Propane, the kiss of death

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

Mike ... google the "yachting monthly crash test boat" propane video ... I think they used 2 one pound propane bottles ... it didn't go on the first attempt, but the second try blew the deck clean off the boat.

I knew someone who died in a propane explosion...same basic result, blew the deck off the boat. He survived a few more excruciating days after the explosion. Boat sunk.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

I think ignorance on how to store and handle propane...the kiss of death is a more appropriate title

This^^^^^^^

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Kihoe

During my cruising I met a groupe on a sailboat that went to Acapulco. They had a small propane lantern on board, and stored the new canisters in the main cabin. The salt environment made the canisters leak, and Propane, being heavier than air, settled in the bilge, under the engine. When starting the engine, a spark ignited the propane and blew out the side of the hull. Needless to say, the boat sank rapidly.

So it was the engine that caused the problem, not propane.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Liquid propane has an expansion factor, when it converts to gas, of about 270:1. Imaging a mass of propane gas below decks equal to 270 of those little tanks!

Being in a locker or the bilges is contained enough to make a powerful explosion.

The small tanks are steel so will eventually rust in a marine environment. Bad idea on a boat.

But yes in the end its human error: storing steel propane tanks below deck, ot having them on a boat at all, is a recipe for disaster.

Thanks. I've gained a new appreciation ... and fear ... or propane.

[BillKny]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Just seems odd the explosion wouldn't flow in the path of least resistance. A decent hull, backed against dense water, presents a pretty solid barrier. I'd think it far more likely a propane explosion would do as you describe Kelkara, and blow the sole and deck up rather than blast a hole in the hull.

I have SEEN it happen. In this particular case, it was gasoline, not propane. A ~40 foot motor boat at anchor in Richardson Bay, Sausalito. It was pretty amazing watching the deck and entire superstructure sailing through the air, and the floating hull engulfed in flames from bow to stern in seconds.

It is important for everybody to understand that propane is a vanishingly small cause of fires on boats. For all you people switching to electric because you are scared of propane... you might look at this from Boat US. You should be way, way, WAY more scared of you electrical system.

[cal40john]

Three failures identified to blow the deck off of a Nicholson 55 with propane in 2003.

https://www.oceannavigator.com/propane-disaster/

[flightlead404]

I carry a half dozen of those little camp gas cylinders for my BBQ. For about a week after getting the grill I had them in the bilge under the galley before I realized what an idiotic thing that was.

Now they're in a milk crate in the cockpit, but the intention is to store them in a short length of 4" sched 40 with a removable cap on the end and attach it to the 1" tubing under my cockpit jump seats most likely.

I'm going to design and 3d print a bracket from some UV resistant material that's quite strong. If it works out I'll post here.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

So it was the engine that caused the problem, not propane.

Tell me you're not serious !

[HopCar]

A lot of people store the small tanks in a pvc pipe attached to a stantion on deck. Pipe caps on both ends. The bottom cap glued on and drilled to let any leaked propane out. Top cap not glued for access to the tanks.

[hpeer]

Kerosene!!!!

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Kerosene!!!!

Absolutely nothing wrong with propane if one has an IQ slightly higher than a cumquat.

[hpeer]

And yet there are those days I do not.

[Chotu]

My head hurts.

So why didn’t they store the propane in the propane locker, where these things can’t happen?

Boat poker: I’ve perused your site over the years and seen some interesting stuff, but this might be the most terrifying set of pics you’ve ever shared.

[sailingabe41ds]

In my part of the woods many moons ago two couples left their boat to have dinner at another boat. On their way back ...booom their boat blew up. This was at Smugglers Cove in Santa Cruz Isl, So Cal. Luck for them they were not in the boat.
I always kept that story in the back of my mind every time I store gas and propane.
Abe

[Tayana42]

It’s a bad combination of molecular chemistry that leads to propane explosions. It’s all those protons, electrons and morons mixed together.