Storing Propane Outside?

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for where I should store my two twenty pound propane tanks. We are renting the house and do not have a garage to place them in. I know that they should not be store inside but I am at a loss as to where to store them outside. I have a tarp and a driveway that leads to the back. Would it be advisable to place them on the ashphalt driveway under the tarp? I have an open air front porch... but imagine that would be bad too. Any other suggestions?

Edit: I'm in Michigan and we have some fairly odd temperature swings.

I keep mine on my deck in the shade...keep them covered (prevent rust) and out of direct sun and you should be fine.

You could buy a plastic garden storage box. Just make sure it's big enough to store the tank in an upright position. The temp doesn't make much difference, just don't paint them black, and then leave in the direct sun.

Do you think that it's a bad idea to store them up against the house with a tarp over them? They would be covered and would be on a flat surface.... not so sure if they should be up against the house though.

Im also in Michigan. I just store one hooked up to the grill and the other right on the back porch against the house. I dont even cover them or anything because if they get rusty I would just take them to Home Depot or Lowes and get an exchange for what $23 or somewthing. I usually just have them refilled locally for $20.

Thanks! I was a little worried after reading some of the information about houses being blown off their foundations. I will leave them covered under a tarp at the end of the driveway!

I leave mine in all of the elements. Rain, Snow, sun, cold, heat, etc... Whatever you choose to do will work fine.

I don't care about rust, because I don't refill them. I just exchange them.

Ditto what Naptown said. I use blue hippo and you just trade out cylinders. I never have it long enough.

GreenDragon said:

Ditto what Naptown said. I use blue hippo and you just trade out cylinders. I never have it long enough.

Click to expand...

What's it cost you for an exchange?

I think it's $13-16 USD, they had a $3 main in rebate for a while that was actually pretty quick on the turnaround. One cylinder lasts me about 3-4 months. I brew about every-other weekend.

So I guess it's pretty close to the same price as having a cylinder refilled.

I had a dog house that my dogs absolutely refused to ever use, so I just stuck my extra propane tanks in there and put them out behind our garage.

So ... uh ... I shouldn't keep mine in the garage?

Moonraker said:

So ... uh ... I shouldn't keep mine in the garage?

Click to expand...

why not?

the thing here is, most of those propane tanks (i use Blue Hippo) are kept in racks out in the elements (in from of the gas station or grocer's) year round, and are most commonly used for grilling which most people do outside, so i'm pretty sure they can handle the elements to some degree. obviously, if you live in SW Tx, you don't want to leave them out in the direct sunlight, or store them next to your patio fireplace for safekeeping. but unless you're planning to store it with the valve opened up, i think it's safe to keep in in the garage, shed, on the patio, in the cabinet under the grill, pretty much anywhere with a hard surface where it can sit upright. really, treat it like you would the propane you use for grilling (if you're one of those guys) and it'll be just fine.

If you exchange rather than refill you are most likely not getting a full 20lb of propane. If it's worth the saved effort for you or if you have a really gnarly tank then that's great. Otherwise it's more cost effective to get it filled as its usually chepaer overall and you should get a full 20lb of propane.

Last time i checked around here it was over 20 for an exchange, but the american legion across from my work refills for $15. No brainer for me.

Just wanted to make everyone aware that all things are not equal when comparing exchange vs refill.

Moonraker said:

So ... uh ... I shouldn't keep mine in the garage?

Click to expand...

No. A leaky valve could cause a build up of propane in the enclosed space and could ignite whenever a spark is generated (such as flipping on a light).

Spare for my grill just sits out in the elements.. It seems to be fine.

broadbill said:

No. A leaky valve could cause a build up of propane in the enclosed space and could ignite whenever a spark is generated (such as flipping on a light).

Click to expand...

That's why it stinks to high heaven, you can detect even a minor leak. I store boatloads of propane in the garage.

