I’m (finally!) ready to set up my soldering torch and, now, my
husband says “no propane tanks in the house”. So, I’m back to natural
gas, which may or may not work, from what I hear! Are you people
using 20# propane tanks indoors? Are there major safety issues,
insurance issues?
Thank you, again, for your input.
Susan
I have a small Grill Tank in my shop and no problems so far, knock
knock! The Natural gas will work fine, especially if you are running
only one station. I use natural gas for my casting station with one
torch and it’s plenty.
Good luck! Steve arista designs
Susan,
I got that same line “no propane tanks in the house”. I ran lines
out the window. but i do not think it is a problem. i set up a vacuum
system too use on my buffer grinder and solder station. each has a
gate the extras cost my 50 from harbor freight and vacuum from them
too. now the only thing going out the window is a hose into a 55 gal
trash can takes dust fumes metal (steel) have a bag attachment for
silver or gold (so far no gold for me)I just set it up and works
great but now its packed and on its way to my new home my new shop
is 5x10 so this will be fun 5 foot for table and wheelchair. think i
will have to be very creative on how i set up my new shop. and the
tanks will be inside just remember to shut them off every day at the
tank.
best wishes
Jen
I have a small Grill Tank in my shop and no problems so far, knock knock!
If there ever is a problem the presence of that tank most likely
will void your insurance and make you liable for damages, check with
you agent but 20 lb (grill) propane tanks are not legal to have
indoors in the US.
The Natural gas will work fine, especially if you are running only one station. I use natural gas for my casting station with one torch and it's plenty.
I think I recall you have high pressure NG in your shop. If she has
residential NG it likely will not be enough to cast with and cannot
be safely hooked up to a torch because flashback arrestors will not
work on the low supply pressure of residential delivery (7-8 inches
WC) NG.
Jim
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
I'm (finally!) ready to set up my soldering torch and, now, my husband says "no propane tanks in the house". So, I'm back to natural gas, which may or may not work, from what I hear! Are you people using 20# propane tanks indoors? Are there major safety issues, insurance issues?
If you live in the US than according to code you are not supposed to
have a 20 lb propane tank indoors in all residential buildings and
most commercial ones. So yes certainly insurance issues and safety
issues. Get a natural gas compressor and don’t worry about propane
issues.
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Susan,
I'm (finally!) ready to set up my soldering torch and, now, my husband says "no propane tanks in the house".
Not totally true.No #20 tanks inside ever, #5 usually OK. I use a #1
tank from a bernzomatic plumbers torch.
I don’t worry.
jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand
Susan- My sweetie Tim and I have used natural gas for decades. We
fabricate platinum,palladium, silver and gold with no problems. We
also cast gold and silver. No fancy equipment needed.
I will not have propane in my house. It’s just too dangerous. I’m
betting that if you have a safety issue with the propane your
insurance co. would not pay out. Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
www.timothywgreen.com
Absolutely no propane in the house, according to a fire warden I
consulted, nor in your garage either. It became such a problem for
me. I rented a studio in town and had problems with that as well.
Finally quit, and took a jewelry course just to use the equipment. I
wouldn’t want to tackle the insurance issues either. However, I have
had friends learning to make glass beads who even had propane in
their bedrooms upstairs. Early on, forty years ago, I even stupidly
had a welding torch in our basement with a pilot on our furnace.
Fortunately, someone warned me before I blew the place up and hurt
my kids. Ruth Mary
If there ever is a problem the presence of that tank most likely will void your insurance and make you liable for damages, check with you agent but 20 lb (grill) propane tanks are not legal to have indoors in the US.
This topic was debated ad nauseam on here a couple years ago and
while I don’t recall the conclusion we all came to, I’d never keep a
propane tank inside! Too crazy dangerous!
The first posted above said “no problems so far.” Yeah, obviously.
If there had been a problem we’d not have heard about it from him,
he’d be knocking wood in the afterlife.
Hello everyone,
I’m new to Ganoksin and have been following this thread…thanks
everyone.
