LPG Gas Bottles in OR out?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by powsmias

Anyone have any pros/cons about the aluminum tanks, aside from cost?

They are great. Had several of them. I had one of those tall skinny ones for my BBQ, just strapped it to a vertical Pulpit post.
Not sure if they have been largely replaced by the fiberglass ones or not...?

[SoundOfSilence]

Not sure about having them on deck unprotected. Wouldn't the sun make them very hot? They would probably rust more easily also, as there will always be some spray from the sea.

I have bought a nice deck locker and installed it in front of the mast, see picture. As of now I use it for mooring lines and hoses, but I think I will put the unused gas bottles in there as well.

[hellosailor]

If you are swapping 20# (17 now) tanks for refills you have limited options, you can't add galvanized paint or anything. With a little shopping you probably could find an inexpensive Igloo or other cooler to attach to the rail and make a dedicated propane locker out of it, including an overboard vent hose. But keeping the 1# bottles below deck is not a good idea. The "valve" in those 1# and 2# bottles is just a rubber ball that is held in place by the gas pressure. If any dirt or debris gets in, or the rubber is imperfect, they do not seal and they WILL leak. To mitigate this, RV and camping stores also sell brass caps that will screw onto the bottles, with an o-ring in them, so any leaking gas is contained by a non-sparking cap. Should be under five bucks, cheap insurance. I like gas. But like the ocean, if you don't respect and fear it, it can get you.

[Sea Dreaming]

When we bought our boat it had / has a 15lbs aluminum horizontal tank located on the cabin top, starboard side.

Im not sure how long its been around but the tank looks good. Its been used in mexico, where it does get hot. No problems we know of.

[briblack]

We use 10lb aluminum. Work fine, don't rust. One we carry strapped to a railing when not in use, with a sunbrella cover. Bought it from Amazon, not too expensive.

[a64pilot]

You bought the tank or the cover from Amazon?
I have two 10 lb aluminum tanks, one made in 1986 and one 2014, looking at them you can't tell the difference, I don't know how long an aluminum tank will last, but guess over 40 yrs?


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[jmschmidt]

New tanks made of fiberglass or carbon fiber are available. No rust and mush lighter. Fiberglass ones are inexpensive.

[hellosailor]

The OP swaps out his tanks, he doesn't refill them.

No doubt the local hardware store would be DELIGHTED to take those expensive fiberglass tanks in, on a swap against cheap old used steel ones.

Or, perhaps they just wouldn't take them. "That ain't a normal tank. Did you make it youself?"

[barnakiel]

Either location is fine but out will get your regulators in no time (I mean a salty, windy conditions like say the West Indies.

I like the bottles to be out as I can switch the regualtor off without opening the locker. Unfortunately, in our boat it is a locker.

I have seen many US boats with the bottles hanging of stern rail. I think this is a great solution. Not seen in the EU boats. Maybe some regulations stuff.

b.

[keithrg]

We have a bottle holder hanging off the back of our boat (on the port side in the picture). It was there when we bought it so not sure if it was custom made or if it's commercially available.
Its a much better arrangement than tying spare bottles to your rail.
I guess corrosion could be a problem so you would have to monitor it
We also have a locker in the transom where we keep two other bottles

[briblack]

Originally Posted by briblack

We use 10lb aluminum. Work fine, don't rust. One we carry strapped to a railing when not in use, with a sunbrella cover. Bought it (the tank) from Amazon, not too expensive.

it was the tank we bought from Amazon. worked out fine

[ardoin]

Two alum tanks in a dedicated locker with venting. The 1lbs cylinders for the BBQ are kept in PVC sewer pipe strapped to the pulpit. The butane refill cylinder for the lighter is stored with he LPG tanks in the locker.
Still worried about the mineral spirits and denatured alcohol.... I have an air/water tight tackle box that I keep those in, but still worry about them.

[PPLepew]

I have a pair of aluminum tanks that I refill at the local ACE Hardware, as they have a volume meter vs a weight meter. Bring one empty and another half full for a refill for a run to the Bahamas, and you pay only for what you get. Been on the boat for 12 years, still working fine, look like new. If you are used to the old "steel" ones, you might be astonished how "light" they feel (empty or full). Love'm.

[Mandella]

We have the two bottles hanging off the back rail, but this is now only feeding the BBQ,
They used to be mounted in a dedicated gas locker venting over the side via a drain.
A duel sensor gas alarm in the galley with automatic shut off valves at the bottles, a bilge blower was set to come on for approx 5 min before start-up.
This worked well for years but just the thought of a gas leak draining into the bilges was always a worrying situation, all it ever needed was for one of the safeties devises to have a malfunction and it could have been all over red rover.
We have since removed all the gas cooking from the boat and have gone to
OH6000 ORIGO 2 Burner Stove & Oven Alcohol Stove,

The extra space we now have in & outside the boat is great, but peace of mind is the best thing we have archived

[cal40john]

You missed some ABYC recommendations -

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/....A-01.1993.pdf

A dedicated locker is not the only place to put a tank -

LPG cylinders, cylinder valves, safety devices and
regulating equipment shall be secured for sea conditions
and readily accessible, and shall be located:
1.12.1 on the exterior of the boat where escaping gases
will flow directly overboard, the cylinder valve, regulators,
and safety devices shall be in a ventilated location
protected from the weather and against mechanical
damage, or
_________________________________

Also a solenoid valve is not absolutely required -

1 8 1 A readily accessible manual or electrically
operated (solenoid) shut-off valve shall be installed in the
low or high pressure line at the fuel supply (see A-L12 for
valve location), The valve(s) or its control must be
operable from the vicinity of the appliance(s) in the event
of a fire at any appliance(s), If the cylinder valve is
readily accessible from the vicinity of the appliance, the
shut-off valve on the supply line is not required

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

FWIW: Propane tanks are, sez the safety regs, to be mounted in a DEDICATED locker (no other "stuff" whatever to be placed in it, ever), and that locker is to be furnished with a drain ("drain" rather than "vent" cos propane is heavier than air) that leads directly overboard. The locker is to be TOP LOADING, so that if there is free propane in it, the propane cannot "fall out" when the hatch is opened as it would if the locker had a "door" on the side.

Bottles are most commonly ordinary steel and are therefore best kept away from briney water since they rust readily. "Plastic" tanks are available but they are expensive.

Immediately next to the tank valve is to be a solenoid shutoff for EACH propane using device in the boat, and from that shut-off to the device the hose run is to be CONTINUOUS, only one coupling being permitted, and that is the one on the device. Hose is preferred over tubing due to tubing's propensity for cracking under vibration.

Each solenoid is to be operable from a switch next to the relevant device. The wiring leading to it is not to be attached to the propane hose within the propane locker.

So there you have it. Just about as easy as squaring the circle :-)

TrentePieds' installation is pretty good, but I find that in practice the ONLY sensible way to get wiring to the solenoid is to cable-tie it to the supply hose. The last thing you want is to have 14 gauge wire dangling about loose in a propane locker. Some desk-bound bureaucrat blew it on this one :-)! The two tanks are 20lb tanks which is an odd-ball size, meaning that I have to take them out and re-fill them rather than just exchange them as is the modern trend with 30lb bottles.

The bottles are held in a rack in the locker. It fixed part is shaped to the diameter of the bottles, and a similar shaped clamping piece slides onto a piece of stainless steel threaded rod and is secured with a wing nut.

TrentePieds