Natural Gas Pipes - Low Pressure Capacities vs. Size

Sizing low pressure natural gas pipe lines - Imperial units. This tool provides capacity tables for steel pipes (Schedule 40) and copper tubing (type K and type L) at various pipe lengths.

Natural Gas Pipes - Low Pressure Capacities vs. Size

Sizing low pressure natural gas pipe lines - Imperial units.

Overview

This tool helps determine the capacity of natural gas pipes for low pressure applications (less than 1.5 psig). Use the fittings factor of 1.5 (equivalent pipe length = pipe length + 50%).

Key Notes:

Pressure drop: 0.5 inches water column
Specific gravity of natural gas: 0.6
1 MBH = 1000 BTU/hour
1 CFH ≈ 1 MBH

Pipe Size (in)	Inside Diameter (in)	10 ft	20 ft	40 ft	80 ft	150 ft	300 ft
1/2	0.622	120	85	60	42	31	22
3/4	0.824	272	192	136	96	70	50
1	1.049	547	387	273	193	141	100
1 1/4	1.380	1200	849	600	424	310	219
1 1/2	1.610	1860	1316	930	658	480	340
2	2.067	3759	2658	1880	1330	971	686
2 1/2	2.469	6169	4362	3084	2189	1593	1126
3	3.068	11225	7938	5613	3969	2898	2049
4	4.026	23479	16602	11740	8301	6062	4287
5	5.047	42945	30367	21473	15183	11088	7841
6	6.065	69671	49265	34836	24632	17989	12720
8	7.981	141832	100290	70916	50145	36621	25895

Steel Pipe - Schedule 40 (Continued)

Capacity of Pipe (MBH ≈ CFH) at various pipe lengths

Pressure less than 1.5 psig
Common fittings factor: 1.5 (equivalent pipe length = pipe length + 50%)
Pressure drop: 0.5 inches water column
Specific gravity of natural gas: 0.6

Pipe Size (in)	Outside Diameter (in)	Inside Diameter (in)	10 ft	20 ft	40 ft	80 ft
1/4	3/8	0.305	15	10	7	5
3/8	1/2	0.402	33	24	17	12
1/2	5/8	0.527	74	52	37	26
5/8	3/4	0.652	138	97	69	49
3/4	7/8	0.745	203	143	101	72
1	1 1/8	0.995	469	332	235	166
1 1/4	1 3/8	1.245	894	632	447	316

Copper Tubing - Type K

Capacity of Pipe (MBH ≈ CFH) at various pipe lengths

Pressure less than 1.5 psig
Common fittings factor: 1.5 (equivalent pipe length = pipe length + 50%)
Pressure drop: 0.5 inches water column
Specific gravity of natural gas: 0.6

Pipe Size (in)	Outside Diameter (in)	Inside Diameter (in)	10 ft	20 ft	40 ft	80 ft
1/4	3/8	0.315	16	11	8	6
3/8	1/2	0.430	41	29	20	14
1/2	5/8	0.545	81	58	41	29
5/8	3/4	0.666	146	103	73	52
3/4	7/8	0.785	236	167	118	84
1	1 1/8	1.025	511	362	256	181
1 1/4	1 3/8	1.265	936	662	468	331

Copper Tubing - Type L

Capacity of Pipe (MBH ≈ CFH) at various pipe lengths

Pressure less than 1.5 psig
Common fittings factor: 1.5 (equivalent pipe length = pipe length + 50%)
Pressure drop: 0.5 inches water column
Specific gravity of natural gas: 0.6

Unit Conversions

1 Btu/h = 0.293 W
1 lb = 0.4536 kg
1 ft (foot) = 0.3048 m
1 in water = 248.8 N/m² (Pa)
1 psi (lb/in²) = 6,894.8 Pa (N/m²)
1 MBH = 1000 BTU/hour