Snow on propane tank
 

We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds

On Fri, 4 Feb 2005 23:07:56 -0500, "DS" wrote:

We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds



I don't know about burning less gas, (sounds hookie to me). But,
he has a point that your regulator can freeze. Worst case it can stop
the gas flow all together.

Barry

DS wrote:
We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn
less gas. I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds

Cold propane is more dense than warm propane. But the snow may be insulating
the tank from even colder air temperatures.

Doesn't matter though. You just turn the knob on the stove down a bit for
the same amount of heat.

"DS" wrote in message
...
We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less
gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds

Doubt you'd see any difference. Propane is liquid in the bottom of the
tank, a gas on top that moves to the house where it is burned. Nothing is
going to change the Btu in the vapor that I'm aware of. The sun hitting the
tank may warm it a bit and increase the pressure slightly, but it still
passes a regulator and then a nozzle and into the combustion chamber.

DS wrote:
We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds

He's right, but for the wrong reason. A propane tank needs the air
around it to vaporize properly. Propane boils at -44 degrees. This
boiling occurs on the part of the tank with that has liquid in contact
with it. If the tank is covered with snow, it acts as an insulator
preventing the surrounding air from coming in contact with the liquid
surface area of the tank.

"Tom Lachance" wrote in message

He's right, but for the wrong reason. A propane tank needs the air around
it to vaporize properly. Propane boils at -44 degrees. This boiling occurs
on the part of the tank with that has liquid in contact with it. If the
tank is covered with snow, it acts as an insulator preventing the
surrounding air from coming in contact with the liquid surface area of the
tank.

The snow can be a good thing. If it is well snow packed and about 0
degrees, it will provide insulation if the air temperature suddenly drops
to -45.

In any case, I don't see how it would make any difference as the heater
burns vapor and the Btu content is not changed.

Minocqua, WI

"Do what you want and say what you feel because those that mind, don't
matter and those that matter, don't mind". ~Dr. Seuss
"DS" wrote in message We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried
in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less
gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds

"DS" wrote in message We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried
in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less
gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?


I think your delivery guy is trying to find a polite way of saying 'keep the
tank cleared'. Those hoses that they lug to keep you snuggly and warm are
quite heavy. If they have to *try* to walk thru snow that you haven't
shoveled or fill a tank that is buried in snow, a lot of times they end up
wasting time or hurt. My friend puts up with this type of crap all the time
and ends up at the chiropractor.
Do him a favor and clean it up!
Sue
Minocqua, WI

"Do what you want and say what you feel because those that mind, don't
matter and those that matter, don't mind". ~Dr. Seuss

"DS" wrote in message
...
We heat with propane., The tank is almost buried in the snow. The guy
filling it said if I kept it clear of snow, I probably would burn less
gas.
I haven't bothered. It's a big job.
Is he right?
If so, what is the reason?
Would the saving be significant?
Tx
ds

You would have to live in a place that experiances well below 0 F temps to
cause any problems at all.

The only way for the usage to increase is if the tank pressure would fall to
a level to where it wouldn't provide enough pressure to supply the connected
gas appliance.

The connected appliances are requireing an input of 11-14" wc (which is a
1/2 psi). The tank boils liquid LP to vapor, this process is slowed down as
the temp of the tank decreases. If the appliance is using more vapor than
the tank can provide, then yes the pressure at the appliance is going to
lower and effect the efficiency as well.

In order to give you an idea if all this is relavent you would have to give
some technical figures for us to go on, like the following:

1.) furnace input BTU.
2.) size of LP tank. (and position.....upright, laying on side)
3.) single or two stage regulator set-up.
4.) piping size to second stage regulator.
5.) piping size to furnace.
6.) ambient temperature.
7.) % of fuel in tank.

~kjpro~

Snow on propane tank
 

replying to Tom Lachance, Martina wrote:
SO, THE QUESTION IS,,,IS IT OKAY TO USE SNOW AS AN INSULATOR? iT IS -28 HERE
TONITE

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...nk-591244-.htm

Snow on propane tank
 

On 12/23/2018 11:44 AM, Martina wrote:
replying to Tom Lachance, MartinaÂ* wrote:
SO, THE QUESTION IS,,,IS IT OKAY TO USE SNOW AS AN INSULATOR? iT IS -28
HERE
TONITE


Interesting question. I see that propane has a boiling point of
-43.6°F. When it evaporates it will cool the tank. If tank were fully
insulated so no heat could get in, propane would not boil. Not sure
snow on or off tank would make a difference.

