Autonomous gasification of a private house: arrangement of a gas supply system for cylinders and a gas tank

What to do if there is a house, but the gas main is not connected to it? The answer is simple - you need autonomous gasification of a private house, which provides the supply of blue fuel to a gas stove and heating boilers. The task is not easy, it requires careful design, strict adherence to building codes and special knowledge.

But still, it is worth considering this option of gasification in more detail, since it has many advantages. We will tell you how the system works, which work nodes are included in the autonomous complex.

We will describe the specifics of the operation of the gas tank and balloon gas supply, as well as the rules for the design, design and installation of a local gas pipeline.

How it works?

A gas stove connected to a cylinder of liquefied gas is a common phenomenon. By the same principle, it is possible to bring blue fuel to a gas boiler to provide heating and hot water to the whole house. Only need a larger tank or even several tanks with liquefied gas.

An analogue of natural gas, which consists of a mixture of butane and propane, is used as fuel in such systems. This mixture is called LPG - liquefied petroleum gas.

To organize a system of autonomous or alternative gas supply at home, it is necessary to combine the following elements into a single system:

• LPG storage tank - one or more;
• evaporator (pressure regulator) for gas;
• gas pipes;
• system controls
• appliances that run on liquefied gas: stove, column, boiler, etc.

Special gas appliances for autonomous gas supply of a country house are not needed. If the boiler or column can operate from the main gas network, then you can connect a cylinder or gas tank to it. This is very convenient if in the future it is planned to bring a centralized gas pipeline to the house, you will not have to change the equipment.

Autonomous gas supply to a private house is usually carried out using a special tank - a gas tank, from which liquefied gas is distributed through pipes (+)

The main reason why owners of private houses refuse electric and solid fuel boilers for heating the benefit of gas units is relatively low operating costs.

Gas, including liquefied gas, is cheaper than electricity or coal. The difference even covers the costs of installing an autonomous gas supply system.

Another advantage liquefied gas boilers - a high degree of automation of equipment. If the operation of gas-consuming appliances is configured correctly, they will turn on and off automatically, while heating the coolant and / or hot water to the set temperature.

This is convenient and also allows you to optimize gas flow. If all safety measures are followed, liquefied gas can be stored for a very long time, taking only the necessary amount. You can refuel a gas tank or cylinders only once or twice a year.

What you need to know about LPG?

Both propane and butane in a liquefied state occupy a very small space, so LPG is so convenient to use for autonomous gas supply. As soon as the tank valve opens, the pressure inside decreases.

Part of the gas passes from liquid to gaseous form, and then collects in the upper part of the cylinder. Through a gas pipe, fuel moves to a device that consumes gas.

The process continues uninterruptedly, which allows to automate to a large extent the operations associated with the operation of an alternative gas system. When the cylinder valve is closed, the pressure stabilizes, and the transition of gas from a liquid to a gaseous state stops.

Any flammable substance must be handled carefully, and LPG is no exception. The volume of filling the tank with liquefied gas should be no more than 85%. This allows you to leave part of the space so that the fuel can be released when the tank is heated, while the pressure inside the container does not reach a critical level.

Propane expands faster when heated, and butane slower. The ratio of these components in the cylinders varies, so some cylinders can be used in winter, while others only in summer.

In summer, the ambient temperature can increase significantly, gas cylinders naturally heat up, and the gas inside expands. This point should be taken into account when planning alternative gas supply.

Cylinders intended for use in the summer should not be used in the winter, but for other reasons. Low temperatures prevent the pressure increase in the cylinder, and in the “summer” version this ability of the mixture is already reduced. With the wrong choice of balloon, its operation will be ineffective.

In order to use the same container with liquefied gas at any time of the year, it is necessary to ensure a stable temperature environment for it.This can be achieved by placing the container in the ground. Immersion should be deep enough - below the freezing level.

What are gas tanks?

Gas tanks are called special containers designed to store liquefied gas. Variable volume tanks are widely used in industry, but only constant volume gas tanks should be used in everyday life. This is due to security requirements. The working pressure of the gas in the gas tank should be 16 atmospheres.

A gas holder is a device for storing liquefied gas, its specific characteristics for each house are determined in accordance with the technical conditions of the object (+)

It looks like a tank like a cylinder, although sometimes there are also spherical models. The volume can vary within a very wide framework - up to fifty thousand cubic meters, although such large volumes are not needed for a private house. There are gas tanks for installation underground, but there are also ground-based models.

The choice largely depends on the nature of the use of gas. For summer cottages, which are not used in winter, a land-based gas holder is suitable. Can be used mobile gas tank.

But if people live in a house or a cottage all year round, you should definitely install an underground installation tank.

