Are unions considered harmful to plumbing?

Question

Disclaimer, I have pulled all the permits, I already passed several inspections, my jurisdiction is happy to have the homeowner do their work.

I need to connect two underground PE gas lines downstream the meter pictured below that will go to a BBQ area and a detached garage:

This is the type of riser I will use to transition from the underground PE:

I plan to remove those two unnecessary 90 elbows and go straight into the dwelling so I will also have more space; however I am concerned I will not physically be able to connect all the fittings in the following way:

And that I will need to use the unions below:

I have read multiple times unions are bad, they are guaranteed to leak, they should not be used. However I cannot find a way to make this work without them. I am not only trying to satisfy code but to implement a good solution. Is there any alternative?

Answer 1

The IFGC doesn't allow unions in concealed spaces because of their leaking proneness. See the IFGC's 404.5 commentary. You're right to try avoiding their use, but you're not describing a concealed space.

There exist half-left-handed/half-right-handed threaded couplings that would allow you to tighten your risers without rotating them, e.g. https://www.plumbingsupply.com/leftright.html.

The unions are outdoors, though, so they're perfectly fine.

Answer 2

Unions are fine. You see them in plumbing work all the time. It's impossible to plumb some items without a union. What you want to avoid is unnecessary unions. If there's a way to plumb it with fewer unions that doesn't cause you undue headaches elsewhere, go for it. Otherwise you should use the union where you need the union. Just make sure the plumbing is well supported, well protected, and properly leak tested before being put in to service.