Propane Safety

[Alan]

I just responded to a thread in the Misc. Boat Related Section and just realized that perhaps my response might be worth placing it on it's own.

PLEASE LET ME REITERATE THAT I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON PROPANE SAFETY. (Or anything else for that matter) However, since heating season is here, I thought the following comments bear repeating here. I would certainly like to see other peoples comments on this subject.

Anyway, here is the response I made in the Misc. Boat Related Section.

"First off, let me say that I am "not an expert on propane safety"

However, anyone who is considering using propane on a boat should find out as much as possible about the safe handling of propane aboard.

In general, I think it is a requirement that all connections between the propane tank and regulator, must be made in a vapor tight compartment, separated from the interior of the boat. The propane tank compartment needs to be vented directly overboard.

I don't see how a portable propane tank directly connected to an appliance meets the above rule. The portable tank connections cannot be guaranteed to be leak tight.

In addition, CO is a serious problem in small spaces. I know that many people ignore the safetly issues and get away with it.

On the other hand, a lot of accidents happen.
You might want to look at the following link:http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/2001/aug01/co.htm

I don't want to be a stick in the mud, but an ounce of caution...."

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

The connections better be leak tight... or it's a real fire hazard. Propane under the current regulations is a very safe fuel.... but it is heavier than air, and very explosive, so caution is good.

[Ian McColgin]

I prefer diesel to propane for cooking and heating but sometimes you go with what's there - I never did rid Granuaile of her propane cook stove though I did get rid of Goblin's and will be getting Marmalade's out this winter - and I've not used propane for heat or hotwater but i've worked on other boats so equipped.

Venting at the tanks is dirt simple. Once the gas is through the regulator, the problems of leaks are also dirt simple and any jerk can make a safe hook-up to the stove. Occasionally one will see an installation on a gimballed stove where not enough slack was left and the gas line is subjected to stress and wear, but this is quite rare.

On water heaters, the flow through units work more efficiently on a boat anyway and have wonderful ignition and off systems that if they fail, fail to off. Really safe.

The available marine heaters in propane are similarly super safe.

Lots of boaters save money by using RV equipment rather than marine. This is ok with cooking stoves as the elements key to safety - valves and burners - are really the same as on an expensive marine unit. Other parts of the RV stove will rust out in a decade or so.

I'd not recommend RV heaters or hot water heaters as they have, as I understand it, less effective flame-out protections and for safety depend a bit on the fact that propane has no place to accumulate in the normal RV.

Heaters should have exhaust vents, but even so and regardless of heat sourse (except electric) CO is an issue in space as small as a boat. Have a coupld of battery powered CO meters around.

[openboater]

Please remember, it's just not a good , leak free install and walk away.

Boats rock, and tubing rubs on bulkheads, leaks can happen anytime.

Constant inspection. Pilots never fly unless they've done a walk around and probably propane should be inspected constantly.

[Ian McColgin]

Absolutely pilot lights are a bad thing on a boat. Modern units have an auto ignition that, should it not light, will be over-ridden by the thermal switch that also shuts the unit off if the flame is blown out.

I do not like solonoids, preferring to go to the tank and shut the valve myself, but I do like having an easily accessable valve upstream of each appliance, allowing one thing to be serviced or even removed while the others are in use.

I don't think it any harder to run a gas line than an electric line. It's just a matter of lots of support and no tension.

[ron ll]

One of the problems I ran into when considering a Bosch on-demand water heater was with insurance. Altho I think the modern appliances like the Bosch with piezo electric ignition and proper venting are perfectly safe, they are considered an "unattended" propane device as opposed to a cookstove which is considered an "attended" device. The difference causes insurance problems regardless whether logical or not.

[donald branscom]

I just responded to a thread in the Misc. Boat Related Section and just realized that perhaps my response might be worth placing it on it's own.

PLEASE LET ME REITERATE THAT I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON PROPANE SAFETY. (Or anything else for that matter) However, since heating season is here, I thought the following comments bear repeating here. I would certainly like to see other peoples comments on this subject.

Anyway, here is the response I made in the Misc. Boat Related Section.

"First off, let me say that I am "not an expert on propane safety"

However, anyone who is considering using propane on a boat should find out as much as possible about the safe handling of propane aboard.

In general, I think it is a requirement that all connections between the propane tank and regulator, must be made in a vapor tight compartment, separated from the interior of the boat. The propane tank compartment needs to be vented directly overboard.

I don't see how a portable propane tank directly connected to an

The main thing to remember about propane is that it is heavier than air. Make sure if it is inside a compartment that the compartment vent is located at the bottom.
Don't put the propane in a vapor tight compartment because you could be making a bomb if there are any leaks.
Make sure their is plenty of ventilation all around the tank.
Use teflon tape on the connections of the propane fittings. Just one wrap. NEVER USE TEFLON tape on an oxygen tank fitting however!!!
Make you have the least number of fittings that are necessary. Every connection is another potential leak.
Don't trust 12 volt switches. Leave the tank in a easy to get to place on deck so that when you leave your boat, you can turn it off when you leave and turn it on when you need it.
Make sure the tank is less than 12 years old by checking the date stamped into the top of the tank.
check the bottom of the tank for rust. If it is heavily rusted and you tap on the bottom (lightly) with a small pointed object that it is solid metal not so rusty that the pointed tool would penetrate the rusted surface.
Use soapy water on all connections to test for leaking gas. If you still smell gas but no connections are leaking suspect the weld on the tank where the weld stops and starts, especially alluminum tanks.

Sincerely, Don Branscom
Certified welder
Certified welding inspector

[donald branscom]

One of the problems I ran into when considering a Bosch on-demand water heater was with insurance. Altho I think the modern appliances like the Bosch with piezo electric ignition and proper venting are perfectly safe, they are considered an "unattended" propane device as opposed to a cookstove which is considered an "attended" device. The difference causes insurance problems regardless whether logical or not.

Be your own underwriter. YOU turn it on yourself and YOU turn it off yourself. Piezo start is more convienient than matches.
It would only be "unattended" if it turns on by itself. NEVER good on a house or a boat.

[Tylerdurden]

I work with Natural gas and Propane on a daily basis and I would never put it on my boat other than th grill on the railing with a 1# bottle. LP's specific gravity means it will fall to the deck and then the bilge. In rough weather or collision do you want to worry about that?
Its a junk gas anyway, its all the crap that can't be used anywhere else in the refining process. I don't like the idea of paying top dollar for crap. If you want to run LP then please let me know you have it when you pull alongside so I can move.