Propane locker

Kicking around ideas on building my own propane locker. As long as it is to USCG specs I see no reason it wouldn't pass inspection. It will be used to supply my Magma grill on the aft deck. Everything else on the MV is electrical. Any thoughts/suggestions?

It's a no brainer. Just provide adequate vent for the box.

Propane sinks rather than rises, so the main consideration is to provide a way for propane to escape the box or locker in such a way as to not be able to get inside the boat. So the vent or drain out of the locker must open to a space that propane cannot collect in and then enter through a vent, window, deck hatch, etc. to collect inside the boat.

The roof should be a good location.



(Phoney stack covers tank and hoses. Note "sniffer." There's one in the galley too.)

Just make sure that if a leak should occur that the propane leaving the locker through the vent won't flow down and enter the cabin through a window, open door, engine room vent, etc.

Marin said:

Just make sure that if a leak should occur that the propane leaving the locker through the vent won't flow down and enter the cabin through a window, open door, engine room vent, etc.

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Aye! Thus the sniffer.

I have found things like engine alarms, fume sniffers, fuses, etc. are there primarily to tell you that the thing they are monitoring has just broken, overheated itself to destruction, reached the maximum volitility point and has started the process of exploding, or is still intact because the radio/plotter/etc. has just shorted out and destroyed iteself, thus protecting the fuse. I have as much faith in sniffers and alarms as I have in Vegamite ever tasting good. We have fume detectors and alarms on our boat but we operate it as though we don't.

Marin said:

I have as much faith in sniffers and alarms as I have in Vegamite ever tasting good.

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Anyone have a "winning" Vegamite recipe they can share? Marin can be the judge. If it passes Marin's judgment, I'll try it.

Toss,a,pail,of,water,in,the,propane,locker.

Water,will,drain,similar,to,the,propane.

Toss,a,pail,of,water,in,the,propane,locker.
Water,will,drain,similar,to,the,propane.

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Only when there's a perfectly still (no wind) condition. Wind easily trumps gravity when dealing with gases with the specific gravity of propane.

markpierce said:

Anyone have a "winning" Vegamite recipe they can share? Marin can be the judge. If it passes Marin's judgment, I'll try it.

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On buttered toast. Yum!

What size bottles are you using? If you're just using the small ones, build a holder out of PVC pipe and just slide them in.

"Wind easily trumps gravity when dealing with gases with the specific gravity of propane.'

However propane has a limited range in which it will ignite.

Add wind and its hard to reach an explosive concentration.

YRMV

FF

Marin said:

I have as much faith in sniffers and alarms as I have in Vegamite ever tasting good.

Click to expand...

Vegemite on toast this morning - fantastic! Miles better that the Nth American staple of peanut butter and jam - Yuk for me!

But like twins and singles, Rocnas and Sarcas its all bout the eye of the beholder.

When we bought our boat we had to move the propane tank to comply with the coast guard. We bought a teak covered cooler that was meant for a poolside party and installed it on the bridge. Finished with Cetol gloss like the rails it looks really nice and it complies because there is a rubber gasket to seal the lid, has a simple hook requiring no tools to open and drains through a neat little brass spigot, which is not above an opening window.

Steve,
Weren’t you grandfathered? I haven't heard of having to relocate propane tanks on the 70's-80's Taiwan built trawlers, most of which had the propane tanks under the fly bridge

Terry

There were two tanks under the cowling as far over to the port side as could fit. The surveyor said they could no longer be there per C.G. regs. and I didn't question it. That aside, The tanks were so hard to get to that I didn't mind, although we did have to install a longer run of hose as the tank is now at the back end of the bridge deck.

dhiggins said:

Kicking around ideas on building my own propane locker. As long as it is to USCG specs I see no reason it wouldn't pass inspection. It will be used to supply my Magma grill on the aft deck. Everything else on the MV is electrical. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Click to expand...

Of course if you build it to suit the USCG and ABYC requirements, it will pass inspection.

The trick is understanding the requirements.

I have a link to the ABYC requirements but it's on another computer at home and I am on the boat a few hundred miles away. You might find them with a web search.

Many of the Brit boats used To operate lights , cooking a heating on acetyline.

Heavy cylinder , but lighter than air , so no explosion hassles.

Hard to get , and becoming expensive in US .

Tried an acetyline generator , calcium carbide and water , but it was a problem when not in use, containing the gas.

FF