LP (propane) question

[Danno]

Hi all, just posted my intro and thought I'd jump right in with a question. Our 1k gas roaster will be here any day now and it's going to be set up in my basement. Since I heat my home and hot water with LP, my original plan was to tap into the gas line using CSST tubing. But I'm starting to wonder about whether I'll have enough pressure, and whether it will be consistent enough. Will I have a pressure drop when I'm in the middle of a roast and our furnace kicks in? Would I be better off going with a smaller dedicated bottle just for the roaster? Seems a shame to have to use a small bottle with a big tank in the yard, but consistency from roast to roast is mission critical. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[slurp]

I am sure you will be fine. My I suggest you consult a professional plumber to be sure. Welcome to the forum.

 

[chast]

you also might need a small regulator for the roaster. Does it have a manometer? if not install one. Having a propane tank in the basement is illegal and if a fire ever broke out kiss your insurance goodbye!! They will not pay out if they find out.

 

[Danno]

I know it comes with a regulator, and I remember seeing a gauge, but I don't remember if it was a manometer or not. My wife said the same thing yesterday, she said, "isn't it illegal to have a propane tank in the house?", and I was like, "naw, people do it all the time!" "MMmmm, crow for breakfast, not good with any kind of coffee!"

 

[chast]

yup a lot of people do it and I did with a 30lb tank until I was chatting with the fire chief...Nation wide fire law, although some states/towns look the other way they will change their opinion if something tragic happens and you know they won't accept fault. Most will have a pressure/burner gauge but the Manometer should before the roaster where the gas line connects to. What brand roaster are you looking at?

 

[Danno]

I think you're right on the gauge. I think is was a pressure gauge. And while I agree that a manometer is a great option, I'd feel a lot better knowing whether my household LP will give me enough pressure (consistently) before I pay to have the line run to the roaster. Gonna stop at the local co-op on the way home and talk to the gas guys down there.
Bought a 1k North Coffee from MCR. They're a couple of hours from here. Decent value with nearby support.

 

[MillCityRoasters]

I think you're right on the gauge. I think is was a pressure gauge. And while I agree that a manometer is a great option, I'd feel a lot better knowing whether my household LP will give me enough pressure (consistently) before I pay to have the line run to the roaster. Gonna stop at the local co-op on the way home and talk to the gas guys down there.
Bought a 1k North Coffee from MCR. They're a couple of hours from here. Decent value with nearby support.

A manometer is simply another type of gauge that measures pressure by the displacement of a column of water. Your gauge is a bladder gauge that measures pressure in mm of water and KPA. Both types do exactly the same thing.

No storing propane tanks in the house.

Obviously, in the event disaster, it's not a good idea to be storing a bomb downstairs. Although my former military career made me comfortable with various and sundry explosives, I'd greatly prefer to not have my family sleeping over any of them.

Slightly less obvious is the fact that, in the event of a malfunction, LP gas pressure regulators have the potential to vent 30 PSI LP gas at the regulator. If you have a propane tank in the back yard, you doubtlessly have a regulator mounted to the tank. If the diaphragm leaks, it vents outside. Expensive, but not necessarily disastrous. If you have natural gas at home, your regulator is mounted outside too and for the same reason.

As a practical matter, closing the valve on the tank removes the regulator from the equation. If you are standing next to your BBQ grill and smell a bunch of gas, you can reach down and shut the valve. Same goes for the roaster.

Your propane pressure coming into the house will probably be 11" water column. That will be 2.74 kpa on your gauge. That's plenty to roast 1 kg charges any way you want. If you want to amp up to 1.5 kg, you'll need to come up to about 20" water column (about 5 kpa). I run 6 kpa (24") in the shop to the same roaster.

Remember these are max pressure numbers. This is the maximum pressure "on tap". It should be obvious, or at the least it will immediately become obvious, that you'll do the bulk of your operation at much lower gas settings.

I suspect you'll have this sorted out before I finish this post.

 

[CCafe]

Since I heat my home and hot water with LP, my original plan was to tap into the gas line using CSST tubing. But I'm starting to wonder about whether I'll have enough pressure, and whether it will be consistent enough.

First and foremost get a plumber.

Before you go adding anything else to your existing LP line you need to know a few things. How long is your gas run from the tank to the house? What is the diameter of the pipe? What is the pressure you are getting in the house. By knowing these 3 things you can calculate your flow and available maximum BTU's you have available.

A little light reading for you, http://www.amerigas.com/pdfs/Propane-Fast-Facts.pdf

I have seen a few houses in the past that had gas furnace, dryer, stove that had gas supply issues when everything was on and running. I have contemplated for years adding a NG emergency generator to my house, the only problem is I have to upgrade to 1" from 3/4" supply to handle the generators hourly consumption. The main reason I haven't done it was simply the cost of having the meter shut off and all new lines installed.

Lastly, CSST has been getting a bad rap. In states with a lot of lightning they seem to be failing faster than they should. If you read all the literature about CSST they make it sound like its the safest product on the planet. Here in Iowa it seems like every summer you hear about another house fire and the cause is always seems to get blamed on the CSST. If lightning hits your house, jumps and grounds out to the line it can puncture a small hole in the line and now you have your own personal flamethrower. I've spoken to the fire marshal in my area and he believes if you have it you should get rid of it. So who am I to argue with the guy who hates this stuff and puts out fires.

 

[Danno]

Thanks much for the info Steve. Very helpful. I would have replied sooner but the roaster came today so I've been kind of busy. Everything made it through the trip just fine. Roaster looks great. It was kinda fun watching the truck driver back his 48ft. rig up my 500ft. driveway. Kudo's to him though, he did good.

 

[Danno]

Hey CCafe, thanks a lot for the tips. Gonna have a licensed plumber friend pipe it. Thanks also for the .pdf. Good info!