Propane storage

Okay, the tent fire story made me start rethinking my power outage cooking solution.

I have nowhere outside to store anything. How safe is one of the little camp stove propane canisters when it's disconnected and the valve is closed firmly?

I was planning to store it (and the stove) in the bedroom closet. My only other options are in a hall closet, or the bottom level of one of the kitchen cabinets.

Are they generally secure and safe enough to not worry about storing one inside my home?

http://www.propane101.com/propanecylinderstorage.htm

This link says never to store them inside.

One of the Ecofuel stoves with canisters might be a good and safer alternative for power outages. I picked one up years ago and it stays permanently packed in my suv. I've even heated water in my kitchen with it during power outages. Less messy on pots than the esbit stoves. Not as fast as the backpacking stoves but does get the job done and very safe for storing the canisters most anywhere. They even advertised the fuel is safe on airlines, however, I probably wouldn't try that after 911. I picked mine up at a Sportsman's show probably 10 years back and the fuel canisters are still good to go. Here is a link with information on the safety of the fuel. The stove I have is large enough to fit two of the canisters under and that does help with getting water boiling faster.

http://safetycentral.com/eccafu.html

In my view, you need to think about two things when storing propane.

The first: What happens if the valve fails. Propane seeps out and flow into depressions, seeking the lowest lying area available. This is really dangerous, but easily prevented: Store it somewhere ventilated.


Second: What happens in case of fire. Small gas canisters go BOOM when you heat them (pressure buildup due to high temperature). If you heat them with open flame, all the gas inside will ignite simultaneously. You tell me if that qualifies as an explosion or merely as rapid combustion. Words like "awesome" and "terrifying" comes to mind. Have a good look on the BOOM parts of this video (ignore the crazy local linguistic peculiarities):
http://www.newswire.no/?melding=9052

Basically the message is: Ventilated shed outside. In addition to the fact that it will set anything combustible nearby at fire, a blowing gas canister has enough energy to skewer the foundations of your house (if contained within a small, enclosed volume). If you have a fire in your house, the last thing you'd want to worry about is gas canisters going KA-BOOM.


A big gas tank is actually much safer in a fire as those usually have a safety valve. This valve will release gas that will ignite and burn in a safe and controlled manner. Much safer than gas canister that are guaranteed to blow up.

I keep my propane (gas canister + 5 kg (11 pound) propane tank) in the shed adjacent to my outer wall. Ideally, it should be a separate building, but outside the outer walls is good enough for me. The shed is well ventilated and in case of a fire it will not contain the explosions: The shed will be damaged, but not in a way that will not make matters worse for the house. But I also consider moving the canisters to my garage.


One tip for those without a separate shed in your garden: Consider one of those plastic "tool boxes" that are meant to be put on your outer wall. Basically they are a lazy (and poor) man's tool shed, big enough for a small variety of gardening tools - essentially just plastic doors with shelves and a roof. Not perfect for propane, but make a few extra vent holes in the bottom and put it on the shady side of your house and you're pretty close.

You could even put them outside a window or at a balcony. Basically anywhere as long as it's not inside and not heated by blazing hot sun.

Okay. Discarding propane camp stove idea completely.

I literally have NO outside storage options. I'm in an apartment complex, ground floor, no patio, storage area, or anything similar. Anything I leave outside is going to be "fair game" to the kids in the complex.



Thanks, all!

I agree, storing propane inside is dangerous.

Propane storage

How about a bag or two of charcoal and a small grill?

The characteristic of propane to pool in confined spaces is a big reason why that fuel is anathema on boats, where alcohol stoves are fairly common and much safer. Not completely safe, mind you, but safer. No fuel is completely idiot proof safe.

Alcohol would be choice for storage in a confined urban setting. Can you say Everclear?

Propane canisters are just not that much of a hazard. I'm not going to retire it from my kit. Not after thirty years off reliable service.

Yes, they can leak and spread fire if leaking gas is ignited. Possibly trigger an explosion if gas builds up and is ignited in a confined space. But leaks tend to be small, mostly occurring in partially expended canisters where the feed valve doesn't reseat completely, and long before the concentration is flammable your going to smell it.

The fact is that pretty much every department store, discount store, home center, hardware store, and backpack shop carry propane canisters by the hundred. Millions of homes, businesses, and public buildings use large tanks of propane to stay warm, for heating water, cooking, or industrial processes.

Yes, every year a few people get hurt. But the same can be said of gasoline, kerosene, natural gas, wood, and electricity. None of them are entirely safe. Stay aware of the specific issues and dangers. Keep in mind the safety measures that make sense in your case. BE safe. But let's keep the risk in perspective.

Thanks Art, that's what I was trying to get at when I questioned what the tent fire thread had to do with the storing of propane.

The tent story did not say how big the propane canister was.
Usually the 1 pound cylinders are counted as safe because they don't have very much propane in them. Even if one of them did leak it would not release enough propane to create an explosive environment, and it would likely be too diluted in the air to even burn.
I suspect that the tent story involved one of the larger sized cylinders.

edit:
I just reread the other thread and saw that Mostly Harmless supplied the extra information.
As he says, you still need to use a bit of caution with the smaller cylinders.
But I think they are a lot less dangerous because they just don't have as much fuel and are unlikely to cause a high enough fuel air concentration to burn in most situations.

A few of my buddies are pro firefighters and to hear their stories about bottled gasses was enough to make me think hard about them. I still have and use them, but they're stored well away from the house. Unfortunately, too many will store them in a basement or attached garage, not thinking of what could happen. Look up 'bleve' and I think you'll see what I mean. Too many have died because of poorly stored fuels.

Charcoal is not an option, for personal reasons. (Please forgive me for not going into detail -- it's not appropriate to this conversation.)

I'm now seriously considering that Eco Stove. Much more convenient than an alcohol stove, especially for a non-camper.

I need to move mine, I have 20lb ones in my garage.