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My house has an outdoor natural gas line (with a shut-off valve) which I have never used before. I recently purchased a natural gas grill and the quick connect inlet is slightly larger but has the same diameter (3/4 inch). I plan on using gas safe Teflon tape and paint the pipes with rust proof paint.

How safe would it be for me to swap this part myself? Would I need to shut off the main gas line or is keeping the shut-off closed safe enough? Besides a soap test, would I also need a pressure test since I do not know the condition of the pipes? Or is this a job best handled by a professional?

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    In parts of the world a professional is always required, in parts, not. Looks like the old connector is actually 1/2", being fed by a 3/4 x 1/2 reducing elbow, at a glance, so not really the same size. Painting is easy, the rusty metal prep before that won't be fun.
    – Ecnerwal
    May 24 at 16:54
  • No, it's being reduced from a 1" to a 3/4". The new connector inner diameter is also 3/4". It just looks larger from the outside.
    – jpQuick
    May 24 at 22:51
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    You should have another shutoff, if it makes you feel safer—it should be at the gas meter on the side of your house (just make sure you turn off your water heater properly). If you're worried about leaks, use the soap bubble test afterward.
    – Huesmann
    May 25 at 12:18

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It should be very safe for you to DIY it. Just get some of the yellow PTFE tape made specially for gas for the fitting. The pressure on nat gas is only a few PSI so don't over tighten it.

To be totally safe, after you are done and turn it on, do the sniff and soap test. Nat gas is purposely oderized so that if you have a leak, you can smell it. Also, test with a brush and some soapy water and see if you get any bubbles.

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    You can leave the nipple coming out of the valve in place. Remove the elbow and everything after it, replace with a 3/4" female to male elbow and attach your new QC. You are only making two joints! (And testing a third, the one coming out of the valve). Make the new QC a little less than horizontal to keep water out. Example fitting
    – jay613
    May 24 at 17:30
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    I'm less stressed about an amateur doing outdoor gasfitting than indoor. If something goes wrong, it's more likely to be recoverable. And this will spend most of its time with the valve turned off anyway. Still, have a clear path to your main gas shutoff in case something before the local valve decides to work lose, or break lose. And even if you think it's all good, it might be worth asking your heating technician to run a sensor over it next time they're there, just to be sure.
    – keshlam
    May 24 at 18:49
  • @jay613 Thanks for the tip. Less joints to check sound good but I'd need to find a 1" female to 3/4" male reducer elbow.
    – jpQuick
    May 24 at 22:59
  • Oh so you mean all you have to do is change the connector at the end, the threads of the old and new are the same size?
    – jay613
    May 25 at 0:15
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    Point the opening slightly down, just enough that if the cover is left off or falls off, water will drain out not in. But not so much down that it's inconvenient to plug in.
    – jay613
    May 25 at 22:27

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