The cold and how I fixed it
When did I turn into the person who knows how to do stuff?
I've always assumed that if it was possible to do, and didn't require practice, I could just do it. Most construction jobs or around-the-house jobs are that way: they have a specific set of parts and steps that just need to be assembled. But I do know that lots of these things aren't just outright labeld, and many of them are downright not labeled or even available in books.
Case in point: Our house runs on liquified petroleum, aka propane. It's like natural gas, but contains more C5 than C4 (methane) in it, hence the name pro-pane. It's colder and stored as a liquid, but everything but how the burners are tuned (and some safety equipment) is exactly the same as for natural gas. While this consumer fuel is available to anyone who asks, how to assemble and how to fuel devices is not; no company or person wants to take responsibility for the danger. What this means is that the gas company often pulls the plug, and they have a special shaped connection, when the gas runs out, until their safety tech can arrive.
However, when we bought this house, I specifically chose appliances that use electronic starters. That means no pilot lights to fiddle with, and more durability for air in the line. Much better for propane. That means the tech basically turns on a burner until the air is flushed clean instead of doing so with a hidden pilot that might not even be able to be turned off. It's simple, right?
So this year, the propane ran out while we were away. So instead of panicking, I took a replacement cylinder, a replacement evaporator - a part from a propane stove - and hooked our house up. Boom, we have heat.
To do this you need an open appliance hook-up - I'll be installing one on my porch, for instance, but in this case I had a spare one in the basement. This hook-up needs to be somewhere well-ventilated and un-heated, as you may spill lp, and the cylinder will have a boil-off vent in case too much lp turns to gas and overpressurizes the tank. Never do this to a house using natural gas! The appliances won't be tuned appropriately and will leak the propane, causing an explosion hazard.
Every appliance hookup needs a gas-ball valve and compression fitting. It also can use a plug or over-pressure fitting, but these are optional, based upon your installation. If the appliance hook-up noramlly have an appliance attached, you don't need a plug - but if it doesn't, your gas-ball valve needs to be able to use a plug instead of a compression fitting; this is important building-code stuff, many gas-ball valves have the compression fitting built-in.
An appliance hookup works this way: Black Pipe (threaded) -> Gas ball valve -> Fitting -> Flexible gas hose -> Appliance. The Fitting for when there is no appliance is always a plug. If you have an appliance attached, you'll want a compression fitting. When attaching a gas source, make sure if you use an over-pressure fitting it allows appropriate back pressure; if not, skip it and use a plain compression fitting instead.
When attaching the source cylindar, you will need the following parts. For mine, they were all 1/2, but the regulators come in lots of sizes so watch out. I got all these parts from a single not-very-large Ace Hardware:
A cylinder adapter - this is a brass part with a loose spinny bit with a reverse threading, a beveled nose and o-ring. It allows the regulator to be attached to a tank without spinning the regulator, that's why it has a spinny thing. It is reverse threaded so nothing can be attached to it accidentally. It has a pin in it that pushes open a alue inside the tank's OPD (overpressurization prevention device) valve; it doesn't actually open the value, but is another safety device.
A regulator - this is a part that looks a bit like a ufo saucer. It makes sure the gas coming out of the tank is gas and not liquid.
Compression fitting - you may need two of these, one for the gas ball valve and one for the regulator. Again, this is a type of fitting that allows you to attach things to it without spinning them. Very important.
Applaince hose or flexible gas hose - this is what connects to the compression fittings. Since appliances (or this tank) might move around or not fit exactly, this allows you leeway with where the appliance sits and can be adjusted. They attach only to compression fittings and sometimes leak.
Spray bottle of soapy water or dish of soapy water - To detect leaks, you spray this on your fittings and hose once the gas is turned on. Little bubbles will forms, so try not to put bubbles onto the surface which will confuse you. Just like checking a flat bicycle tire, but with flammable gas.
Pipe tape - this is a soft, flexable, non-sticky silicon product. You'll want to put it on all the fittings except the compression fittings. You wrap it around in the direction of the threads, so that the female part pushes it taut. Put a couple layers, and don't be stingy, but too much will make it hard to attach.
Propane cylinder - Last and least, your container of fuel. These come with valves and pre-tested and pre-filled at many gas stations and stores.
