Propane Safety & You – Tips for Residential and Commercial Businesses
Propane Safety
SAFE HANDLING OF PROPANE & PROPANE APPLIANCES
Propane gas is an affordable and efficient way to heat your home, take a hot shower, cook delicious food for your family, and even power vehicles. When handled properly, propane has proven to be a safe, versatile, and abundant fuel source beloved throughout the United States and around the world.
This incredible clean energy source provides incalculable social benefits for businesses and people alike. Abundant propane gas has offered us the ability to power the machines and technologies we need to live safer, happier, more fulfilling lives… all while being better for the environment!
Choosing to use propane to fuel your home, vehicle, or business is a superior option to other “dirty fuels” like coal & gasoline. However, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. Anything can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and propane is no exception. Improper handling of propane and propane storage units can cost you your home, your business, or worse, your life.
You must follow propane safety best practices and use caution when handling tanks, fuel lines, appliances, and generators. This ensures the safety of possessions, property, and most importantly, the people around you.
For additional propane safety information, please watch this video series.
Important Propane Safety Tips:
Handle Your Propane Tanks Carefully
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Do not use or store your portable propane tanks in basements or living spaces. Areas should be well-ventilated.
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Properly secure portable propane tanks when transporting and maintain them in an upright position where no or very little movement will occur.
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Do not leave portable propane tanks in cars, trucks, or closed vehicles. Tanks should be removed as soon as possible when returning to your home or place of business.
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Secure temporary tanks when heating water or cooking and ensure the valve will not be damaged or broken.
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Contact a qualified technician or certified retailer to connect propane tanks to new devices or to service your equipment.
Is Propane Safe to Use Indoors?
Using Propane Gas Appliances With Care
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Is propane safe to use indoors? In certain circumstances, using industrial propane appliances, certified equipment or propane-powered industrial vehicles meant for indoor use are perfectly fine to operate inside a building.
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Do not use consumer-grade propane devices inside. They can pose a hazard when used improperly inside a contained area.
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Never use propane gas BBQ grills or JetBoil propane camping stoves inside your home or building. They must remain outside while in use and placed in a well-ventilated area.
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Refrain from using propane stoves or ovens for space heating indoors as they are not meant to be used in contained spaces.
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Do not use portable propane generators indoors – keep them outside of the building and away from other fuel sources.
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Have a qualified Granite Propane service technician connect propane appliances you're unfamiliar with and regularly perform leak tests on all liquid gas powered devices.
What Do You Do If You Smell Gas?
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Extinguish all smoking materials and open flames near the area. This includes cigarettes and vapes.
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Remove all people and pets from the area where you suspect the gas leak is occurring.
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Turn off the gas supply valve on your propane tank as long it is accessible and is safe to do so.
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Contact a qualified propane emergency technician from Granite Propane as soon as you're clear of the leak and free from danger. If you can’t reach us, call 911.
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Do not return to the area until your propane retailer, emergency responder, or qualified service technician determines it is safe to do so.
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Before attempting further use of your propane appliances, a propane retailer or a service technician must check your entire system to ensure it's leak-free.
Running Out of Gas Is Hazardous!
Did you know that serious safety hazards, including fires or explosions, can result if larger-sized propane tanks and fuel storage cylinders are allowed to run out of gas?
If an appliance valve or a gas line is accidentally left open after the fuel supply runs out, a leak could occur when the system is inevitably recharged with propane.
Additionally, unwanted air and moisture can easily make their way into an empty or depleted propane storage tank, which can cause rust build-up inside the unit over time. As a result, the unit may degrade and its ability to operate properly may be compromised.
Finally, rust can decrease the concentration of the odor of propane, making it harder to smell. If your propane tank runs out of gas, any pilot lights on your appliances will go out.
This can turn into an extremely dangerous propane emergency if not handled promptly & properly by a propane specialist.
Check For Leaks Regularly
In many states, a propane retailer or a qualified service technician like the ones from Granite Propane must perform a leak check of your propane system before turning on the gas.
Beware of Odor Loss:
Odor loss can diminish propane’s smell. On rare occasions, propane can lose its odor. With the loss of one’s ability to detect a leaking propane tank, especially an indoor propane leak, you can quickly end up experiencing a deadly propane emergency.
Several things can cause changes to the smell of a propane leak including:
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Air, water, or rust in a propane tank or cylinder can reduce propane odor concentration.
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If the propane is leaking underground, its passage through soil may reduce the smell of propane.
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The propane odor may stick to the inside surfaces of gas piping and distribution systems and possibly other materials.
