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Carrying propane tanks? Safe?
- Thread starter Hocky
- Start date
All hot air balloons are heated by propane. The aluminum tanks are typically 10 gallon DOT 4E240 upright cylinders that are built for forklift trucks. Steel tanks are generally custom made (all this according to the FAA Balloon Flying Handbook.)
Given that there is also an open flame and virtually the entire balloon basket and envelope is flammable, I would think carrying a propane tank in your light single airplane is magnitudes safer, and therefore not of much concern. Although I'd want to have it secured from becoming a projectile in a crash or hard landing or during turbulence. I wouldn't expect it to be a fire hazard in this case.
Given that there is also an open flame and virtually the entire balloon basket and envelope is flammable, I would think carrying a propane tank in your light single airplane is magnitudes safer, and therefore not of much concern. Although I'd want to have it secured from becoming a projectile in a crash or hard landing or during turbulence. I wouldn't expect it to be a fire hazard in this case.
What is the range of typical pressures a propane tank is expected to encounter in normal use? What range of pressures are they designed to handle? How do those values compare to the range of pressure that would occur between sea level and the vacuum of space?Hank S said:I carry potato chips bags home from the store in my truck with no problem. Same for full gas cans in the bed. But in my plane, I don't carry a lot of sealed chip bags, but I've had two blow themselves open around 8000 msl.
At what altitude will a propane tank's relief valve open, or the tank without a relief valve explode like your potato chip bags?As the plane goes up, air pressure goes down and the container expands. Even unopened water bottles get very tight. What would happen to a five-gallon gas can as the air pressure outside the can decreases as you climb, but the combined air pressure and gas vapor pressure inside stays at whatever it was when you filled it up?
Think about it for a minute . . . even a metal can usually has rubber gaskets; my 2½ gallon steel can has a steel lid with a permanently attached rubber spout with a rubber stopper in the end.
Obviously I already know the answer to these questions. Even if you don't answer, the curious will go looking and figure out the risk for themselves.