I’m wondering if you have any advice on propane transport/storage. I have a FWC shell, and somewhat recently learned that you shouldn’t keep the propane in the living space with you (obvious to some of you, I’m sure). I now have a furnace, so the propane needs to go somewhere.
My goal is to be substantially safer than I used to be. I realize I simply can’t make it as safe as if I had the factory propane box installed, but I’d like to make a nice dent in things. In the past, we used to keep the propane tank in the camper while running our Wave 3.
I’d like to build a propane box inside the camper, and I understand this is how they do/allow things in Europe. I’d build a box with plywood, seal the corners, and cover the entire interior with fiberglass to make it airtight. Then I’d have some kind of airtight lid (maybe with rubber weatherstripping that latches down firmly). I’d drill holes in the bottom of the box that pass through the camper floor and vent to the outside (at the rear of the camper where it hangs out past the truck bed, maybe 2 1”hole saw holes). I’d also put a propane detector right next to the box. I can run the hose outside of the camper, so there are no additional holes in the box or connections inside.
Again, it’s not perfect, but I’m curious if it is SO imperfect that it’s not even worth my time and I'd just get a false sense of security. Like, I might as well just keep the propane in the living space with us and save myself the hassle… I guess I want to protect against smaller propane leaks, when things heat up or if the regulator leaks a little. I don’t know that this would protect against catastrophic high-pressure releases, but I (really) also don’t know if those are more or less likely than smaller leaks. I also realize that it’s important to focus on the magnitude of an event, not just the probability of it…
What about mounting it outside? I’m semi-open to this idea, but I don’t like the idea of the tank being there all the time and sticking out, and I’m not sure how I’d connect/disconnect the hoses when I’m not using the furnace. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to drive around with a hose coming off the tank (mounted high on the rear wall), and I can’t really imagine where the regulator would go since that of course needs to be outside.
Thank you.
Edit to add: BTW I have the sofa on the passenger driver's side, so installing a factory-like propane box where it usually goes won't work unfortunately.
Also edited to say: I plan to run the furnace while the propane is in the propane box (which is in the living space), which might not be clear from my post title.
Edited by camper101, 12 July 2013 - 06:21 PM.
