propane advice ....

[Herb P]

So when I was laying the new floor in the 1700, I had to disconnect the furnace slightly so I could jostle it out of the way to get the last piece of flooring in. I remembered thinking "I really have to remember to hook this back up cuz it would really suck to forget".

This evening I'm testing my plumbing and the propane appliances. The first thing I tried to light was the furnace. I opened the valve, pushed in the pilot knob and stuck my little butane torch in the hole. It wasn't lighting and I'm thinking "that was plenty of time to get the air out of the lines. I wonder what up." and about 3ms after I pulled the lit butane torch out of the pilot hole, the smell of propane reached my nose, and about 1ms later, my world was yellow. The explosion was so big it knocked the cutting board up off the stove. No hair on my hands or wrists, sparse eyebrows/eyelashes, and a slightly higher hairline.
*woof*

After I hooked the propane back up, the furnace worked fine, then the fridge, and hot water heater all fired up.

So, if you disconnect the propane, stick a label on the tank. or something.

[Larry&Carrie]

OOOOOOhhhh (and if that is your picture in the avitar- you din't have much hair to spare) One possible way (along with the tag) is to also unhook your peopane tank at the same time. (so far I have remembered to do that when in the shop) Larry

[Donna D.]

OMG Glad you're still with us to hand out a warning....it COULD have been soooo much worse.

[Brian B-P]

I'm a fan of "do not operate" tags. Putting them on the ends of the hoses to the disconnected propane tanks, so they could not possibly be missed, seems like a good idea. Usually, I use them for automotive service, to indicate something in which is not road-ready.

In my B1700, there is an inline shutoff valve in the line which feeds the furnace. If the disconnection was done after that point, there would be no accidental discharge of propane unless the valve was turned back on, and a tag on that valve (if there is one in this case) would be another way to get the same protection.

While this is a good lesson about a serious subject, I have to admit I'm still smiling at Herb's description. If you ever publish anything, Herb, let us know...

[peterh]

[Herb P]

I'm a fan of [b]"do not operate" tags. Putting them on the ends of the hoses to the disconnected propane tanks, so they could not possibly be missed, seems like a good idea. Usually, I use them for automotive service, to indicate something in which is not road-ready.

In my B1700, there is an [b]inline shutoff valve in the line which feeds the furnace. If the disconnection was done after that point, there would be no accidental discharge of propane unless the valve was turned back on, and a tag on that valve (if there is one in this case) would be another way to get the same protection.

While this is a good lesson about a serious subject, I have to admit I'm still smiling at Herb's description. If you ever publish anything, Herb, let us know...

well, the "do not operate" signs are like what I'd do except I replaced all the propane hoses in the intervening time and they may not have survived. The inline valve is there but since I was trying to light the pilot, I had the valve open. I had my face right up to the front of the furnace trying to puzzle why the pilot wasn't lighting, all the while filling the gaucho with propane...

A similar anti-doofus thing I do is when I remove the oil drain plug from one of my trucks, to change the oil, I immediately put it on the dash in front of the steering wheel which is my "hey moron, there's no oil in the engine, drive another truck to the beer store" signal.

[Yves Pelchat]

So when I was laying the new floor in the 1700, I had to disconnect the furnace slightly so I could jostle it out of the way to get the last piece of flooring in. I remembered thinking "I really have to remember to hook this back up cuz it would really suck to forget".

This evening I'm testing my plumbing and the propane appliances. The first thing I tried to light was the furnace. I opened the valve, pushed in the pilot knob and stuck my little butane torch in the hole. It wasn't lighting and I'm thinking "that was plenty of time to get the air out of the lines. I wonder what up." and about 3ms after I pulled the lit butane torch out of the pilot hole, the smell of propane reached my nose, and about 1ms later, my world was yellow. The explosion was so big it knocked the cutting board up off the stove. No hair on my hands or wrists, sparse eyebrows/eyelashes, and a slightly higher hairline.
*woof*

After I hooked the propane back up, the furnace worked fine, then the fridge, and hot water heater all fired up.

So, if you disconnect the propane, stick a label on the tank. or something.

Glad you're still with us Herb.

Propane gas can kill. Be safe guys. Please check, and re-check again your gas lines.

A propane gas detector would probably have warned you about the gas leak. Do you have one?

A leaking 20lbs propane gas tank, will level a full size house to bits and pieces...easily. It happened a few years ago not far away from my home.

Yves.

[Herb P]

A propane gas detector would probably have warned you about the gas leak. Do you have one?

Yeah. I have the combo LP/CO detector mounted in the kitchen. The switch on my panel was off though. It's not clear the propane snuck out of the gaucho before I set it off... I'll never know because I'm not about to do that again.