Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing: A Good Choice for the Short Run PATH Case Study

Click here to visit the PATH website. Contractor: Kevin Wagner Wagner Heating and Cooling Lititz, Pennsylvania Wagner has been in the heating and cooling industry for 17 years. He has been using CSST flex pipe since 1999, when it first became available in his area. Contractor Type: Small residential HVAC contractor The Technology: Corrugated Stainless-Steel Tubing CSST is a flexible stainless-steel pipe wrapped in PVC. It is most often installed in a central manifold configuration with home-run lines that extend to gas appliances. Flexible gas piping is lightweight, bends easily and can be easily routed around obstacles. It also requires fewer connections than traditional gas piping. The multiport manifold allows for expansion of the system to accommodate room additions or new appliances. Read a PATH Field Evaluation: Model reMODEL, Philadelphia, Pa. The Project: A development of four two-story townhomes with unfinished basements built by Pusey and Raffensberger. These 2,000- to 2,400-square-foot homes range in price from $285,000 to $355,000. Wagner used 1/2-inch flex pipe on a manifold to run gas lines between the main gas line and each unit's fireplace, dual-fuel furnace and water heater. Why he switched to CSST: "I use flex pipe because it cuts down on labor time. Overall, it costs less in materials to use black iron pipe and thread it, but when you factor the labor in, flex pipe is much cheaper since it's so much faster to install in short runs. I use CSST exclusively. On top of the time savings, I don't have to purchase a $5,000 threader, which is required for steel pipe." His story Pennsylvania builders Pusey and Raffensberger hired Kevin Wagner to rough in and install a dual-fuel furnace using heat pumps and natural gas for a four-townhome development. He won the contract largely because of his affordable bid. Wagner's bid was less expensive because he proposed to use CSST flex pipe for the gas line, which would allow him to complete the project faster than contractors using steel. "I use flex pipes on smaller projects such as this one because it cuts down on labor time," Wagner says. "This project took about 2-1/2 hours to do everything, including the final touch-ups and putting the manifold in. If I used black steel pipe, I would have had to thread the pipe, which probably would have taken me four to six hours. "Overall, it costs less in materials to use black iron pipe and thread it, but when you factor the labor in, flex pipe is much cheaper, since CSST is so much faster to install in short runs. However, if you're doing a long run, maybe a 100-foot straight length, flex pipe doesn't make financial sense since black iron pipe is pretty quick on straight runs." Project details "I ran about 60 feet of the 3/4-inch CSST for the main line, and probably close to 60 feet of 1/2-inch line for the furnace, fireplace and water heater lines," Wagner says. "I put a manifold in the basement down by the HVAC unit, so the homeowners could add lines if they remodel, but it doesn't really matter where you put the manifold. You don't even have to use a manifold. Instead, you can just put in t-fittings. You might save some time, but it's less handy in the long run than the manifold, which has extra spaces for future retrofits. You can also turn the main gas line off right there. "Flex pipes come with all sorts of accessories, including the manifold and other fittings. Each manufacturer has a slightly different manifold, but they all have about four or five ports of 1/2-inch outlets, with one 3/4-inch outlet for the main. Most are made of black iron. "Materials probably cost about twice as much for the CSST as for the black pipe. For this project, they cost about $350. Flex pipe costs about $1.70 a foot, fittings are about $7 to $12 depending on the size, and the manifold costs about $27."   1 | 2  NEXT