Dangers of Propane

[Pblais]

One concern I have is obviously that the propane will leak into the bilge and at a spark the boat will blow up.

We had a house in the neighborhood blow up. Landlord between tenants was working on the house and forgot that the gas was left on. With a lit cigar he walked back into the the house to remedy the realization with the expected result. This was a narrow city lot but all the windows in the entire house were blown out and from the outside it looked like the roof separated from the frame by about 3 inches and went straight up, then gravity brought it down. It fractured every structural member in the house. The whole house was leveled after it was all inspected. But for a few weeks it was this amazing structure that looked like nothing was holding it up. The landlord was not inspect-able.

Using green canisters below decks is beyond foolish. We have a story at the club where the canister leaked in the cockpit and flowed below only to explode. It wasn't a full blown leak but nerves were rattled a great deal and a few burns were tended to. Even a green canister fully vaporized would blow you to bits.

There is a proper way to use propane aboard and do it safely. Nothing else is very smart.

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

I've used these bottles for years (although not on a boat) and you are correct about the possibilities of them leaking while connected to the stove. But that is usually a fault in the stove design... the bottles themselves are self sealing and can be used, then stored, for years, without leaking.

On a boat I would be concerned about them rusting out before I'd be worried about the valve seal breaking.

So yeah, if you have concerns about leaking, don't leave the bottles connected to the stove....cook your meal, then unscrew the bottle and put it away. Check on them occasionally for rust or leaky seals.

THIS DOES NOT TURN IT 100% OFF! I have used them on numerous grills and as "back up" to the main LP tank on my boats for decades. I quit taking them off of the appliance when I was done, and adopted the habit of just using them up fairly quickly, because they never failed to "eventually" leak out. This was true if I left it on the grill's regulator/valve, OR if I removed it. After being used used once, it had a maximum of 4 or 5 months before it leaked out. If you used it every day, week, or month... you would never notice, because it is a very slow leak.

It has been true on any grill type appliance I put it on or off of, and it has been true for all of the other folks I know who use one half way, and then try to use the rest of the gas, 6 months or a year later.

While the "self seal" when you remove it, is in fact a slow leak, I suspect that the cheap valves on Magna grills and such, also leak slowly. A truly high quality valve and tight connection, would probably solve the problem.

They are still not very safe down below. I've done it, but I knew it wasn't smart.

M.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by Mark Johnson

THIS DOES NOT TURN IT 100% OFF! I have used them on numerous grills and as "back up" to the main LP tank on my boats for decades. I quit taking them off of the appliance when I was done, and adopted the habit of just using them up fairly quickly, because they never failed to "eventually" leak out. This was true if I left it on the grill's regulator/valve, OR if I removed it. After being used used once, it had a maximum of 4 or 5 months before it leaked out. If you used it every day, week, or month... you would never notice, because it is a very slow leak.

It has been true on any grill type appliance I put it on or off of, and it has been true for all of the other folks I know who use one half way, and then try to use the rest of the gas, 6 months or a year later.

While the "self seal" when you remove it, is in fact a slow leak, I suspect that the cheap valves on Magna grills and such, also leak slowly. A truly high quality valve and tight connection, would probably solve the problem.

They are still not very safe down below. I've done it, but I knew it wasn't smart.

M.

"using them up fairly quickly"
What did you do? start eating an extra meal a day for the next 3 weeks? c'mon man...

I have a can right now, in my hand, that I put away more than 1.5 years ago.

These things do not develop 'slow leaks'. If the seal breaks, it will leak its entire contents out.... you're just making stuff up.

Look, instead of listening to people blather about how unsafe they are, look at the evidence of real people using them fore many years at a time. Look in the news, check google, look at every single boat related website on the internet. There is no reason to believe that a small canister of propane is any less safe than a larger one.

[sww914]

If you really wanted to kill yourself I'm pretty sure that using a little green propane bottle inside your boat would not be a good starting point. I'd recommend something more lethal than that. Give me a break, safety nazis. There must be somebody who's smart enough to pull it off without blowing their ass into the ionosphere or suffocating on the gas or CO. If there is one person who can do it, isn't it even possible that there could be two of these amazing humans? Maybe more than two? Wow, maybe even most of the human race is clever and cunning enough to be able to cook breakfast without dying?

[callmecrazy]

Just to give respect to Pblais' post and others, since I certainly don't take exploding houses and boats as a light hearted subject.
So let me be clear, I'm not saying that these things can't leak, or that they are 100% safe, All I am saying is that they are NO LESS SAFE than a standard propane installation.

