Given advancements during the last couple of decades in production, handling and storage, and natural advantages over other petroleum products, propane is a low-risk choice for your outdoor fire pit or patio heater.
Of course, if you smoke when handling a propane cylinder, or use matches or lighters to check for leaks, or pour lighter fluid or gasoline on your gas fire pit or outdoor patio heater, all that safeness may go up in smoke, along with a few other things.
Storing propane cylinders indoors or subjecting them to very high temperatures also is a no-no. For instance, if propane leaks from a cylinder stored in a basement, the gas can drift across the floor to a pilot light on a furnace or water heater and cause an explosion or fire. Propane is heavier than air and accumulates at the lowest point in an enclosed area.
Repairing connections and other mechanisms on a propane cylinder, outdoor fire pit, or patio heater without adequate training, or allowing children to mess with any such mechanisms, also truncates safety.
That said, millions use propane safely in a growing number of ways in homes, industry, farming, and transportation. More than 14 million families use propane to fuel their furnaces, appliances, air conditioners, water heaters, outdoor fire pits, grills, and patio heaters.
Since propane gives off minimal emissions, it is often used indoors to power vehicles, such as forklifts and ice resurfacing machines. In large cities, millions more use this clean-burning alternative for buses, taxis, and other service vehicles. Propane is one of the lightest, simplest hydrocarbons in existence.
700,000 farms use propane in a variety of ways, including irrigation pumps, standby generators, and grain dryers.
Point is, many people use propane in many ways and do so safely. Compared to other petroleum products, propane has a narrow range of flammability. To ignite, the propane-air mix must contain from 2.2% to 9.6% propane vapor. If less than 2.2%, too sparse to burn. More than 9.6%, too rich.
Also, propane will not ignite when mixed with air unless the ignition source reaches 940 degrees Fahrenheit. Contrast that with gasoline, which can ignite at 430 degrees.
Especially when observing common sense safety precautions, similar to what are presented here or in outdoor fire pit or patio heater operating manuals, the chances of injury or death as a direct result of a propane accident are extremely remote.
Why? When liquid propane leaks out, it vaporizes and disintegrates into the air. Because it is released from a pressurized cylinder as a vapor, it cannot be ingested like gasoline or alcohol fuels. Rigorous safety standards now govern the manufacture of propane equipment and appliances. Propane tanks do not explode, implode, rupture or come apart on their own. In fact, it takes a lot of time and effort to make a propane tank explode.
A key advancement was the creation and regulation of the “overfilling prevention device” (OPD), which is easily recognizable by the triangular hand wheel at the top of the valve. The hand wheel connected to the valve stem is tamperproof and not interchangeable with a container not fitted with the overfill prevention equipment.
This backup safety device helps ensure that the filling process shuts off when the cylinder reaches 80% liquid capacity. This allows room in the cylinder for changes in fuel volume due to changes in temperature. These cylinders are used with an outdoor fire pit or patio heater fueled by propane.
Unlike other petroleum products, propane is nontoxic, so it does not harm soil and water. Since it does not endanger our environment, the EPA does not regulate the placement of propane tanks above or below ground.
All in all, you can have confidence using an outdoor fire pit or patio heater fueled by propane. As with any hazardous material or activity, human error is an important factor we cannot always control or predict. However, applying common sense guidelines in using and storing propane should eliminate about any chance of accident or injury.
by Chris Basher
