Propane tank

[gareth harris]

Can anyone recommend a good location for a propane locker on the E35-2? Any of the folk talking about it in January made progress at all? I am thinking of the transom area, but that would only allow a very small tank. Any thoughts on tank size for cruising?

Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972

 

[admirals barge]

gareth

am thinking about converting cng to propane. my first idea is to build a locker on the starboard side inside the locker in the rear cockpit in the corner so i would only have to build 2 sides. fabricate it with plywood and glass to the hull. can then put in a vent out the stern. can put the 12v shutoff in the locker and run the lines into the galley. can make it big enough that with some foam or rubber padding it will stay put and would be easy access to remove it. the only restriction is the opening in the hatch. think a 25lb bottle would fit thru the hatch.

i have seen a picture where a locker was built between the front angled stanchion and the stanchion on the rear rail. one was built on each side. these are the only 2 ideas i thought feisable without loosing a lot of storage.

that's my 2 cents gareth hope it helps
happy boating
greg
74 35 II # 325

 

[Chris Miller]

longevity?

Hey guys,
While we're discussing this...
Anyone have any thoughts on longevity on a pound per pound basis of cng vs. lpg? I really like our cng stove, but confess to grilling more often than not... was just wondering if anyone knew?
Thanks,
Chris

ps. our lpg tank holder in our stern locker on the 38 works fantastic as a beer cooler... I might even insulate it this year

 

[u079721]

Dinghy gas storage!

Actually what we used the propane locker on our E-38 for was storage for the dinghy gas. I found a 2.5 gallon circular tank that just fit inside the locker perfectly, and was more than enough for our tiny 2 hp four cycle Honda. Part of our not switching to propane from CNG was not wanting to give up this storage space.

(Off topic rant: a true cruising boat should have dedicated storage for dinghy gas, the life raft, and the dinghy. And almost none of them do!)

But as for CNG, the capacity is pretty small. Perhaps somone can tell us how many burner hours you get from a 10 lb propane tank, but the normal CNG tank only gives about 20 burner hours, and we figured you needed about one tank for every two weeks of cruising.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

I was thinking of converting my 1989 e-38 to propane but had no luck in finding the correct burner orifices. The manufacturer of the regal stove has since gone out of business... Only way would be to make my own orifices, similar to jetting carburators, but I don't know the correct size for propane. I am lucky in that the 38 has a locker already, but if I was going build one I would not use plywood and glass. Too heavy and the sterns of these boats have enough weight. I would use a composite foam like corecell or divinicell with some 18 or 24 oz biaxial cloth. Would be pretty easy to vaccum bag the panels at layup then fillet and glass tab the whole thing in. I also would have to think about which side to put it on as my 38 has a slight list to starboad as many do. But then the diesel tank is on port so your boat may have other concerns. I dont really do any exptended cruising yet to warrant the expense of the conversion and CNG is still available in my area. This is a down the road job thouhg as IMHO propane is a much better fuel for the boat despite the added safety issues. It is more readily availabel, cheaper, and burns at nearly twice the BTU if I remember correctly. What were your plans for a stove if I may ask?