Can a home gas line support a small commercial deck oven?
Not being a math whiz, I thought I'd check to see if anyone has any personal experience with this. I'm considering picking up a small deck oven to support the expansion of my subscription-based artisan bread CFO to include indirect and farmers market sales. No 3-phase electric in my house, of course, so I'm thinking along the lines of a setup like the Blodgett 901 Double Stack gas oven.
Looking around, I see that your average gas dryer consumes 20-40k BTU/hr. The spec sheet on the Blodgett reads: "MAXIMUM INPUT: Single 22,000 BTU/hr Double 44,000 BTU/hr." So it would stand to reason that the gas line in my garage that's intended for a dryer would support this oven. I've gotten a gas kiln up to 2,300 dF on gas from a similar connection, so my gut tells me I should be able to drive an oven like this, no problem. Still, it's a big investment to make only to find that that's not the case. Anyone have anecdotal evidence (or smarter calculations and science than I'm capable of) that this works?
Just to head things off at the pass on the cautionary tales, I'm totally aware that these things weren't made to operate in a garage. I understand the implications.
Chris
Check with a Heating and Air Contractor or your gas company on capcity. You mostly will also require a exhaust vent. (This will depend on your building code requirement - but again a good contractor will know.) Get professional help in your area, this is not something you want done by a friend or a friend of a friend. You didn't say if you are natural gas or propane -- both can work but the ovens have to be made for one or the other or converted. The good news is that it is very likely that this will work, many gas furances are 100,000 BTU/hour.
deblacksmith
Chris, it is quite likely that the gas line to your kitchen will support that , my oven has 4 burners which add up to 60,000 BTU, not counting the gas burners in the oven. You do need a professional to make sure, and more importantly, to make sure that the meter at the house, and the gas line to the house, will support that load. We added a natural gas generator recently, and while the line from the street to the house stayed the same, the meter had to be upgraded. Also, you want some help in understanding the setbacks for the deck oven. A true commercial oven is designed to be installed in an area with non combustible surfaces, and putting it near drywall, wood floors, or cabinets could cause a fire. Even if the fire is small and no one is injured, your insurance company may deny the claim because the oven was not designed for residential. So I second the advice that you get a professional to oversee the installation.