Propane paranoia

[ILMSTMF]

Update - it all worked out:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7780036&postcount=21

Finally in new home. Took the Blichmann on first voyage last week, outside on the patio. The brew day was semi-disastrous but that's for another day...
Anyway, with the cold weather coming, I'd want to bring the propane tank and burner in to the garage for brewing. The problems:

• the garage would probably have, at least, one vehicle in it.
• the garage also has a clothes dryer.
• the garage is directly below a bedroom.

I do not want to put my family's safety at risk. I do not want to blow up a car, the house or myself. Am I overthinking this? Thank you!

Follow up to this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=586631

 

[JonM]

Park the car on the street, put the burner close to if not just outside the doorway, wear layers and boots, and have a fire extinguisher, just in case. That's how I do it up in da frozen Wisconsin tundra and I've never had any trouble.

 

[ACbrewer]

watch the mythbusters on propane tanks. While I can't guarantee you'd never have a problem, they pretty much show that modern tanks are generally safe. Many of the stories we've heard have resulted in the tanks having features improved. I think even with safe features removed, they had to shot the tank to get it to explode.

Other options, disconnect the tank, and store that on your deck/patio. Keep the rest of the gear in the Garage.

 

[stratslinger]

My experience doing something similar for years suggests that you'll have a much better time of it if you move the car out of the garage while brewing. Not for any safety reasons - never had a problem brewing alongside a car in the garage or in the driveway - but for comfort reasons.

Your burners and kettle will tend to warm up the space around them after a bit. If they're warming up a bunch of empty air, they do so pretty efficiently. If they're warming up a bunch of empty air and a half-ton of metal/plastic/etc that goes into a car, then the car tends to warm up first - and SLOWLY - before the air around it does. It can mean the difference between freezing your butt off in the garage vs hanging out in the garage in shirtsleeves.

 

[Kene64]

You are overthinking it. As long as you have some ventilation (like the overhead door open) you will be fine. The only real risk with your propane if if you have a flame out and just let the gas run. Never leave your burner unattended. It's always a good plan to have a fire extinguisher on hand anytime you are working with fire. Besides that, relax and have fun making great beer.

 

[mredge73]

Propane burns clean, the fumes (CO2+H2O) are harmless. If you are enclosed it will eat up all the O2 making it hard to breath, so you need some outside air.
You still want ventilation to prevent condensation on your ceiling and walls from the excess moisture released from the burner and boil off.
Just keep in mind that unlike natural gas, propane is heaver than air. It also has a lower flammability limit (gas to air mix) than natural gas (2%LP vs 5%NG).
So if you get a leak/flameout carefully vent it out.

 

[jsprinceiii]

Propane burns clean, the fumes (CO2+H2O) are harmless. If you are enclosed it will eat up all the O2 making it hard to breath, so you need some outside air.
You still want ventilation to prevent condensation on your ceiling and walls from the excess moisture released from the burner and boil off.
Just keep in mind that unlike natural gas, propane is heaver than air. It also has a lower flammability limit (gas to air mix) than natural gas (2%LP vs 5%NG).
So if you get a leak/flameout carefully vent it out.

Not 100% true.
Propane does burn clean, however it still produces CO.
There is a higher risk of CO Exposure with high pressure burners in a poor
ventilated structure. ALWAYS provide Ventilation..
Also.. Pickup a CO Detector and keep it in your Brew area!!

 

[Dixon9717]

I've been brewing in my garage with a bedroom overhead. for awhile. ALWAYS have the garage door at least 2' open. Have never had a problem.

 

[ACbrewer]

OP sorry, I missed you mentioned brewing, not just storing. Yeah for brewing move the car out to give yourself space, brew and move the car back. Keep the door open slightly to allow fresh air in and CO2 and water out. There is a LOT of water that you will produce, about 1 lb for each 1lb of propane iirc the breakdown. Which doesn't sound like much until you get it all in the air. and then there is the boil off, which if you have 2 gallons, is another 16 or 17 lb of water vapor.

Keep the door open.

 

[kh54s10]

I brew on an enclosed porch. Open windows and storm door = no problems. I have a fire extinguisher handy but have never touched it in 4+ years.

Someone mentioned Myth Busters blowing up a tank. They had to use an incendiary round to make it happen.

Accidents can happen but with a little caution you won't have any problems.

I too would move the car out while brewing, just so you can spread out.

Now if you were frying a turkey with hot oil..... Definitely do that outside. Boiling over wort might even put out the flame. Boiling over oil = FIRE!!!

