Propane hoses

[SeaStory]

Originally Posted by capt jgw

I didn't say hydraulic hose. Industrial hose shops have all kinds, including propane rated hose. I've had them make up propane lines s couple of times.

What ID did you order, though?!

Trident Marine offers different ID based on the length, but no one seems to know why.

I have emailed Dickinson Marine to inquire what the ID of their hoses is, and will likely use that as my final arbitrator, unless someone can point me to a source that clarifies everything.

A well informed friend recently claimed that it is 1/4" from tank to regulator and 3/8" for the rest, but again, was not able to give any particular reason why.

[wholybee]

My understanding:
1/4 valve and regulator is for a single appliance, 3/8 will support multiple appliances. No problem with a 3/8 when only 1/4 is needed.

If only 1 appliance, a longer hose will reduce flow, so a long hose should be upgraded to 3/8 to supply the fuel the appliance needs. For a 20' run, you should use 3/8.

I have had too many trident solenoid valves fail to ever use one again. They are plain steel (with some brass parts) and rust and fall apart. I have had this happen in as little as 1 year.

YMMV

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by SeaStory

What ID did you order, though?!
/snip
A well informed friend recently claimed that it is 1/4" from tank to regulator and 3/8" for the rest, but again, was not able to give any particular reason why.

That makes sense because the tank is high pressure, so will able to achieve the same flow through a smaller hose.

[Jammer]

There are standard tables based on distance, pressure, and amount of gas flowing expressed in BTU/h. If you search you can probably find them on line. Downstream of the regulator, 3/8" ID is good for short distances for any single appliance on a boat. 1/4" is OK for smaller stuff like the old gas lights or a small gas grill.


Usually 1/4" is used upstream of the regulator (between the reg and the tank), mainly because the acceptable pressure loss is much higher.

[pcmm]

When we built the propane system on our boat there was no real route as the original stove was pressurized alcohol and parts were missing. I ran the hose along the inside of hull/deck as it was clear the whole way. Since then I’ve redesigned it and though running along the same path, I’ve now run a piece of 1inch Id pvc conduit and the propane hose inside that. This allows me to easily remove and inspect the propane hose and replace if necessary. It also keeps the propane hose away from electrical wiring that also runs in the same area, allows the hose to pass safely through the engine room (center cockpit).

[SeaStory]

While I was looking for tables (and only finding ones for pipes starting at 1/2" in my initial searches), Dickinson got back to me.

Wow, I had heard that Dickinson customer service was great, but they ran the numbers for me, with the maximum pull of the selected stove and the theoretical pull of a 30' house. The 1/4" leaves a greater than 30% margin of error. I can finally feel confident in my choice.

We wanted the least diameter that was going to work well. Larger diameter means more volume, means more to burn off each time you turn the solenoid off (or more sitting in the lines if you aren't the type to turn off the solenoid and burn off the remainder).