Other things which can make this easier are a brass wire brush for taking off old pipe sealer, and a pair of adjustable wrenches. I use a 10" Crescent slide-lock that's snazzy and a small vice-grip locking pliers. No, they didn't and won't pay me, but they're good products.
The tank should attach like this: Tank -> Tank adapter -> Regulator -> Compression Fitting -> Hose -> Compression Fitting -> Gas Ball Valve -> Black Pipe.
You'll want to attach things in a specific order. First, make sure your parts individually fit together. Prepare the appliance hookup first, al is naught if it isn't working. And make sure to leave it off, so you aren't spilling gas all over the floor. Yes, it really does follow the floor, make sure the area is vented. Use a fan blowing at you (not away, that's a fire hazard) if you want to feel safer. Second, assemble the regulator and all the parts attached to it. Third, attach the regulator via the hose to the appliance hook-up. Lastly, attach the regulator to the tank.
If all goes well, you'll hear a slight hiss when the adapter and regulator attach to the tank. Make sure all your fittings are solid, then turn on the tank. Spray or daub the hose and fittings with doap now, and walk away for a bit to get the smell out of your head, and come back to look for bubbles in a minute. If there are bubbles, you have to do it all over again. Once there are no bubbles, you can turn on the gas ball valve at the appliance hookup nd move onto the next step.
The last step here is to pressurize the system. It can take a couple minutes for a little tank to fill the system of pipes in the house. Use a burner - like your stove or grill - and turn it on. If you have a pilot light, this is the dangerous part; you have to keep a flame lit there while the air mixture is wrong, until it lights. Very dangerous. My stove has a sparker and keeps trying the sparker until it lights. I turn on the fan and use a long lighter anyhow - it's safer. The flame will burn orange or yellow while the fuel is full of air, debris, or cold, so you may need to keep it lit for awhile. Watch it! It may have a bubble of air and go out and need to be re-lit. You don't want to pour gas all over your house, do you?
But if all goes well, you've just given yourself another day or two worth of warm, safe, propane.
PS, go to Google today or your Senator and oppose SOPA and PIPA.
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
I've always assumed that if it was possible to do, and didn't require practice, I could just do it. Most construction jobs or around-the-house jobs are that way: they have a specific set of parts and steps that just need to be assembled. But I do know that lots of these things aren't just outright labeld, and many of them are downright not labeled or even available in books.
Case in point: Our house runs on liquified petroleum, aka propane. It's like natural gas, but contains more C5 than C4 (methane) in it, hence the name pro-pane. It's colder and stored as a liquid, but everything but how the burners are tuned (and some safety equipment) is exactly the same as for natural gas. While this consumer fuel is available to anyone who asks, how to assemble and how to fuel devices is not; no company or person wants to take responsibility for the danger. What this means is that the gas company often pulls the plug, and they have a special shaped connection, when the gas runs out, until their safety tech can arrive.
However, when we bought this house, I specifically chose appliances that use electronic starters. That means no pilot lights to fiddle with, and more durability for air in the line. Much better for propane. That means the tech basically turns on a burner until the air is flushed clean instead of doing so with a hidden pilot that might not even be able to be turned off. It's simple, right?
So this year, the propane ran out while we were away. So instead of panicking, I took a replacement cylinder, a replacement evaporator - a part from a propane stove - and hooked our house up. Boom, we have heat.
To do this you need an open appliance hook-up - I'll be installing one on my porch, for instance, but in this case I had a spare one in the basement. This hook-up needs to be somewhere well-ventilated and un-heated, as you may spill lp, and the cylinder will have a boil-off vent in case too much lp turns to gas and overpressurizes the tank. Never do this to a house using natural gas! The appliances won't be tuned appropriately and will leak the propane, causing an explosion hazard.
Every appliance hookup needs a gas-ball valve and compression fitting. It also can use a plug or over-pressure fitting, but these are optional, based upon your installation. If the appliance hook-up noramlly have an appliance attached, you don't need a plug - but if it doesn't, your gas-ball valve needs to be able to use a plug instead of a compression fitting; this is important building-code stuff, many gas-ball valves have the compression fitting built-in.