Underground gas storage tanks are more in demand than ground-based models because they provide a stable storage temperature for liquefied gas

Although installing a ground gas tank is easier, there are more problems with its operation. Due to the influence of high and unstable temperatures, stricter safety requirements are imposed on such devices. The cost of ground installations is also usually higher than for underground counterparts.

As a rule, ground-based models are installed where large gas consumption is not planned. The capacity will periodically be empty, so you need to immediately think: whether you prefer the stationary or mobile option.Refueling mobile models equipped with towing wheels is as follows:

If there is a need to use a ground model in the winter, i.e. at low temperatures, you will need to use an evaporator. This is an electrical appliance that provides safe heating of the gas tank.

As a result, LPG quickly passes into a gaseous state and enters the system, providing sufficient pressure.

Underground gas holders can reach volumes of 50 cubic meters, but for a private house usually you need a smaller tank

Underground gas holders are considered more reliable and safe. However, installing them will require more time, cost and effort.

This is due to large-scale work. Installation above freezing is not allowed, and in many regions this figure is 1.5 m or more.

The contents of the tank, located inside the soil, is almost completely at a temperature of 5-8 ° C. A special evaporator for this model is not needed.

For a specific site and project, the gas holder is selected in accordance with the technical conditions developed for the autonomous gas supply system. Typically, the organization entrusted with the project itself is engaged in the purchase of this device using the discounts that manufacturers provide to such customers.

The gas tank control system is installed on its top cover. The manometer allows you to control the pressure inside the tank, which should not exceed the critical limits (+)

Independent searches and buying a gas tank usually do not give the owner of the site the opportunity to save, but increase the risk of acquiring a poor-quality or inappropriate device.

Our site has a series of articles on the selection and installation of gas tanks.

We recommend that you read:

1. Varieties of gas holders: the basics of classification + an overview of popular brands
2. Turnkey gas holder: how to install a gas tank and install equipment
3. The cost of installing a gas tank in a private house: prices for gasification

In addition to gas holders, autonomous gas supply can also use liquefied gas cylinders.One such capacity is usually not enough, several are combined into a common network.

Features of balloon gas supply

This option is usually used only for small summer cottages with modest gas consumption. Some gas cylinders set in a separate room. It is not recommended to allocate a room in a residential building for these purposes.

It is better to build a separate utility room for storing cylinders, although it is allowed that this room adjoins the house.

A set of gearboxes and manometers is used to connect gas cylinders into a single network. Empty cylinders can be replaced with filled ones as needed.

Here you should make a separate entrance, and not the door leading from the house. The area of ​​the room should exceed the size of the cylinders that will be installed there, eight times.

The inner surface of the room must be covered with materials resistant to fire. Mandatory ventilation is mandatory.

It is preferable to use autonomous gas supply using a set of gas cylinders for a small summer cottage, so that you do not have to worry too often about filling them (+)

Sometimes storage of cylinders is allowed not in a separate room, but in a large metal box outside the house. It is impossible to heat the storage place for gas cylinders; any heating appliances and, of course, the use of open fire are prohibited.

If the room is ready, you must perform the following operations:

1. Install cylinders along one of the walls.
2. Lay gas pipes from the place of storage of cylinders to appliances consuming liquefied gas.
3. Assemble system from reducers and manometers for parallel connection of cylinders.
4. Connect cylinders and appliances to the highway.
5. Check the finished system in the presence of employees of the regional gas economy.
6. Get official permits documents for the operation of the balloon gas system.

Cylinders are installed on special pallets, while they must be given a strictly vertical position. Each container contains from 2.5 to 80 liters of gas, based on this standard their total amount is calculated. Such a system will cost less than a full gas supply with a gas holder, but it will be necessary to charge the cylinders quite often.

Design and documentation

A “personal” gas system should be as reliable and secure as a centralized highway. Negligence in these matters is unacceptable, since even a small gas leak can cause enormous problems right up to and even lead to death of people.

If the owner of the house does not have special knowledge, then gas pipeline design it is necessary to entrust a specialist with a license.

The installation location of a ground or underground gas tank is determined not only by convenience, but also by the distance for individual objects on the site (+)

Rather, whole design organizations that have the right to design and carry out gasification of residential facilities are engaged in this.

This can be either a private company or a specialized unit of the gas service of a district, region, etc. Private traders take a little more for work than government specialists, but they will also take care of the design.

When working with regional gas, the owner of the house will have to do the design yourself, but you can save a little.

When designing a project, you will not only have to make a couple of statements, but also attach a number of documents to them:

• passport of the owner;
• certificate of ownership of the land;
• site plan;
• characteristics of the heating system, etc.

First, specialists develop specifications for gasification of the building, which take into account fire safety requirements. Then studies are conducted on the ground, and selected place for installation of gas tank subject to regulations.

The gas tank should be at a distance of:

• not less than 10 m from residential buildings;
• not less than 15 m from sources of drinking water and other bodies of water;
• not less than 5 m from trees and outbuildings;
• not less than 2 m from fences.