Snow on propane tank
 

On Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:28:30 -0500, Frank "frank wrote:

On 12/23/2018 11:44 AM, Martina wrote:
replying to Tom Lachance, Martina* wrote:
SO, THE QUESTION IS,,,IS IT OKAY TO USE SNOW AS AN INSULATOR? iT IS -28
HERE
TONITE


Interesting question. I see that propane has a boiling point of
-43.6°F. When it evaporates it will cool the tank. If tank were fully
insulated so no heat could get in, propane would not boil. Not sure
snow on or off tank would make a difference.
Huh? Boiling points depend on pressure as well as temperature. It
stays liquid in the tank because it's under pressure. What is the
freezing point of propane?

Snow on propane tank
 

On Sun, 23 Dec 2018 13:44:21 -0500, Pat
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:28:30 -0500, Frank "frank wrote:

On 12/23/2018 11:44 AM, Martina wrote:
replying to Tom Lachance, Martina* wrote:
SO, THE QUESTION IS,,,IS IT OKAY TO USE SNOW AS AN INSULATOR? iT IS -28
HERE
TONITE


Interesting question. I see that propane has a boiling point of
-43.6°F. When it evaporates it will cool the tank. If tank were fully
insulated so no heat could get in, propane would not boil. Not sure
snow on or off tank would make a difference.
Huh? Boiling points depend on pressure as well as temperature. It
stays liquid in the tank because it's under pressure. What is the
freezing point of propane?
To answer my own question - propane freezes at -306 F

Snow on propane tank
 

On 12/23/18 12:44 PM, Pat wrote:

What is the
freezing point of propane?

-306.4°F

--
1 day until the winter celebration (Tue Dec 25, 2018 12:00:00 AM for 1
day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Christ rode on an ass, but now asses ride on Christ." [Heine]

Snow on propane tank
 

On 12/23/2018 1:44 PM, Pat wrote:
On Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:28:30 -0500, Frank "frank wrote:

On 12/23/2018 11:44 AM, Martina wrote:
replying to Tom Lachance, MartinaÂ* wrote:
SO, THE QUESTION IS,,,IS IT OKAY TO USE SNOW AS AN INSULATOR? iT IS -28
HERE
TONITE


Interesting question. I see that propane has a boiling point of
-43.6°F. When it evaporates it will cool the tank. If tank were fully
insulated so no heat could get in, propane would not boil. Not sure
snow on or off tank would make a difference.
Huh? Boiling points depend on pressure as well as temperature. It
stays liquid in the tank because it's under pressure. What is the
freezing point of propane?


That's right. The boiling point is for one atmosphere pressure. At
temperature below the boiling point you won't get any propane.

This might be of interest to some:

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshel...e_and_Pressure

You don't want to get your propane tank above the boiling point of water.

Snow on propane tank
 

On 12/24/2018 11:03 AM, Frank wrote:
On 12/23/2018 1:44 PM, Pat wrote:
On Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:28:30 -0500, Frank "frank wrote:

On 12/23/2018 11:44 AM, Martina wrote:
replying to Tom Lachance, Martina wrote:
SO, THE QUESTION IS,,,IS IT OKAY TO USE SNOW AS AN INSULATOR? iT IS -28
HERE
TONITE


Interesting question. I see that propane has a boiling point of
-43.6°F. When it evaporates it will cool the tank. If tank were fully
insulated so no heat could get in, propane would not boil. Not sure
snow on or off tank would make a difference.
Huh? Boiling points depend on pressure as well as temperature. It
stays liquid in the tank because it's under pressure. What is the
freezing point of propane?


That's right. The boiling point is for one atmosphere pressure. At
temperature below the boiling point you won't get any propane.

For a simple home science experiment, chill a BIC lighter below 32
degrees F and see how well it works. Butane's boiling point is right
around 32.