400: European Boat - Propane Tank Question

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Captn_Black

Wait... Are you that guy that was berthed down the pontoon from me when I bought her? Hi, if so!
There have been numerous improvements

Hi

No sorry not me. I saw her advertised and thought that's cheap, but she was advertised for ages before you bought her.

How come the previous owner only sailed her to the Canaries and then stopped.

Pete

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Hi

No sorry not me. I saw her advertised and thought that's cheap, but she was advertised for ages before you bought her.

How come the previous owner only sailed her to the Canaries and then stopped.

Pete

They were surfers, hence the quality of the work
They just wanted a floating RV as a base to surf that offshore standing wave in Corralejo. I'm always finding new reasons to hate them
But the work is satisfying.

Edit - and yes, the caravan water boiler is a good example of the standard of their work! And the interior was carpeted!!
If anything 10k was slightly too much.

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Hi

No sorry not me. I saw her advertised and thought that's cheap, but she was advertised for ages before you bought her.

How come the previous owner only sailed her to the Canaries and then stopped.

Pete

Nice web-sleuthing though
But you would have got more accurate results using my photos here and google maps

[Captn_Black]

I'll go first - 50°53'42.8"N 1°24'13.9"W Your ship's berth

[Differentroads]

Interesting thread done in an informed, friendly manner, especially given the fairly contentious topic.
I installed new gas line, electronic valve and alarm system a few years ago but paid a registered gas installer to complete the connections and check the system thoroughly.
There's only two things that still scare me about cruising on my sailing boat. Falling off it and a gas explosion. And of the two I think that falling off would simply be a tragic accident (I don't imagine that my wife could recover me alive no matter how desperately she tried), but treat gas as though its actively trying to kill me (unlike my wife. So far). On that basis I made the installation much more durable than I could have afforded to pay someone to do (some lengths of the continuous copper pipe are double sheathed in rigid plastic pipe glassed in at either end for rigidity) but paid through the nose to get someone to make connections that I couldn't be confident about getting right first time. I'd happily do the same approach again.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Differentroads

Interesting thread done in an informed, friendly manner, especially given the fairly contentious topic.
I installed new gas line, electronic valve and alarm system a few years ago but paid a registered gas installer to complete the connections and check the system thoroughly.
There's only two things that still scare me about cruising on my sailing boat. Falling off it and a gas explosion. And of the two I think that falling off would simply be a tragic accident (I don't imagine that my wife could recover me alive no matter how desperately she tried), but treat gas as though its actively trying to kill me (unlike my wife. So far). On that basis I made the installation much more durable than I could have afforded to pay someone to do (some lengths of the continuous copper pipe are double sheathed in rigid plastic pipe glassed in at either end for rigidity) but paid through the nose to get someone to make connections that I couldn't be confident about getting right first time. I'd happily do the same approach again.

Sounds eminently sensible

[Dave9111]

I wouldn't keep a propane cylinder inside my hull, period.

The reason is that those propane regulators will eventually leak.
You are really better off putting it on the deck, away from a hatch or on the back rail. Getting propane into the boat is no different than running gasoline lines. Use copper line from the tank, except for a rubber hose pigtail to the regulator. Only use flare fittings, not compression fittings and leak check them with soap water or better off gas leak detector which you can buy at Menards, Home Depot etc. Its much better than soapy water. The idea about not having any fittings between your tank and the appliance is nonsense. It might be AYBC or whatever, but its still nonsense. A flare T fitting properly installed is extremely reliable. Make sure the copper lines are secured - not flopping around or flexing.
Most older boats that had gas engines installed (such as mine) were plumbed with copper fuel lines with flare fittings. Gasoline is as bad as propane, but its not pressurized.

I'm not a fan of solenoid valves. The the gas on when you want to use it, at the tank, and turn it off when you're done. If you do that everytime, it will become habit, like removing your keys from the ignition of your car when you leave it. You can leave a solenoid valve switch on or off. So a solenoid valve really doesn't fix the issue and with a solenoid valve you have more joints to leak and wires to short, break, etc.



