Teeing off existing underground gas line (polyethylene tubing)

[54fighting]

I have an existing underground polyethylene tubing gas line. I want to tee off the line to supply a tankless water heater. Is there a fitting (perhaps a saddle) which would allow the line to be tapped at any point or is it necessary to go back to a connection point in the line (i.e., a union that extended the line) and install a tee at that point?

I am not going to do this work myself but want to prep the area for a gas fitter. I want to excavate the necessary area around the existing line and then trench for the line to the tankless water heater.

Thanks.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Is the underground gas pipe big enough for both loads first ?

 

[snowhead]

It would be better to speak to the fitter who's going to do the work and ask how he/she would normally do it and as Shaun they'd also check if the pipe can supply the extra load.
Is the heater replacing an existing one, just in a new location?

But in answer to the original question, P.E is flexible enough to cut and lift and put a Tee in.

 

[54fighting]

Thanks for the responses.

I've been puzzling over the load, and it was going to be my next question (although I understand that it is the first question to answer). I wish I had a better understanding of load going into this, but my plumbing education over the years has been live and learn. Let me describe the situation, and I'll try to be concise.

This is a 2" line with a run of about 93" from the meter to a 400,000 BTU pool heater located adjacent to a garage. There is a room above the garage which has a 3/4 bath and a kitchen sink. The line also serves a fire pit with a 19 inch fire ring (I need to determine the BTUs but I'm guessing under 100,000). The line would also serve a whole home standby generator (not yet installed); I need to confirm but I believe the BTUs for the generator are in the 325,000 range. The tankless water heater requires 120,000 BTUs. These additional appliances are within 10 to 20 feet of the pool heater.

The pool heater and the tankless are on a subpanel separate from the main residence. I want to see if I can isolate this subpanel from the standby generator so that the pool heater and the tankless water heater cannot operate while the generator is running during an outage. The standby generator needs to run a weekly test at load for about 10 minutes. I want to see if I can program the pool heater so that it does not operate during this weekly test or, at a minimum schedule the weekly test at a time when the other 3 appliances are unlikely to be in use.

I recognize that the 2" line is flexible but it is down about 18" in hard clay and the access point would be along the line.

I also recognize that I'm probably pushing it on the load, but I've already installed the tankless (I'm too old to still be on the live and learn method, but I can't help myself) and would like to avoid using a propane tank to fuel it.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Best to get a licensed pro in to check the loading and to connect up

 

[54fighting]

I will do that, but if anyone knows how a pro would tee off one of these lines, whether it is a saddle device or cutting the pipe and working a tee onto the two sections of pipe or something else, I'd appreciate the information.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Prob a tee if that’s in regs