Propane

Jewelry Discussion
1 
One of my very experienced instructors warned all his students
that propane is extremely dangerous and explosive and advised us
never to use it in the house, or to store it anywhere near the
house.

My parents stove is propane and I believe it heats their
water. How come it is’nt too dangerous for this use? I use
straight acetylene but am wondering if I could somehow use
propane at their house because my studio is there. Does any
one have suggestions?

Stacey Weid

2

wHILE ON THE SUBJECT. HOW DOES bUTANE COMPARE TO PROPANE? argh
caps lock:) my dad doesn’t want me to get a propane tank but
instead baught a butane torch…

Daiv

3

The only butane torchs that I have seen have been those that
students bring in with hope in their eyes. They have usally been
gifts. They have all been too small to do much with and people
are disapointed.

Marilyn Smith

4 
    My parents stove is propane and I believe it heats their
    water. How come it is'nt too dangerous for this use? I use
    straight acetylene but am wondering if I could somehow use
    propane at their house because my studio is there. Does any
    one have suggestions?

Again relying on my gas distributor, we USE propane in the
house, but don’t STORE it there. The tanks are outside, almost
certainly. The most likely large leaks are outside.
Additionally, propane, like natural gas, has an ‘odorant’ added
so that it can be smelled.

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5

Propane is ALWAYS stored outside and ideally somewhat away from
the house. Imperrative that it is WELL ventilated. In Tahoe,
where snow accumulates regularly to massive heights, there are
often explosions and ensuing fires due to the snow encapsulating
the tanks, leaks occurring, and BOOM. If the house is nearby,it
goes,too. Propane is something to be VERY careful with!_

Karen

6

I think there are also “refrigerators” used by some without
electricity, which work with propane . … I also solder using
an acetylene “B” tank and a torch which mixes room air near the
tip. The flame is hot, and CLEAN! And I should mention, I do
this IN MY BASEMENT, with a venting system over the soldering
table. I turn off the tank (most of the time) when I finish
soldering.

7

Karen, the outdoor propane tank explosions are usually caused by
the weight of the snow actually snapping the regulator off. This
happens a lot with second homes, where no one is around to take
care of snow accumulation. Still, this does nothing to diminish
the danger of explosive gasses of any kind. Just follow the
correct procedures every time. Charlie