You have to be just as diligent about checking canisters as you do about checking for leaks in any other gas hose or tank. BUT, the good thing about canisters is that there is only 2 sources of failure, the self-sealing valve, and the can iteself. In My opinion, those two sources are far less likely to cause a problem than the multiple failure points in a standard propane system.

But like i said, don't believe me, go google it, do the math, etc..

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by sww914

If you really wanted to kill yourself I'm pretty sure that using a little green propane bottle inside your boat would not be a good starting point. I'd recommend something more lethal than that. Give me a break, safety nazis. There must be somebody who's smart enough to pull it off without blowing their ass into the ionosphere or suffocating on the gas or CO. If there is one person who can do it, isn't it even possible that there could be two of these amazing humans? Maybe more than two? Wow, maybe even most of the human race is clever and cunning enough to be able to cook breakfast without dying?

Seriously, it's not rocket surgery

[zeehag]

i used mine in boat for over 6 yrs and i didnt blow up nor lose any propane into my bilges nor have slow nor fast leaks
they last 4 1/2 hours of cooking time and they are as safe as is the individual using them.

[daddle]

Maybe store the entire unit outside when not in use....

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by sww914

If you really wanted to kill yourself I'm pretty sure that using a little green propane bottle inside your boat would not be a good starting point. I'd recommend something more lethal than that. Give me a break, safety nazis. There must be somebody who's smart enough to pull it off without blowing their ass into the ionosphere or suffocating on the gas or CO. If there is one person who can do it, isn't it even possible that there could be two of these amazing humans? Maybe more than two? Wow, maybe even most of the human race is clever and cunning enough to be able to cook breakfast without dying?

Show me a boat that uses disposable propane cylinders, and I'll show you a boat with rusting green cylinders sitting in a compartment forgotten about until they finally rust open and vent gas. It takes more to vindicate something than a few people managing to not kill themselves.

[zeehag]

the more ye move propane stuff around and mess with it the more chance you have of hurting yourself and causing failure in equipment. thinkabout that for a bit. hve a special hose made with a regulator on it-- i hae that-- came withmy formosa--seems the previous owner got tired of using a fuel that kept burning his boat-- he had had 5 alcohol stove fires extending into main saloon and dinette... so he began using the propane stove. he had zero incidents with propane, whereas the alcohol got 5 with involvement of boat. ok and i have had zero incidents of propane problems inmy boats... since 1990.
5 incidents in 2 yrs as opposed to zero in how long???? do the math.
do you use gas stoves in your homes?? have you ever?? did you remove it to store in the back yard when not in use??
use common sense here, guys----isnt gonna blow ye to skyrocket hell. ye will live thru breakfast. and lunch.and dinner
and for a long time. just ventilate when cooking. keep a bottle of kids bubble stuff by the stove.
rebel heart--you didnt read my previous posts about mine i used for many years. you cannot judge all boats on the water by one or two you might see somewhere.

[Viking Sailor]

A simple way to check and store the little green bombs is to put them in a one gallon slider storage bag. Push out the excess air before sealing the bag. Store and check often until you have confidence that the cylinders are not leaking, then check less often. If the bag balloons out -- their is a leak.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

... It takes more to vindicate something than a few people managing to not kill themselves.

Originally Posted by zeehag

... you cannot judge all boats on the water by one or two you might see somewhere

Indeed.

[zeehag]

wiking saioor-- the lil green bottles dontleak--- butthey do rust--is good to plac them for storage in bags, yes, butnot for leakage-- protect em from rust and uglies.
bubble stuff will tell ye if your SYSTEM has a leak. that is important.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by zeehag

wiking saioor-- the lil green bottles dontleak--- butthey do rust--is good to plac them for storage in bags, yes, butnot for leakage-- protect em from rust and uglies.
bubble stuff will tell ye if your SYSTEM has a leak. that is important.

I had a rust free, couple of month old green bottle that you could hear leaking as soon as I removed it from my pulpit grill. It was empty in a matter of hours.

John

[Jim Cate]

IMO, the big issue is not the propane storage but that the camp stove does not have the automatic shutoff valves for when the flame is blown out. If one monitors the stove continually this isn't an issue, but for longer lasting cookery, who does that?

But gosh, I remember using a white gas fueled Coleman stove in my trailer sailor years ago... and here I am today!

Cheers,