 

[ILMSTMF]

Trust HBT to come through, as usual. I love this place. Thanks all for talking me off the ledge! Safety first - would never want to put my family at risk.
Be on the lookout for my "My first AG brew day was a **** storm - quitting home brewing" thread. Hahaha

 

[ILMSTMF]

Alright, actually... Several have mentioned to set up the burner near the garage door. If I'm that close to the entrance, why not just go outside with it? Will keeping the burner still in garage keep me/the space around me warmer than setting up right outside?
Apologies for the Kindergarten syndrome, many thanks!

 

[schatzke]

I run burners in the middle of my garage. I open the door when I fire the HLT and then close it once I kill the flame and mash in. About 40 minutes later I open the door to fire the HLT to heat sparge water. By the time the sparge water is up to temp I am running off into the BK and fire it up. Once the boil is complete I close the door and chill. I even went so far as to mount a CO detector in the garage just to know I was safe. I like you was a little paranoid at first and brewed out on the patio but being in the garage and out of the wind and sometimes snow I will being staying in the garage for brew days.

 

[kh54s10]

Alright, actually... Several have mentioned to set up the burner near the garage door. If I'm that close to the entrance, why not just go outside with it? Will keeping the burner still in garage keep me/the space around me warmer than setting up right outside?
Apologies for the Kindergarten syndrome, many thanks!

Think about this a little.

Outside there are NO walls and NO ceiling. It is open all the way around. Any wind will create wind chill. In the garage you are somewhat protected from wind.

Set the equipment near the door and work on the inside of that. You will be warmer.

 

[GPP33]

There is no need to be near the door. You also don't need to open it all the way, 6"-12" is more than enough (it'll create a gap at the top and bottom of the door), especially if you have a man door on the other side you can open for some cross ventilation.

 

[jbunton]

I run in my shop minimum man door open if nice garage door Also. No issues. If you're that paro could always get a co detector as well. Make sure all your gear is functioning properly/safely and you should have no probs.

 

[LiquidChemistry]

Literally just finished brewing in my garage (Cranberry ESB). I was like you. But as with everyone else, I crack the overhead door to about 1/3 of the way up, brew kettle goes right in the middle of the garage. Fire extinguisher just in case. No issues. It's sitting a little under 0 C outside right now, the garage was at about about 10 or 12 C while the boil was going. I keep cheap CO detector in the garage anyway, but I've never had an issue.

 

[jbunton]

Damn 0c eh. It's 20c today in southern Ontario got a back to back brew today. Newport SMaSH!

 

[mongoose33]

Alright, actually... Several have mentioned to set up the burner near the garage door. If I'm that close to the entrance, why not just go outside with it? Will keeping the burner still in garage keep me/the space around me warmer than setting up right outside?
Apologies for the Kindergarten syndrome, many thanks!

You're way overthinking this. It's good to be cautious but a little common sense will help out here.

Propane is heavier than air--this is why you do not want to store propane tanks in your garage. If there's a leak, you're creating a layer of explosive gas. I store mine in an outside shed or where my outside barbecue is.

I brew in my garage (Tundra here too). I open the door or doors (at least one), and that lets in tons of fresh air. I don't want to be outside where it's windy.

In the temperate months, I just brew in the garage. When it's pretty cold outside (40 degrees or so), I'll position a fan to blow above and across the top of the boil kettle so that the vapor from boiling is mixed with the air and directed outside. I have an insulated garage; I don't want that boil vapor rising to the ceiling and perhaps condensing on it or worse, in the insulation above the ceiling in the garage.

Here's a pic; it all works fine:

 

[MaryB]

I brew in my garage. Store the propane in there too. If a tank leaks I can smell it instantly and not do anything to cause an explosion like turn on a light or open the overhead door. Just leave the man door open and let it air out. Never had it happen though because I turn the valves off on the tanks after use. Chances of a tank failure with next to new tanks is slim.

Make sure your burners are burning blue, any yellow means CO production. I do use a CO monitor in the garage, open the man door and a window on the upwind side to pull air across.

 

[ILMSTMF]

Update - it worked! But not without a scare. Opened valve, sparked grill lighter, big WHOOSH... the burners aren't lit... But holy Shmidt, the tunnel between supply hose, hose connection point, and burners has blue flame in it. The Blichmann burner, the big tunnel with the damper control. In there. Took me a few seconds to realize it before killing the gas and attempting the (successful) re-light.
I'm laughing now but was sweating when it happened! :-D