in an existing home
The jacket’s brand and AR marking identify listed arc-resistant tubing. Check for older tubing connected to it: a system containing conventional CSST still needs the extra bond.
An electrician checks the electrical connection between the gas piping and the home’s grounding system. A system with no grounded appliance connection needs a separate bonding connection under the electrical rules for the home.
Product references: FlashShield+ jacket and XR3 fittings; Gastite installation guide, §4.10; CounterStrike installation guide, §4.10.1. ICC explains arc-resistant tubing, AR markings and mixed systems.
Checking existing pipe
before extending a line.
Before extending a gas line, we check its condition and whether it can supply the added appliance. The route matters too: buried sections, wall cavities and exposed outdoor pipe need different protection.
- Corrosion: rust and deterioration, especially where steel meets moisture or soil.
- Physical protection: protection from screws and nails inside walls, or impact along exposed routes.
- Support: brackets and hangers that carry the pipe’s weight and keep connections from being pulled or twisted.
- Transitions: fittings joining piping systems, including the riser where buried plastic connects to above-ground metal.
See how appliance demand and the full pipe route affect sizing ↗
Choosing pipe
for your project.
The proposal should name the piping system, show its route and explain access and protection. Those details help you see where work will happen and which walls, ceilings or outdoor surfaces will be affected.
In our Salt Lake City outdoor addition, we used threaded black iron after checking the existing supply. The job photos show the threaded fittings and the finished route.
Recognize steel fittings, shutoffs and caps in our job photos ↗
See what a complete proposal should include ↗ · Understand buried customer-owned lines ↗
PUT THE INFORMATION TO WORK
Tell us about
your project.
Mountain Man Plumbing is based in Sandy and serves the Salt Lake Valley. Send the appliance model, where it will go and your timing. For a repair after a shutoff, include the utility or inspection notice.