No, the aft lazarette lids on the 32-3 are solid with no perforation
Nice solution for covering the hole. Be sure to seal the holes and the circumference with Sikaflex 291 or similar to keep the salt and spray out
CNG to Propane Conversion [Master Thread]
- Thread starter unidiver
- Start date
No, the aft lazarette lids on the 32-3 are solid with no perforation
Nice solution for covering the hole. Be sure to seal the holes and the circumference with Sikaflex 291 or similar to keep the salt and spray out
lightbulbjb
Junior Member
What did you all use to secure the supply hose on its way from the locker to the appliance? The current CNG installation my boat came with is.... Just a bunch of hose laying on the shelf in the lazarette...
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
I was thinking of using the zip ties with a hole to screw them to a surface, likely hanging. I do worry a bit about chafe on the hose tho.
with zip tie anchors, the screw stays in place when you have to cut the zip tie.
shop.hamiltonmarine.com
Departments - ANCOR 199232 CABLE TIE MOUNT #8 CRADLE SCREW 100/PKG
Ancor Marine 374502 marine cable tie mounts that uses # 8 screws. 100 package. Weight - 1.6 oz
shop.hamiltonmarine.com
Ref "sealing" the propane locker: I've been crawling around in the stern of my boat the past few days replacing scupper hoses. While under there I came upon the two Zurn/Qest fittings for the anchor locker drain. Both were barely hand tight, and the hose clamps rusted shut. The connection between the fittings the hose was so loose I was able to pull the hose off without freeing the hose clamps. Might be worth checking out....
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
Nick,with zip tie anchors, the screw stays in place when you have to cut the zip tie.
Departments - ANCOR 199232 CABLE TIE MOUNT #8 CRADLE SCREW 100/PKG
Ancor Marine 374502 marine cable tie mounts that uses # 8 screws. 100 package. Weight - 1.6 oz
Did you use those for the hoses, too? With the small contact area I worry about chafe on the hose.
J
Pete the Cat
Sustaining Member
I have a locker with a hole in it like that on both of my boats. However, someone (factory? PO?) put round head bolts loosely in them-which I always took as a handle to snatch the lid open. But your idea would certainly work and be more elegant. I disagree with the idea of having the lid too tightly sealed. My thinking is that if you actually believe propane is heavier than air it needs to have air to replace the leaked propane or you might be making a bomb out of the locker from a spark from your grill or a smoker's careless ash. Also, there is H20 condensation from propane tanks that seems like a good idea to dissipate rather than bottle up and rust stuff. I would add that the drain is a maintenance item. They do fill up with stuff and flushing on some schedule seems like it should be on the check list. As I mentioned, I do not think it a good idea to leave the tank valve open and rely on the solenoid. I sort of consider the solenoid a safety back up in case I forget to close the tank valve. This also gives me a regular check with the pressure gauge of the integrity of the gas line to the stove. I like having a switch on the main panel for the stove--I realize it is redundant to the sniffer switch, but I like to leave the boat knowing all switches are "off" and the panel tells me that when I leave the boat. FWIW.
lightbulbjb
Junior Member
I ended up passing the supply hose thru some 1" pvc pipe that I secured to the liner with pieces copper hanger strap that I bent into little "d" shapes. I forgot to take pictures, and have a bit of work left to do to put in the straight thru. Will share when I get back to the boat next weekend.
Peaman's advice about drilling a hole thru a fitting to pull thru a messenger worked perfectly. Thank you!
Ended up drilling a hole in the top right corner of the panel behind the galley to fit the sniffer cable thru.. Do I need to add vapor-tight straight thrus to where the hose and the sniffer come into the galley, or is the sniffer hooked to the solenoid control good enough protection?
Peaman's advice about drilling a hole thru a fitting to pull thru a messenger worked perfectly. Thank you!
Ended up drilling a hole in the top right corner of the panel behind the galley to fit the sniffer cable thru.. Do I need to add vapor-tight straight thrus to where the hose and the sniffer come into the galley, or is the sniffer hooked to the solenoid control good enough protection?
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
I'm not planning on that. My thinking is that the gland is only necessary where there's potential of gas getting through. With a continuous hose it would either be at the stove or the regulator assembly.
lightbulbjb
Junior Member
Lol, good, cuz I glued the angled panel at the bottom down around the edges when I reseated it (after prying it up to fish the sniffer thru). The screws were kinda stripped, and I thought it might be smart to help seal those seams. I'm sure I could get it back off if I wanted, but really don't feel like scraping caulk and all that.
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
I am planning on making sure there are chafe prevention measures wherever I can reach.
