Re: [a/s] Appliances Rolling along

[Susi and John Burchard <saluqi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When you refill your propane tanks (at least if they are built in, as in a motor
home) you must shut off all pilot lights, etc., and then shut off the main gas
valve.  Going into a gas station it might not be necessary to shut off the main
valve but you would certainly want to be sure every pilot light, etc., was
turned off, those are after all "open flames" and (wisely) forbidden in the
vicinity of any fueling operation.  One that people might not think of in cold
weather is the thermostat.  If you don't shut that off the furnace might kick in
while you were fueling, which would be a very poor idea.  Note that shutting off
the main gas valve will NOT prevent that from happening, the furnace will still
try to light.  It won't be able to, because there's no gas, but will still
generate a spark while trying.  So turn the thermostat off.

Shutting off the main valve before shutting down the appliances is not such a
good idea, it might let air into the gas lines (because the appliance valve is
still open) and may cause trouble when you want to start up the appliance
again.  Most propane appliances have a thermocouple which shuts off the gas
valve if, for example, the pilot light blows out ... but that takes a few
seconds to respond so you may still get air in the line.

The reason for shutting down the propane system while driving is that if the
main valve is open the lines from the tank to the appliances are "live" (whether
or not that particular appliance is operating) and in case of an accident those
lines might be broken and leak propane into the accident scene, with significant
risk of fire or explosion.

-- 
Susi and John Burchard
Tepe Gawra Salukis
saluqi@ix.netcom.com