Re: Beating on a propane cylinder with a hammer!?!

NEVER hammer on a pressure vessel unless you want to live a short life!
Even if you were just bending over the collar to fit it into the enclosure, that is still extremely dumb.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Dave9111

I wouldn't keep a propane cylinder inside my hull, period.

The reason is that those propane regulators will eventually leak.
You are really better off putting it on the deck, away from a hatch or on the back rail. Getting propane into the boat is no different than running gasoline lines. Use copper line from the tank, except for a rubber hose pigtail to the regulator. Only use flare fittings, not compression fittings and leak check them with soap water or better off gas leak detector which you can buy at Menards, Home Depot etc. Its much better than soapy water. The idea about not having any fittings between your tank and the appliance is nonsense. It might be AYBC or whatever, but its still nonsense. A flare T fitting properly installed is extremely reliable. Make sure the copper lines are secured - not flopping around or flexing.
Most older boats that had gas engines installed (such as mine) were plumbed with copper fuel lines with flare fittings. Gasoline is as bad as propane, but its not pressurized.

I'm not a fan of solenoid valves. The the gas on when you want to use it, at the tank, and turn it off when you're done. If you do that everytime, it will become habit, like removing your keys from the ignition of your car when you leave it. You can leave a solenoid valve switch on or off. So a solenoid valve really doesn't fix the issue and with a solenoid valve you have more joints to leak and wires to short, break, etc.



Re: Beating on a propane cylinder with a hammer!?!

NEVER hammer on a pressure vessel unless you want to live a short life!
Even if you were just bending over the collar to fit it into the enclosure, that is still extremely dumb.

Think I'll stick with ABYC , thanks.

[ditechspain]

If by "armoured" we're talking about hoses with a metallic protective braid, I fitted a set of carbs with a braided petrol hose to a car. Looked immaculate and brand new. Stopped one day and noticed a strong smell of petrol. When I inspected with the motor running the cause was clear. The hose beneath the braid was perished and petrol was being pumped through the failures. If the hose needs protection I'm more confident in a naked hose with localised sacrificial cladding in likely rubbing areas. That way a visual check will show any signs of incipient failure. B
raid can cover a multitude of problems.

By the way, the carbs were situated over the exhaust manifold and silencer. Still very grateful I smelt the leak before I lost the car.

[Dan3281]

If it helps, my Beneteau trawler, built in France but for the US market uses the Trident 1410 size on the Defender link above.

[ditechspain]

Just noticed Captain Black's comment about the difficulty of getting US suppliers to ship outside the States and Canada, and the expense.

First the expense. Flabbergasted at the expense of shipping a set of 4 ventilated discs, calipers and tow hitch I discovered there are various online agents who will shop around for you to find the best quote once you've supplied weight, dimensions and origin and destination. You make your selection from a choice and they will then email you a shipping label which you can forward to the supplier for them to stick on the packet. The couriers, in my case the same ones who'd quoted the supplier a small fortune, then collect the parcel in the normal way. All that's left for you to do is pay customs at your end before they release the package for delivery to you. At a substantial saving. That might be enough in itself to persuade a seller to let you buy from them.
If you're buying regularly there are also firms who will act like a post restante in the States until you're ready to ship the lot, so the supplier is actually selling to a US address which doesn't present a problem. However your consumer rights are those applying in the States. And US rights are generally a lot poorer than EU or EU national rights.

What I've done recently is see if the supplier has an Ebay shop, in which case it may be possible to ship from anywhere through eBay's international delivery service which again is a lot cheaper than having it shipped direct. However the eBay shop range is usually a lot more limited than the direct online sites and they won't step over the borders!

[rla]

I plumbed a gas system on a Prout cat and used the bulkhead fittings but drilled them clear through and ran the pipe through. I used the compression gland nuts and olives on each side , which I consider the safest way to pass through bulkheads.