Portable Propane bottle storage

marvin4239 · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:35 pm Post subject: Portable Propane bottle storage

Being fearful of the many problems reported and my own personal experience with small propane bottle storage I recently came up with and idea that I think is pretty good. I purchase a 10' piece of 4" thin wall perforated drain pipe plus screw in end caps. The portable bottles fit perfectly inside this and the pipe has two rows of holes along it's length. I cut the pipe long enough to accomidate three bottles cleaned it good with acetone and painted it with white plastic paint by Rustoleum. I put the end caps on and mounted it beneath my cooler rack with the holes on the bottom. It's up and out of the way and I'm in hopes if a leak occurs the gas will be vented out the holes in the pipe. After a recent mishap with a leaky bottle I was relating the story to the dock master at Hooton Island Marina. He told me of a cruiser that bought a case of the bottles stored them in his cockpit against the transom in and unventilated cabinet. He said the bottles blew up and blew the transom of the boat out sinking it at the dock. If I know I'm going to be away from the boat for a few weeks or more I plan to remove the bottles and store them ashore. These bottles rust in no time around here.

SEA3PO · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:49 pm Post subject:

Wow what a freak accident... one of those one in a million deals.... I have propane onboard... I have a propane stove instead of alcohol.... much nicer...what I did was mount a 1.4 gallon bottle in my port lazarette with a solenoid valve and the regulator...then plumbed it into the boat using water tight fittings... so if there is ever a leak it will go overboard through the lazarette drain....had a marine surveior help me to make sure it was up to code... when I am not using it I turn it off at the tank also....
I never remove the tank to fill it..... I made a gravity adaptor so I can fill from a barbeque type tank (3 gallon_... when you fill at a service station they usually have a 3 gallon minimum and will charge for 3 if you only buy one gallon. A gallon last at least a week of normal everyday use.

Joel
SEA3PO

Rock-C · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:19 pm Post subject:

Joel
Could you tell us where you got the solenoid and how it is wired? Also, how does that gravity adaptor work and what kind of fittings did you use to make it?
Thanks.

SEA3PO · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:52 pm Post subject:

The solenoid,the water-tite fitting and the high pressure pre-assembled hose (fittings on each end) came from West Marine. I had to order the tank.... it is shorter than the normal barbeque tanks...but fits in the lazarette just fine.
The adaptor to fill the tank is made up of two propane lead hoses with a fitting in the center to mate them together.... I took the check balls out of them....so the fluid can gravity flow from one tank to the other...basically it is just a hose from one to another...made it up at a trailer place.
The solenoid is wired to a switch just below the stove so when I want to use the stove I turn it on, and off when I am not using propane....(I still go out and turn the valve off too...just to be safe)

Joel
SEA3PO