I am putting a new studio into my basement and have the same
problem. I thought to switch to NG, but the little G-Tech compressor
was +$11 plus shipping to Canada. I am new to this game…a hobbiest
at home and I have been enjoying teaching jewelry making in our
highschool for a couple of years now… (yay! Kids love it and I have
tons of girls coming into the metal shop for their first time!)
So, it looks like right now my most affordable approach will be to
get a gasfitter to come and install a line so that the tank sits just
outside my house. It will remain on all the time, and I’ll have a
shut-off at my bench. The regulators and FB arrestor will be at the
shutoff valve, just as though the tank were sitting inside. I don’t
see the big deal…I cut a hole in the side of my house for a kitty
door, I’m sure I can drill a little hole to run the piping out! Can
anyone see any problem with that? Jim? Can anyone tell me how big a
pipe to useplease? Half-inch?
Thanks everyone for all the great info you post, it is such a help!
Linda
BC, Canada
What’s wrong with natual gas? If you have outlets in the house? I got
hook ups for a space heater, a flared copper pipe that the hardware
store did for me and and then soft soldered a smaller sized copper
pipe in the larger one on the fitting to the gas outlet. I also just
found a Oxy concentrator in the trash and am in hog heaven…
I used soap to friction the rubber hose onto the fitting, have done
this for 30 years with no problems!!!
What's wrong with natual gas? If you have outlets in the house? I got hook ups for a space heater, a flared copper pipe that the hardware store did for me and and then soft soldered a smaller sized copper pipe in the larger one on the fitting to the gas outlet. I also just found a Oxy concentrator in the trash and am in hog heaven.......... I used soap to friction the rubber hose onto the fitting, have done this for 30 years with no problems!!!!!
You cannot run a flashback arrestor on a residential NG line, too low
a supply pressure. It is possible without too much difficulty to have
oxygen forced back down the NG line which can then result in an
explosion. As someone else noted if you had had this problem we would
not be hearing from you about it. The “have done this for 30 years
with no problems” defense is no excuse for unsafe practice.
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
I'm (finally!) ready to set up my soldering torch and, now, my husband says "no propane tanks in the house". So, I'm back to natural gas, which may or may not work, from what I hear! Are you people using 20# propane tanks indoors? Are there major safety issues, insurance issues?
Your husband is absolutely right on this matter. By design, propane
tanks have pressure release valves, and I have a war story that
confirms the real danger. In addition to jewelry, I also have a
large shop set up for forged steel projects, at that time located in
one of Baltimore’s historic industrial buildings. A pair of 100-pound
propane cylinders fueled the forges. On a 20 F January morning, I
was facing a day-long production forging session. One tank was empty
and the other was half full, so it was off to the local supplier to
get it filled. I set it inside the shop ready to hook up when the
other tank ran out, fired up the forge, and started top work. With
the forging burning, the large room became quite warm as the day
progressed. Late in the afternoon, it was time to switch tanks.
Turning off the noisy forge, instead of a silent room, there was an
ominous hissing sound behind me. I turn to see a frosty cloud of
propane gas spewing from the full tank! The tank had been filled at
a 20 F, and the contents were now warmed to a toasty 78 F. The
resulting increase in pressure caused the pressure release valve to
do its job. It was very scary dashing through that cloud of gas to
open the garage door and drag it outside before the gas reached the
still glowing forge 20 feet away. I was really lucky - that
situation was probably one a minute or two from a catastrophic
explosion.
That said, propane is still a very useful fuel. I still use
100-pound cylinders, but I now take them inside only when the
forging, and store them outdoors otherwise.
Mark Layton
The Millrace Studios
I work with propane. I work in the house. The tank is outside the
house. It is not a big stretch to run a gas line through the wall
and, if required by your local gov’t, to have that installation done
by a licenced gasfitter under permit and thus suffer no decrement in
insurance coverage or safety. Lots cleaner than acetylene which I
used previously.
Marty