New furnace requires propane line replacement How to bend?

[RichHog]

So replaced the furnace from the old NT22 to the NT30SP and. The propane in in is on the bottom opposite side. Do i have to take this to a person or can I measure ands go to Home Depot or somewhere that the bends, flairs and fittings are pre assembled?

[rmkrum]

You can get a set of copper tube bending springs in the plumbing tools section of any big box home improvement store. A flaring tool kit can be found there or at Harbor Freight. Neither of those places are able to make you an assembly, because it’s a build in place situation. If you are not sure how to do this, hire a plumber or RV mobile technician to do this for you. Since it is propane and leaks are dangerous, please do it right.

[AlinCal]

I don't think you will find that service. Soft copper bends easy enough by hand if you do not need a tight radius, you can buy a cheap tube bender if you need a 1" radius or want a more pro look. Same with the flair tool and tubing cutters, cheap ones are available.
I have ridgid brand and while they work far better than the harbor freight stuff they are pretty pricey for limited use.
I do not recall seeing any bends done on our trailers that were not by hand.

[RichHog]

Does it have to be copper or can a LP supply hose work? The old copper line was a U shape and I don’t think it will be long enough to to to the other side of the furnace on the bottom right side.

[Dingo Girl]

I used copper. It took a few trys to get it the exact length with bend & flares.

[AlinCal]

Copper. Normally soft is sold in 50 foot rolls, I see amazon has shorter lengths

[eubank]

I would recommend one of the flexible copper lines common on gas water heaters, space heaters, and so forth. That's how I rerouted the propane line to install a new fridge in the Airstream several years ago. Hardware store stuff.


Lynn

[Bigventure]

If your not familiar with the process and it sounds like your not. Hire someone who is. Propane is explosive gas. Bad things can happen. It won’t cost to much. It’s a 30 minute job for someone who knows what there doing.

[AlinCal]

Its not rocket science, and it's easy to soap test your work to be sure you have no leaks.
You can google and find u tube videos on how to, if watching someone make a flair intimidates you then call a plumber.
by the way I would not use an appliance connector in your situation, those flex connectors for water heaters and furnaces are for non conceiled locations in homes.

[rmkrum]

Flex lines, the corrugated type are absolutely verboten in any mobile application. Vibration quickly makes them split and leak!
Get soft copper tubing, flare fittings, and do it right, please!

[sheriff1]

If you are going to make bends don’t try to just bend it with your hands, it will kink. Try wrapping the copper around a coffee can to get smooth bends

[guskmg]

Go rent a tubing bender and use new flare fitting. ACE Hardware my have them as free loaners with a deposit. Beware that some gas feed lines are not 1/2", but 9/16". Mine are, so correct sizing is important. Measure tubing by outside diameter.
guskmg

[AlinCal]

All branch lines in our 91 are 3/8".

[RichHog]

So I went to Home Depot and bought 19’ roll of 3/8” copper tubing and flailing tool, cutter and ends. Wasn’t too hard to do. It’s a bear to connect the pipe because the gas intake on the furnace it at right front lower corner and the pipe runs up the side across the top and back to the left middle side. Then after getting it back together there was no power to the furnace to test it. Looks like blown fuse so will be tomorrow to get back to it and leak test then replace the fuse.

[DOCBloom]

For tight bends fill with water and cap then freeze . Then bend. Most Ace hwd stores sell cu tubing by the foot.

[RichHog]

So replaced the fuse last night and turned on the gas using my new custom bent 3.5’ propane extension. Furnace fired up and ran it for 20 minutes. Today I sealed it all up with aluminum tape and ran it most of the morning. Satisfying that I broke through and learned the art of flairing.

[AlinCal]

Great! Did you leak test? A soapy solution applied with a sponge will do.

[RichHog]

Originally Posted by AlinCal

Great! Did you leak test? A soapy solution applied with a sponge will do.

I bought a leak test solution from PPL and checked it and the tanks. couldn’t get to the one going into the furnace as it’s not accessible. But put a carbon monoxide tester next to it to make sure all is venting properly.

[dmac]

A CO detector won’t sense LP gas. Try putting a soap solution in a squirt bottle and spray it the best you can. A flashlight and a small mirror on a stick might help, a fiber optic or dental camera, or have a heating guy check it with a sniffer.

[Pygmypoacher]

Originally Posted by DOCBloom

For tight bends fill with water and cap then freeze . Then bend. Most Ace hwd stores sell cu tubing by the foot.

Brilliant!