LPG bottle drainage

[Bob666]

Lot of answers, cheers.

The surveyor though the current setup was ok. Strange.

ABYC seems to be an American standard, will read up (might be useful eventhough I'm European, maybe we have something similar).

There is no contact with the interior from this aft locker. But safety first. So will check out other than bucket-solutions.

I have also mounted a leakage indicator, the gas (this ie near the bottle) goes though a liquid/oil so I see bubbles in case of leaks.

And there is a gas alarm below the stove. Double hose clamps to be mounted on all the orange hoses.

Cheers

[Bob666]

Originally Posted by cal40john

OP posted -
"drainage hole in the containing bucket will end up at the same level or slightly lower than the through-hull"

Dockhead posted ABYC - "outboard without pockets"

If you have a low spot in the drain, water will get in it. Once propane is out of the pressurized bottle it is gas, not liquid. Not gonna drain.

There is sometimes a little water in the containing bucket. The through-hull is above water leve. So, it must be splashing up water, through the hose into the bucket.

Back to the drawing board. Is the current setup even ok? I got a 2 litre camping LPG bottle in the containing bucket. A spare one outside of it. It's too small for cruising. Want 5 litre composite bottles.

Here's a Swedish standard:
Gasolförvaring båt - Gasol- och fotogenprodukter

Our boat is not CE (ej = Not) as it's from 1974. Whatever, I want this safe.

Seems impossible to set this up in this boat. We are in the processing of mounting an arch in the aft to put solar panels on top of. Could have the bottle at the foot of it, but it kind of sucks actually.

All I can think of, if keeping current setup, is to bring lots of 2 litre LPG bottles. Pain in the...you know where...to keep changing bottles.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Bob666

There is sometimes a little water in the containing bucket. The through-hull is above water leve. So, it must be splashing up water, through the hose into the bucket.

Back to the drawing board. Is the current setup even ok? I got a 2 litre camping LPG bottle in the containing bucket. A spare one outside of it. It's too small for cruising. Want 5 litre composite bottles.

Here's a Swedish standard:
Gasolförvaring båt - Gasol- och fotogenprodukter

Our boat is not CE (ej = Not) as it's from 1974. Whatever, I want this safe.

Seems impossible to set this up in this boat. We are in the processing of mounting an arch in the aft to put solar panels on top of. Could have the bottle at the foot of it, but it kind of sucks actually.

All I can think of, if keeping current setup, is to bring lots of 2 litre LPG bottles. Pain in the...you know where...to keep changing bottles.

Only you can decide what are acceptable risks, but I would not touch your existing setup with a ten-foot pole. Makes me shudder.

You say that the space it is in, does not communicate with the boat interior -- are you sure? If it's an anchor locker, then maybe, but only 1 in 1000 boats has a deck locker or lazarette which does not communicate with the main bilge, sometimes (as is the case with my boat) only by a narrow gap at the bottom of the bulkhead.

If it really doesn't (does it have its own bilge and bilge pump?) then that certainly mitigates the risk, but your drain system, at a minimum, needs to be completely redone so that there is no chance of water standing anywhere and blocking the flow of gas.

If I were you, however, I would bite the bullet and install a proper gas locker. It will require a biggish hole in the deck but any decent boatyard will be able to do it. You can buy ready made gas lockers made out of GRP or plastic.

For another approach to the standards, check out the Boat Safety Scheme, which has a lot of really good and detailed information on gas lockers and gas safety:

http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/medi...lete%20web.pdf


Another solution is just get rid of gas altogether, and go to electric cooking. That's what my next boat will have. Electric induction hobs are amazingly efficient and don't require all that much power.

[meridian28]

ABYC is not s standard but a recommendation.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[DeepFrz]

Here is a link to some marine LPG lockers.
Marine LPG Lockers

[Jim Cate]

I must agree that your current setup is dangerous. But in your position, I reckon I'd simply mount the larger bottle that you desire on the stern pulpit so that any leakage goes directly overboard. It looks a bit agricultural (as they say here in Oz), but is safe, inexpensive and does not intrude into your limited storage space.

The method is very commonly used here, and raises no eyebrows. YMMV.

Jim

[Bob666]

Hi!

ABYC compliant propane locker. Could you please post links to products?

Can't find much.

Cheers