Propane facts

Let's start with a few interesting facts about Propane Gas (Liquified Petroleum Gas) C3H8

Whether you like to backyard barbeque with propane or use it to go camping or use it as an alternative fuel to power your car, here are a few basic propane facts that will help you.

Questions and Answers About Propane Gas:

Q: Is propane a liquid or is it a vapour? 
A: Actually, it is both. It is stored as a liquid, but burned as a vapour.

Q: How Heavy is Propane? or LPG (liquified petroleum gas)
A: Propane liquid is about half the weight of water.

Q: What is the boiling point of liquified petroleum gas ?
A: Propane has a boiling pint of Minus -240 Degrees below 0 F.

Q: What does the "boiling point" refer to?
A: The boiling point is the point at which a liquid turns from a liquid to a vapour. For example, the boiling point of water is 212 Degrees F. That is the point at which water will boil turning into steam.

Q: Why does propane smell so terrible?
A: Actually, when LPG is manfactured it is quite odourless, but then it is artificially stenched with a substance called "Ethyl Mercaptan" which According to the 2000 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records, is the "smelliest substance" in existence. The reason why it is stenched is so to act as an easy identifier that you may have a gas leak.

Q: How ignightable is LPG gas?
A: Propane has a very narrow flamability ratio compared to other gases. The fammibility ratio is between 2.4% and 9.5% propane. This means 2.4% propane (mixed with 97.6% air) would ignite or up to 9.5% propane (mixed with 90.5% air would ignite.) But 20% propane and 80 % air would not ignite of 50% /50% would not ignite because it would be too rich to burn. Common caution should be applied though since you cannot measure the propane air mixture in any way with out a meter.

Q: How full should a cylinder be filled with LPG?
A: Generally, a cylinder or tank is designed to be filled to 80% liquid and the top 20% is propane vapor.

Q: Sometimes on a hot day, my barbeque tank will seem to sweat moisture and one time I spotted a frost line appearing on it. Is this safe?
A: Yes. The reason you may see your propance cylinder "sweat" or even have a line of frost on it, is because you may be using the gas faster than the liquid can evaporate. In other words, let say you were cooking with high heat on your barbeque for an hour on a warm day. What is really happening is your liquid propane is turning to vapor and you remember that the boiling point is -240 below zero. The coldness of the freezing liquid (inside your cylinder) is cold enough to freeze the moisture in the air on the outside of the cylinder forming a line of frost or maybe a sweat line indicating the level of liquid left in the propane cylinder. While this is not dangerous itself, there are a few propane safety tips you should be aware of.

Visit our page on Propane safety Tips.

NOTE: When in doubt about anything concerning propane always check with your authorized propane dealer to ensure your appliances are working safely.