Propane box

[bobtookmm]

Is this good practice or are there real regulations? I wonder why a box is needed for a bomb proof steel pressure container anyway. The real risk is the hosing and other downstream attachments.

[ndutton]

Real regulations.

ABYC A-1 is attached, section A 1.12 addresses your question directly. The USCG adopts ABYC A-1 in 46 CFR §184.240(a) making the provisions federal law.

[joe_db]

The box is as much for controlling gas leaks as protecting the tank

[ndutton]

What Joe said.
Propane is very similar to gasoline in that vapors are heavier than air meaning in the event of leakage they'll settle into an explosive pool in the bilge and the energy is only slightly less but comparable to gasoline. Propane storage tank pressures can range between roughly 30 to 200 PSI. Typical on board regulators are single stage that reduce the tank pressure to less than 1/2 PSI.

[joe_db]

Another thing - you cannot use a propane box INSIDE a boat. We got a propane job where the owner wanted a box inside the boat. We warned him, but did as requested. I did say we needed a surveyor to sign off to keep us from getting sued if he blew himself up.
The surveyor said no way no how and we then built a teak and stainless mount to keep the tanks on the stern rail overhanging the water. We got nice aluminum 10 pound bottles and it ended up looking OK.

[Marty Levenson]

minimal propane storage

A la one of Don Casey's books, I built a pvc tube with a sealed capped bottom end and a removable pvc top lid. It perfectly holds three one lb canisters stacked. It attaches to the stern rail, and has a 1/4" hole in the bottom of the outboard edge to vent fumes.

[romantic comedy]

I have a propane locker that holds 2 11 pounder inside the boat, in the cockpit locker. It is vented thru the hull.

Is this not legal?

[ndutton]

I have a propane locker that holds 2 11 pounder inside the boat, in the cockpit locker. It is vented thru the hull.

Is this not legal?

Read section A-1.8 (page 4) in the referenced ABYC A-1 standard to see if your LPG locker is compliant.

[romantic comedy]

Thanks Neil. Looks like I am compliant. Although I am not 100 percent sure. The locker is mounted on a hinge. It has to lay down in order to remove the cylinders. so maybe/maybe not.The locker was installed by the PO and was part of the pre purchase survey. As I recall, there was no issue with the locker on the survey. But that was a survey, lol.

I have been happy with it. Mostly what I have seen is propane bottles attached on the deck somewhere. Often they are at the rail or overhanging the water. i have also seen a few that were inboard and not vented.

[joe_db]

According to our surveyor, NO no way no how not even close
Those lockers were never intended to be gas-tight inside a boat. They need to open to the outside. Also even if they were 100% gas tight, if there ever is a propane leak all the propane dumps right in the bilge when you open it to change tanks. I didn't think it looked right when our customer wanted it mounted that way and it turned out I was right.
EDIT:
Installation:
Pressure Regulators
LPG LOCKERS

A-1.8.2.1
LPG lockers shall be installed so that the
locker opens only directly to the outside atmosphere, and
A-1.8.2.2
If a LPG locker is installed inside a boat
locker, the LPG locker shall be located as high and as close
to the boat locker’s opening as possible in order to comply
with A-1.8.2.1.
A-1.8.3

Our surveyor assumed that 18.2.2 meant the locker itself was not connected to the interior of the boat. I think you could make a case this rule does not exactly say that, but I have never ever seen any production boat with propane inside the boat ever. 100% of all propane lockers I have ever seen that were from the factory only opened to the exterior of the boat with a few exceptions where there was a larger locker that was sealed from the interior itself, in essence a big propane locker, and the smaller propane locker inside it was mainly to keep things from hitting the tanks. This is actually a nice kind of locker to have to store other flammables like gas cans* for the dinghy or acetone.

* total thread creep, but I was aboard a Cabo Rico 38, got a lecture about the extreme danger of gasoline engines, and then the skipper climbed down in the engine room to fish out a Clorox bottle of gasoline for his dinghy and we also had water on for coffee on the propane stove

I have a propane locker that holds 2 11 pounder inside the boat, in the cockpit locker. It is vented thru the hull.

Is this not legal?

[romantic comedy]

Interesting. Is it not possible to have a legal propane locker in the boat?

[ndutton]

Can you please post some pictures of your propane locker?

[captainmurph]

Interesting. Is it not possible to have a legal propane locker in the boat?

It is possible to have a legal propane locker inside the boat. If a surveyor says it is not, he is erring on the side of safety. That is certainly not bad but it is not an accurate interpretation of ABYC standards.

The standards are very clear about the need for the locker to be vapor proof and have venting outside the boat in a specific way. The lockers that may be purchased to install directly (as expensive as they are!) will meet the requirements as long as the venting is done according to ABYC standards.

If one wants to mount LPG on the stern pulpit or elsewhere on the exterior, they should still be cautious on any possibility of vapors settling into any opening into the boat.

[bobtookmm]

re:
File Type: pdf ABYC A-1 Propane.pdf (75.8 KB, 69 views)

Good Grief

looks like the big can goes on the rail.

Are the camp stove pound size subject to this to this tome?

[ndutton]

Are the camp stove pound size subject to this to this tome?

Yuuuuuuppp!