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Since there is a possibility of propane fuel odor loss or problems with your sense of smell, you should respond quickly and cautiously to even a faint odor of gas.
If you’re concerned that you or others may have difficulty smelling propane leaks, consider installing propane gas detectors to prevent a potential propane emergency.
Promote Propane Safety:
Schedule Propane Delivery Services
Did you know that one of the easiest ways to ensure propane safety protocols are followed is to work with an industry-compliant propane delivery company? The long-term rewards you’ll reap working with an established propane service company like Granite Propane far outweigh any short-term benefits of “just winging it”.
First off, a locally-owned propane distributor knows the industry standard propane safety protocols and best practices. This extensive knowledge and training helps them safely handle propane during all stages of the process. From filling fuel containers to delivering liquid gases to proper propane storage to equipment servicing & maintenance, having a propane expert by your side helps you avoid propane pitfalls a novice may fall victim to.
Also, your certified propane tech will be able to teach you and your crew these rules and the ways they affect the safety of propane in your home or business. Additionally, a local propane service provider will know about any propane safety tips dealing with your specific location. These may include local changes in temperature and weather that could change propane’s typical properties or compromise your natural gas equipment.
However, propane safety is further ensured with booking consistent propane delivery services, because proper protocols and delivery schedules eliminate a lot of room for errors. Therefore, the chance of causing a propane emergency like propane gas fires or propane leaks is greatly reduced when structuring and scheduling commercial propane delivery on a weekly or monthly basis and on specific days and times.
Whatever your particular propane needs might be, booking regular deliveries of propane gas is well worth the effort. Deliveries planned with staff who are well-trained in propane safety and who consistently follow company protocol will save your company time and money and reduce the chance of propane accidents from occurring.
Establishing regular propane delivery services with a local propane retailer allows their stellar staff to set up, simplify, and schedule an activity that might otherwise be a disruptive, unpredictable event. However, poorly-planed or outright failure to prioritize propane delivery will prevent peak productivity at your facility. This is especially true of industrial businesses like factories and warehouses where timing, shipping, and storage space are of the utmost importance.
Finally, planning for industrial propane service ensures your propane-powered machines and liquid gas vehicles remain filled and functional at all times. Your commitment to place regularly-scheduled propane tank delivery, exchanges, and cylinder refilling services from Granite Propane will reduce disruptions to your facility operations. Best of all, you’ll avoid ordering oversights that might otherwise leave you suffering from a propane shortage.
Consider Installing Propane Gas Detectors
We recommend anyone using propane fuels indoors install propane gas detectors in your home or business. They are not a very expensive investment and installing gas detectors will increase the safety of the people and pets who dwell within. While you may think you can smell propane, you may be surprised to learn that in some circumstances, you may not be able to smell a propane leak.
Propane gas detectors are designed to sound an alarm if they sense the presence of propane. Device operation does not depend on the concentration of odorant in the air, just the propane concentration at the detector. Therefore, you don’t have to put your faith in your sense of smell or assume that propane gas scent has not been masked, degraded, or changed.
Consider installing one or more propane gas detectors. This is important if you or others in your home have difficulty smelling propane. Additionally, it can help if appliances are in little-used areas in your home where the smell of propane might not be detected. Propane detectors like Mercaptan detector strips can provide an additional measure of security.
Propane detector quality is important, so be sure the units you buy are listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). To be sure propane gas detectors operate properly, install and maintain them as the manufacturer recommends. Even if you install gas detectors in your home or business without professional assistance, have a qualified service technician from Granite Propane inspect your propane system and propane appliances periodically. You may also consider purchasing a carbon monoxide alarm to be extra safe.
If you’re having a propane emergency, call first responders at 911. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about the safety or handling of your propane system, please contact Granite Propane immediately at 775-577-2361 or after hours at 385-264-7221. We’ll have one of our Northern Nevada propane technicians take a look at it as soon as possible.
Contact Granite Propane
As a family-owned local propane company in Silver Springs, Nevada, Granite Propane strives to provide a personalized client relationship that offers the safest, most reliable, friendliest, and most responsive propane services near you and to the surrounding communities of rural Northern Nevada.
If you're experiencing a propane gas fire, gas leak, or other propane emergency, please call 911.
We can be reached 24/7 at our after-hours service number:
(385) 264-7221
Contact us with inquiries Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM:
(775) 577-2361
Closed 5 holidays a year as well as Saturday & Sunday.
If you have questions not answered on our FAQ page, want to inquire about additional propane service areas, or have specific propane-related decisions you need assistance making, fill out this contact form. A member of our staff will get back to you.