I found these helpful:
Some Propane Dos and Don'ts - Practical Sailor
Since 1974, Practical Sailor’s independent testing has taken the guesswork out of boat and gear buying.
www.practical-sailor.com
How To Handle Propane On A Boat - BoatUS Magazine
Propane is heavier than air, which means any escaping gas can end up in your bilge. The results could be deadly …
www.boatus.com
Inspecting LP Gas Systems - Professional BoatBuilder Magazine
www.proboat.com
Safe Propane Installations | West Marine
West Marine is committed to outfitting your life on the water. With over 250 store locations, 100,000 products in stock, and knowledgeable Associates, trust West Marine for your boating, sailing, fishing, or paddling needs. Shop with confidence - get free shipping to home or stores + price match...
www.westmarine.com
Jeff
I converted an old CNG stove (two burners plus oven made by GSI, Gas Systems Inc.) to propane, using LP gas orifices (jets) from 24/7 Parts Inc. It has been working well in my boat for years, but keep in mind this is not advisable, especially if there are no thermcouples at the burners to shutoff the gas in case the flame is blown out. The heat from burning LP is about 2.5 higher than from burning CNG, so the orifices need to be downsized accordingly; the flux ratio CNG/LP needs to be about 2.5, so if one knows the size of the CNG orifices, one can calculate the size of the LP orifices from [square radius of CHG orifice]/[square radius of LP orifice] = 2.5 ...and don't forget that radius = half the given size (diameter) of the orifice. In my case I downsized from 0.041" CNG orifices to #72 (0.025") LP orifices. Disclaimer: this is just FYI, not advisable, and the conversion here is not garanteed to be correct; try only at your own risk!
See also:
ericsonyachts.org
New propane stove for later Ericson 38
I am interested in identifying a propane stove that I can install effectively in my 1991 Ericson 38. It was the third E38 built by Pacific Seacraft, and I believe is dimensionally identical to the Ericson 380s that PS built later. It is also virtually identical to some of the later E38s built by...
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
These are some other EYo posts which are related:
ericsonyachts.org
ericsonyachts.org
ericsonyachts.org
https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/cng-locker-necessary-if-so-how-to-construct.2850/ (almost 20 years old, includes ABYC regs on CNG, advice to try to convert stove to LPG is probably not good now, not safe or to code unless there's a thermo shut off added too)
Wiring routing in galley of a 32-3
As part of our replacement of the original GSI CNG system with range with a propane installation, we need to install a propane leak sensor with wiring to the new control panel. In the 32-3, the trough in the cabinetry directly below the range seems like the ideal place for an effective...
E-32 Mk-3 CNG Gas cooker/oven
Hi Ericson boat owners, I got 1987 E-32 Mk-3 sail boat in August 2016. She came with CNG gas cooker/oven. I am totally unfamiliar about the system. I read few articles about re-filling the gas cylinder and it is tough to find out CNG Gas stations, etc. I am looking for some suggestions...
E381 - New Propane control and leak detection system – Ericson 38
I replaced an old 1990s(?) vintage Xintex S-2 propane system with the latest (2019) Xintex FIREBOY SYSTEMS P-1BS-R Propane Detector w/Sensor & Valve (single sensor) system. The reason for working on the system was that the propane solenoid valve...
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
We finished the installation of the new stove early summer 2024. These are some details of the build.
The old bracket mount blocks were the right thickness but the face wasn't big enough. In a nice little bit of reincarnation, the teak block that the old CNG tank had been mounted on was the same thickness and comprised enough material to make new bracket blocks.
The cavity cleaned up and ready.
The sheet metal backing bowed outboard and the counter stove cover panel kept hitting that when we tried to slide it in back of the stove. I screwed a length of aluminum L-beam to the back and it slides in fine now. Just to be fussy, I used anti-seize goop on the SS screws and between the sheet SS and the beam.
The original teak block for the swing-stop pin was the perfect size for the new stove. It just had to be lowered a little.
The old bracket mount blocks were the right thickness but the face wasn't big enough. In a nice little bit of reincarnation, the teak block that the old CNG tank had been mounted on was the same thickness and comprised enough material to make new bracket blocks.
The cavity cleaned up and ready.
The sheet metal backing bowed outboard and the counter stove cover panel kept hitting that when we tried to slide it in back of the stove. I screwed a length of aluminum L-beam to the back and it slides in fine now. Just to be fussy, I used anti-seize goop on the SS screws and between the sheet SS and the beam.
The original teak block for the swing-stop pin was the perfect size for the new stove. It just had to be lowered a little.
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
Wires and hose behind the metal guard of the stove cavity. I tried to add chafe guards wherever I could. New rubber bumpers for the cover.
The other end of those wires and hose in the starboard lazarette. (We have that old charger slated for eventual replacement and in the meantime just never plug into shore power. Which is no great hardship because we're on a mooring ball.)
In post # 43 I mused about the necessity of a separate switch for the circuit if the solenoid control panel already had a switch. But we had an extra breaker because we took the bilge pump out of the panel to install a separate control for the float switch. A discussion about this wiring starts in post #55.
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
I basically followed what folks here did earlier. I did add a swivel elbow (lower left) to put less stress on the hose. There's a cap on the nipple for the grill feeder line.
Chafe guard on the hose.* I also put a sheet of closed cell foam around the tank. The valve for the grill is a little hard to get at.
* Abrasion Resistant Wrap-Around Sleeving
- https://www.mcmaster.com/products/chafe-guards/abrasion-resistant-wrap-around-sleeving/
The locker lid with the lift fob installed.
There was an old bungee anchored in the locker which could connect to a hook on the lid. I presume this was to prevent the lid from falling off if the sea state gets spicy. I'll reinstall those.
Hot lasagna in a boat on a cool night. It don't git any better'n 'at.
. . . 
Lovely. For the bungee hold-downs use two loops. Makes stretching to attach easier if can do one at a time, rather than one thick cord.