In addition, you need to consider the presence of power lines near the installation site of the gas tank. The minimum distance to such structures should be half the height of the support. Another important point is the availability of convenient access roads for a car with a liquefied gas tank to refuel a gas tank.

At the design stage, the site features are also evaluated: soil corrosion activity, stray current level, etc.

Based on these data, a decision will be made about the characteristics of the gas tank, for example, whether it needs additional galvanic protection, which will affect the price of the device not for the better.

Ground-based models of gas tanks are usually used only in the summer. These tanks have higher safety requirements than for underground counterparts.

Thus, the technical conditions for the gasification of the facility are determined. With their help, experts will draw up a project that includes a number of documents: gas tank, evaporator, condenser characteristics, site plan, gas pipeline system plan, recommendations for grounding, chemical protection, lightning protection, etc.

These documents must be coordinated with the fire inspectorate, gas supply services, electricians, architects, ecologists and other specialists of local units. The result of registration will be obtaining a building permit.

Installation of an autonomous gas pipeline

If the owner of the site wants to reduce the cost of installing an autonomous gas pipeline, he can independently dig a foundation pit for the gas tank. But this must be done in strict accordance with the project. It is better to entrust all other work to specialists so that everything is done in full compliance with safety requirements.

When installing an autonomous gas system, an external pipe installation should be used, only one-piece connections are used to connect individual sections

All gas pipes should be laid only openly, they can not be hidden under the screed, false panels or other decorative elements. Carefully consider a plan for piping for liquefied gas.

Such communications are not permitted in transit through residential premises, through the kitchen or other utility rooms in which appliances that operate on liquefied gas are already installed (or will be installed).

The process of installing a gas tank in a pit involves a number of traditional steps:

Another categorical ban associated with the installation of gas pipes is detachable connections. Of course, connectors are needed at the beginning of the network, i.e. where the network is connected to cylinders or a gas tank. And in the end, when connecting the pipe to the boiler or column, it is also necessary to put a connector.

But over the entire length of the autonomous gas pipeline, connections need only be made integral. The part of the gas pipeline that is laid outside must be taken care of additionally.

The entire external network should be carefully insulated using special materials that are resistant to fire. In addition, it is necessary to ensure the removal of condensate, this will reduce the likelihood of pipe corrosion.

To reduce the cost of installing an autonomous gas pipeline, you can dig a pit for an underground gas tank yourself, but you must follow the design documentation

The gas boiler must be installed in a separate room - you will need equipping a boiler room. Its volume should be at least 15 cubic meters. m. It is necessary to make a window in the room, the opening area of ​​which is at least half a cubic meter.

Such a hole in the outer wall will create an outlet for a blast wave in the event of an accident. If the gas explodes in a room with blank walls, the entire building could be seriously damaged.

At the entrance to the boiler room, put a door that opens outward. Another point that should not be neglected is the ventilation of the boiler room. The flow of fresh air must be constant to ensure the combustion of gas.

It is necessary to ensure good enough air exchange so that the gas is not concentrated in an open fire in case of accidental leakage.

The gas boiler should be installed in a separate room with a window and a door that opens outwards. Finishing is done with fireproof materials.

Ventilation will also prevent poisoning from combustion products if problems arise with the chimney. If it is not possible to allocate a separate room for the boiler, it is possible to install some models in the basement or on the basement.

But in this case, it is imperative to install a system in the room with the boiler to control the level of hazardous gases in the air.

Installation work on autonomous gasification by a gas tank usually takes two or three days. But after their completion, a number of documents should be drawn up and some coordination should be carried out. The leak test of the finished system should be carried out under the supervision of specialists from the regional gas organization and Rostekhnadzor.

Before backfilling an underground gas tank with sand, you must wait about two to three weeks after installing it

After checking, the gas holder is covered with sand, after which you need to wait about three weeks before the first refueling of the tank with liquefied gas. The completion of work must be formalized by an official act of acceptance. At the same time, they usually conclude a service agreement.

Sometimes it is more convenient to invite different contractors for the installation of the external and internal gas pipelines. In this case, experts recommend differentiating responsibility between performers and drawing up this moment as a separate act. It does not hurt to take care of liability insurance.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Details on the installation of the gas tank can be found in this video:

The procedure for autonomous gasification of a private house is described here:

The installation of its own gas supply system on the site is a troublesome and costly task. However, using your own gas is very convenient; refueling can be done only a couple of times a year.

In addition, such a system is cheaper than endless electricity bills, and solid or liquid fuels lose to a gas boiler economically.

Thinking about arranging containers for autonomous gasification? Or have you already installed a gas holder in a suburban area? Please share with your readers your experience in operating such an installation, tell us how financial expenses are justified. You can leave comments in the block below.