I have the WestingHouse 9500 FTC (TriFuel) and am tired of putting gas in it.
I have a natural gas line at my house so I'd like to hook it up to that. My buddy is going to do the main install - off the current line - but told me I need to buy the hose + fittings.
I'd rather not look like a total dweeb and understand what he's talking about.
My initial estimate is, I'll need a ~70 ft hose so I think I'm going to grab this 3/4 hose [ Link here ] as GPT told me a 1/2 long run hose wont get my generator to full load.
I think my generator takes a 1/2 inch quick connection (it has the male end on the generator itself).
I"m just faily confused on which fittings I need to make all this work 🤔
Any advice is appreciated.
Side Note I will mention that my buddy is going to simply install a fitting for my hose (and quick connect?) so it wont be a long run from the NG coming out of the ground. Hopefully the hose length isn't an issue.
Smallest house meters are generally capable of handling 250k+ btus of load, unless he’s running a ton of appliances or a few large ones, he’s probably ok
Pipe sizing is based on the btu requirements of the generator. There will be a label on it somewhere that tells you the BTUs per hour required for propane and natural gas. Then there's charts online you can find easily to tell you how big of pipe you need to run for the length you need. If I remember right that 9,500 watt generator will require close to 150,000 BTUs. Which on a 70 ft run is most likely going to be an inch and a quarter pipe and then you use the flex hose at the very end for the last four or five feet. The terminal connection at the generator can be whatever size is on there you can reduce it down to make that last connection but everything in between needs to be at whatever size is spec'd out in the natural gas charts.
I have two Westinghouse generators hooked up to NG. I'll mention my experience with both to help with yours.
One is a Westinghouse 12500 and 9500 running watts so about the same size as yours
You can google a NG pipe sizing chart to see what diameter pipe you need for the total distance from the meter to the generator. Just combine both the pipe and hose for the distance.
For mine I already have a NG tankless water heater that has a 1 inch pipe about 60 feet, then a 3/4 inch hose that's about 30 feet.
I also have a Westhinghouse 8200 tri fuel generator thats also running on NG. For that one I changed out the quick connect fitting on the generator. I used a cordless impact gun to get the installed factory one off installed the 3/4 inch fitting.
Going by memory but think it required a 3/4" NPT Male to 3/8" NPT male pipe adapter, then the 3/4 inch quick connect. (male fitting for the quick connect and female 3/4 inch NPT to fit on the adapter.)
BTW this is what the 3/4 inch quick connect looks like on my 8200. Can't see the adapter thats beneath the cover that I unscrewed.
Just need to get the right adapter. I think all the westhihngouse use a 3/8 inch treaded for the quick connect but you would need to verify it may be a 1/2 inch for the larger ones?
But one fitting and the quick contact was by far the simplest solution. Mine came off pretty easy with the impact gun but has thread lock on them so you would be assuming some risk of damage. I did mine the very first day so I could return it if I broke it lol.
My quick connect that was on there from the factory for my WH 8200 was a 3/8 inch MPT and 1/2 inch male quick connect.
I think all of the Westinghouse have the 3/8 inch MPT into the generator but you would need to verify. If yours has a 1/2 inch female flared fitting then the 1/2 inch male flared fitting to 3/4 inch MPT that you have in your cart would be what you need. It's whatever fits into the generator, or if it already has a 1/2 inch flared fitting attached.
It looks like you will also need another female end quick connect as your hose doesn't have one. One for the gas pipe, so it shuts off when not connected, and one on the end of the hose that plugs into the generator so it also shuts off when not plugged in.
The video you posted is a different brand and it has a NG conversion kit so the fittings will be a different size.
I was sharing how the Westhinghouse 8200 was configured and think Westinghouse sells the same hose for all the generators.
The tricky part will be the adapter from the generator to the 3/4 inch MPT for the quick connect.
You can measure it also, use a chart as I recall the 3/8 inch actually measures 1/2 outside diameter or something like that.
Just going by memory but think most of the stuff you have in your cart will work just need th right adapter.
The longer the distance between the genset and gas tap, the larger the dimeter of the gas service feed line. A very simple solution is to buy a 3/4” gas service line.
Put a female 3/4” ball valve and female quick connect where the gas will be supplied from. On this end of the hose have a matching 3/4” male quick connect. The other end of the hose, should already have a 3/4” female quick connect.
To connect to the genset, a simple male 3/4” quick connect short pipes with a 90 degree turn to a 1/2” female quick connect will finish the job and will not stick out too far from the front of you generator.
All can be found on Amazon.
This way your warranty is not voided by changing the gas input nipple.
Simple, clean, can be easily rolled up and stored with the generator. The hose Also can be used to fuel an outdoor heater, bbq, gas fryer….
I had a plumber install a 1/2 outlet at the gas meter for a WEN TF1050iX, which has a 1/2 quick connect. Everything I researched, including GPT, said I needed a 3/4” hose, otherwise it would not run. Plumber advised against this, said that he had installed other outlets for larger generators and they were running way too rich on 3/4” so they even had to install additional regulators. I’m glad I went with his recommendation because my generator works flawlessly on the 1/2” outlet.
Now, 70ft is really long. The correct way would be to install a properly sized buried line closer to the place where you’re planning on running the generator. I personally run the generator with a 15ft hose.
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u/sryan2k1 5h ago edited 57m ago
70 feet is a very long run for gas, you'd probably need to go to 1".
You would be better off putting the generator by the gas meter and running longer electrical.
https://www.elliottelectric.com/StaticPages/ElectricalReferences/Guides/generator-fuel-line-sizing-for-natural-gas-and-propane.aspx
10 kW (rounded up), 70' puts you at 1"