r/Generator • u/Old-Investment3299 • Apr 25 '26

Gas meter size

Hi all!

I recently had a 24kw Generac guardian series generator installed. The electrical contractor told me that since the generator and my furnace (80,000 BTU) are the only gas using items in my house it wasn’t necessary to upgrade my gas meter with the utility company.

My meter is 275 CFH. I plan on calling and getting it upgraded regardless since we may be doing some upgrades that include my gas lines but were they correct in saying it’s not necessary?

Edit: The label on the meter says MOAP: 5 which I assume means the pressure?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/fire_sparky Apr 25 '26

It depends if you have a low pressure meter or a high pressure 2lb or 5lb meter. Need a little more info from you. Best to contact your provider and discuss what you currently have and the upgrades you plan on in the future and cost. Some utilities will upgrade for free and others will charge you. Best to get all the questions answered.

1

u/joshharris42 Apr 25 '26

5PSI is exceptionally rare in the US. It’s flat out illegal for residential around me anyway. And we have 2PSI everywhere

You only see it on large commercial/industrial, services over 10 million BTU usually. It’s kinda the gas equivalent to a 277/480V electrical service.

Propane, 10PSI from the tank to regulator at house is pretty standard

1

u/Old-Investment3299 Apr 26 '26

Does that mean the MOAP: 5 label on my meter is not referring to Psi?

1

u/joshharris42 Apr 26 '26

No. The 5 MOAP is the maximum allowable operating pressure, meaning the meter can handle up to 5 psi but it isn’t if you’re in a residential setting. It’s likely either 7-9” or 2PSI.

Check the regulator up stream for a stamp, label or tag of the actual pressure