Never store propane indoors. Not even a garage (at least that's what the propane people say). I don't have a garage and I do not want them in the house so I store mine outside under the picnic table unless I am using the picnic table then I just put them under a tree. Trade them at the Local gas station for $20.00 or i can fill them for $19.00. Gas station next to propane vendor. Gas station open more hours than propane vendor.
I know a lot of people who store them in a garage, some say it's okay, some so oh no that's a bad. What ever you are comfortable with. They will explode if subjected to concentrated high heat. Otherwise they are pretty safe as long they do not leak into a confined space where the gas can concentrate to explosive levels.

I use my 20lb tanks (2) for brewing and camping. I can get Six, 5 gallon batches from 1 tank so not too bad, do not have a gas grill I use wood... have lots it and its free.... falls to the ground all the time, just pick it up and cut it up and split it and haul it and stack it and dry it ... where do you get those gas grills?

Yeah I've always been of the mindset that refilling is better. Especially since I like the larger cylinders. I live in the country and it makes more sense to make fewer trips to town.

BrewerinBR said:

Never store propane indoors. Not even a garage (at least that's what the propane people say).

Click to expand...

I suppose with that logic, you shouldn't park a car in the garage either.

OSHA can suck it.

wildwest450 said:

That's why it stinks to high heaven, you can detect even a minor leak. I store boatloads of propane in the garage.

Click to expand...

My light switch is located inside the house, next to the door leading to the garage. I flip on my light switch before opening the door, so I wouldn't know by smell if propane had leaked as I hadn't walked into the garage yet.

OK, I've moved my tank out onto the (shady) deck and stuck a small plastic table over it, that should keep it protected from the worst of the elements and out of direct sunlight. I'm not convinced there's any real danger of storing in the garage, I just know how much trouble I'd be in with SWMBO if anything did go wrong.

Propane tanks are designed to vent if subjected to high heat. It will not explode if the pressure relief valve hasn't been tampered with. I've seen some tanks engulfed in fire. Sure, the venting gas adds to the fire, but the tanks didn't explode.

And my other pet peeve is when someone says that oxygen caused the fire. Oxygen is NOT flammable. Yes, it does increase the size of the flame, but it doesn't actually burn. If you had a 100% oxygen environment with no fuel source, you wouldn't be able to start a fire, no matter how hot you got something. Fire needs three things, fuel, heat, and oxygen. Take away the fuel, no fire.

Ok, rant over. Carry on.

It is recomended by the propane people you store outdoors and not in a garage. I think also they recomend you don't store a 5 gal gas can in your garage. I suppose detached garages would limit the damage if there were a fire.

As for your car vs propane tank, remember that gasoline is generally less volitol than propane- at STP gas is liquid, propane is a gas.

With all that said, in the 'bad old days' it was possible for a tank leak to cause an explossion, but watching the Myth Busters, they had to disable every safty feature on a propane tank to get it to explode - and I can't remember if they did or not at this point. I do remember that in one test, the valve failed and a jet of gas (on fire) came out, of course by this time their 'test shed' was almost fully involved anyhow. Which is a way of saying that by the time your propane has a problem, you probably should be out of the structure and 911 called.

I personally store mine in a shed (no garage). I am more concerned about it walking than it exploding or even catching fire.

homebeerbrewer said:

And my other pet peeve is when someone says that oxygen caused the fire. Oxygen is NOT flammable. Yes, it does increase the size of the flame, but it doesn't actually burn. If you had a 100% oxygen environment with no fuel source, you wouldn't be able to start a fire, no matter how hot you got something. Fire needs three things, fuel, heat, and oxygen. Take away the fuel, no fire.

Ok, rant over. Carry on.

Click to expand...

Absolutely correct. technically burning is the joining of something else WITH oxygen. (wood, gas, paper, grain husks, etc).

ACbrewer said:

Absolutely correct. technically burning is the joining of something else WITH oxygen. (wood, gas, paper, grain husks, etc).

Click to expand...

I still remember my fire training after all these years of retirement.