Left / Right Couplings & gas runs -- problems? gotchas?

[Speede541]

Hey all,

I just installed a left/right coupling mid-run on an existing 1-1/2 inch gas line, in order to tuck the pipe up into the ceiling, avoiding building a soffit.

The system is currently under a 25 PSI test for the weekend, but everything went together well, and I don't expect any problems.

Meanwhile, I've been reading up on Left Right couplings and see that in some localities they're prohibited, and in others they must be left accessible. I found reference to older California code saying LR couplings can't be concealed, but under the 2013 CPC 1210.3,1 which my city of Oakland has adopted, a L/R fitting is approved for concealing.

I've also found many plumbers stating their dislike for these connections.

So... given the variety of opinions and code on these couplings, what are the hazards?

Is it good practice to install an inspection panel or access panel specifically for this fitting?

Does it factor in that the LR fitting was installed in a 6 foot straight section, anchored by a 90° elbow on one end, and a pair of 45°'s on the other (i.e. not subject to accidental turning / loosening if somebody were to work on another section of this pipe elsewhere)?

Do any of you despise Left/Right fittings so much you'd prefer to disassemble the entire downstream network of pipes just to avoid using one? (in this case, another 40+ feet of pipe and multiple connections branching to three different appliances)

 

[Construction_Zone]

Check out this discussion:

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/concealed-gas-union.7541/

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Speede541]

That was one of the original threads I came across, and really doesn't answer any questions -- just serves to highlight the variety of differences in code I mentioned.

 

[hj]

Left/right couplings/nipples are the ONLY way you can legally repair a pipe in the wall, since unions are NOT allowed in the wall for gas piping. IF you know how to install them "correctly", and there is more to it than just getting the two sections close together and tightening the coupling, there is no problem with them.

 

[Speede541]

HJ, insight as to why the all-around prohibition against them in some jurisdictions? Requiring then to be accessible in others? And neither of these requirements in others?

And why some plumbers scorn for them?

I get it for the guy who said he ripped 40 l/r's out of his remodel (another thread) , but for one here and there for repairs / additions?

Just trying to gain a background understanding here.

 

[hj]

Plumbers do not like them because of the way they have to be installed to do it properly, and get BOTH sides equally tight. If someone had FORTY left/right couplings, then he either had a very POOR installation or a lot of leaks.

 

[Speede541]

Ah, maybe I'm remembering wrong from this thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-103425.html but now I'm not sure. Forty seems like a lot but I guess if they're for disconnecting radiators... well, whatever.

So, OK, some plumbers dislike them, but what's the rational as to why they're against code in some areas? I'd guess either (a) prone to incorrect installation (pressure test should settle this, right?) or (b) subject to inadvertent loosening by somebody working on the line who doesn't know one is installed?

 

[hj]

I cannot imagine why they would not be approved, other than the fact that an improper installation could leave one side looser than the other. It is the ONLY way to make a repair inside a wall since a union would either NOT be approved or it would be to "big" to fit into the space, such as one time a carpenter drilled a hole for s shelf anchor and the gas line was right behind the sheetrock. I guess he thought he just had a tough 2x4 stud that he was drilling into. They are seldom installed where someone could 'inadvertently' loose them. That would be more likely with a conventional coupling. I put the ten year thing in quotes, because sometimes 10 years is not enough. When I was an apprentice we had a "30 year journeyman" working for us, in fact he was the plumbing inspector for a neighboring city. I had to fire him because he did NOT know how to do plumbing, and when you got a couple of beers into him he would go on for hours about that "apprentice who thinks he knows everything and I have been a plumber for 30 years". I know this because the apprentice where he went to work was in my class at school. He said, "I don't know what you did to him, but I would not expect any Christmas cards from him".