posted 2 hours ago
I’m setting up propane at my off-grid cabin and want to sanity-check my line sizing before I finalize things - the 1/2 copper line running from 500 Gallon propane tank to the cabin.
Current setup:
- 500 gal propane tank outside
- approx 80 ft run from tank to cabin
- 1/2" copper line
Inside loads:
- Rinnai RX160iN tankless water heater (~160,000 BTU)
- Gas range (~60,000 BTU total)
So roughly ~220k BTU demand if everything runs at once.
Right now I have these two Regulators:
At tank: red Cavagna-style regulator (appears to be low-pressure ~11" WC, typical single-stage setup)
At cabin: second regulator mounted on exterior wall (appears to be 11" WC / 0.4 PSI second-stage regulator) feeding interior appliances
From what I’m learning, it seems like:
My current setup might be undersized if it’s low-pressure the whole way
A lot of people run a 2-stage system (10 PSI at tank → 11" WC at cabin) to make smaller lines work over distance
Questions for others running similar setups:
- What size line are you running from tank to cabin, and over what distance?
- Anyone using 3/4 inch?
- Anyone using anything else but copper?
- Are you running low pressure the whole way, or a 2-stage system?
- If low pressure, what pipe size did you need to support ~200k+ BTU?
- Any real-world issues with 1/2" line at this distance?
- If you switched to 10 PSI, was it worth it vs upsizing pipe?
Trying to avoid re-running the 1/2 inch copper line if possible, but also want to do it right the first time.
Appreciate any real-world setups or lessons learned. Thanks!!!