Propane

[Bobby Steele]

I think I might’ve dodged a bullet. Recently, a friend had a propane tank spontaneously explode and do considerable damage to his pop up camper. This got me to thinking about the tank on our 89 E34-2 that we bought a few years ago. I knew the tank was almost full. But I also observed that the stove had no sign of use. After a little research I learned that propane tanks have an expiration… What’s the chance that this tank, and it’s propane, could be original when the boat was built. On my next trip to the boat club, I checked for the date on the tank - June 1988. I got that tank right off the boat and brought it to a propane dealer. That’s one less thing to be concerned with.

 

[nquigley]

I think they have an accepted life span of something like ~12 years. Propane re-fill stations will check and will not refill 'expired' tanks. They can decant any remaining propane liquid into a new tank and then fill that one up.
Also, I think aluminum tanks have a longer lifespan that steel, so maybe research that before getting your new tank.

 

[Teranodon]

I wonder what would make a propane tank "explode"? After all, the pressure inside is never very high. It could leak, I suppose, and that in turn could generate an explosion. Anyway, having some 1989 propane on board is kind of cool. I wonder if it improves with age, like a 1989 Chateau d'Yquem. I think I would have tried cooking something with it, just to see.

 

[supersailor]

Propane tanks can be recertified but they are so cheap it's not worth doing. I have had propane on my boats for over 56 years without incident. The Coast Guard is quite specific on how propane is to be handled. If the regulations are followed, you can feel comfortable. Terra Nova used to have a natural gas stove/oven. It had two giant 3500 psi natural gas tanks in the stern locker. I was not verry happy with gas under that much pressure. A 2 1/2 gallon propane tank lasted twice as long as both natural gas tanks. The fuel is the pitts to cook on and there was basically nothing done to guard against leaks. Granted, the fuel leaks do rise but if one leaks behind the stove, it takes a while to work its way out of the cabin. If your propane tank has a sealed storage tank with a solenoid cut off at the tank controlled at the stove and you have a gas sniffer in the cabin, you are good to go. Natural gas is hard to get and expensive. I went two days without cooking fuel on one cruise because I forgot one tank was empty. Propane was available at every stop.

I have looked at many of the explosions on boats and they have all been caused by a gross disreguard for safety. Any fuel including diesel is extremely dangerous if mishandled.

 

[Bobby Steele]

We really have no plans for any long-term travel. when we do cook, we have an Induction stovetop that does the job. It's powered by a Jackery 1500 Solar generator for now.
The guy at the propane shop took one look at our tank, and suggested calling American Pickers.
Our boat came with all of the safety items mentioned. If we ever want to use propane, we'd probably just get those small camp stove canisters. For now, the propane locker can serve as storage for dock lines.

 

[Christian Williams]

Seems a shame not to use the excellent Ericson propane stove system.

 

[Loren Beach]

Seems a shame not to use the excellent Ericson propane stove system.

Having enjoyed a propane system on our prior smaller boat, we are fans.
That said, we found that we like the safety and simplicity of our Origo range so much that we decided not to propane-ize the O-34.
IF.... our boat had been built out with a propane system, we would have kept it. Of course, by now we'd have replaced all of the 80's hoses and electrics at least once, to keep the risk minimal.

 

[Stuphoto]

We really have no plans for any long-term travel. when we do cook, we have an Induction stovetop that does the job. It's powered by a Jackery 1500 Solar generator for now.
The guy at the propane shop took one look at our tank, and suggested calling American Pickers.
Our boat came with all of the safety items mentioned. If we ever want to use propane, we'd probably just get those small camp stove canisters. For now, the propane locker can serve as storage for dock lines.

I hate having open flames on my boat, so I'm planning on building in an induction cooktop soon.

However I am wondering how many surveys have been done and just looked past those antiques.
Shouldn't that be part of the inspection?

 

[Bobby Steele]

We're using a portable induction cooktop for now. When I barbecue - I prefer charcoal, personally. We didn't get a survey when we bought the boat. While it has some issues - they're all minimal, like winches that weren't serviced for some time (did the job in a few days, but it was tedious), lamps need bulbs or replacing, dirty bilge, swapping old head with a compost toilet and removing the tank, and water tanks that smell like stale vodka.