An appliance hookup works this way: Black Pipe (threaded) -> Gas ball valve -> Fitting -> Flexible gas hose -> Appliance. The Fitting for when there is no appliance is always a plug. If you have an appliance attached, you'll want a compression fitting. When attaching a gas source, make sure if you use an over-pressure fitting it allows appropriate back pressure; if not, skip it and use a plain compression fitting instead.
When attaching the source cylindar, you will need the following parts. For mine, they were all 1/2, but the regulators come in lots of sizes so watch out. I got all these parts from a single not-very-large Ace Hardware:
A cylinder adapter - this is a brass part with a loose spinny bit with a reverse threading, a beveled nose and o-ring. It allows the regulator to be attached to a tank without spinning the regulator, that's why it has a spinny thing. It is reverse threaded so nothing can be attached to it accidentally. It has a pin in it that pushes open a alue inside the tank's OPD (overpressurization prevention device) valve; it doesn't actually open the value, but is another safety device.
A regulator - this is a part that looks a bit like a ufo saucer. It makes sure the gas coming out of the tank is gas and not liquid.
Compression fitting - you may need two of these, one for the gas ball valve and one for the regulator. Again, this is a type of fitting that allows you to attach things to it without spinning them. Very important.
Applaince hose or flexible gas hose - this is what connects to the compression fittings. Since appliances (or this tank) might move around or not fit exactly, this allows you leeway with where the appliance sits and can be adjusted. They attach only to compression fittings and sometimes leak.
Spray bottle of soapy water or dish of soapy water - To detect leaks, you spray this on your fittings and hose once the gas is turned on. Little bubbles will forms, so try not to put bubbles onto the surface which will confuse you. Just like checking a flat bicycle tire, but with flammable gas.
Pipe tape - this is a soft, flexable, non-sticky silicon product. You'll want to put it on all the fittings except the compression fittings. You wrap it around in the direction of the threads, so that the female part pushes it taut. Put a couple layers, and don't be stingy, but too much will make it hard to attach.
Propane cylinder - Last and least, your container of fuel. These come with valves and pre-tested and pre-filled at many gas stations and stores.
Other things which can make this easier are a brass wire brush for taking off old pipe sealer, and a pair of adjustable wrenches. I use a 10" Crescent slide-lock that's snazzy and a small vice-grip locking pliers. No, they didn't and won't pay me, but they're good products.
The tank should attach like this: Tank -> Tank adapter -> Regulator -> Compression Fitting -> Hose -> Compression Fitting -> Gas Ball Valve -> Black Pipe.
You'll want to attach things in a specific order. First, make sure your parts individually fit together. Prepare the appliance hookup first, al is naught if it isn't working. And make sure to leave it off, so you aren't spilling gas all over the floor. Yes, it really does follow the floor, make sure the area is vented. Use a fan blowing at you (not away, that's a fire hazard) if you want to feel safer. Second, assemble the regulator and all the parts attached to it. Third, attach the regulator via the hose to the appliance hook-up. Lastly, attach the regulator to the tank.
If all goes well, you'll hear a slight hiss when the adapter and regulator attach to the tank. Make sure all your fittings are solid, then turn on the tank. Spray or daub the hose and fittings with doap now, and walk away for a bit to get the smell out of your head, and come back to look for bubbles in a minute. If there are bubbles, you have to do it all over again. Once there are no bubbles, you can turn on the gas ball valve at the appliance hookup nd move onto the next step.
The last step here is to pressurize the system. It can take a couple minutes for a little tank to fill the system of pipes in the house. Use a burner - like your stove or grill - and turn it on. If you have a pilot light, this is the dangerous part; you have to keep a flame lit there while the air mixture is wrong, until it lights. Very dangerous. My stove has a sparker and keeps trying the sparker until it lights. I turn on the fan and use a long lighter anyhow - it's safer. The flame will burn orange or yellow while the fuel is full of air, debris, or cold, so you may need to keep it lit for awhile. Watch it! It may have a bubble of air and go out and need to be re-lit. You don't want to pour gas all over your house, do you?
But if all goes well, you've just given yourself another day or two worth of warm, safe, propane.
PS, go to Google today or your Senator and oppose SOPA and PIPA.
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/