Where does the propane go?
Ol biscuit and I disagreed on whether or not is was possible for there to be air in a propane system basically with the tank valve shut and all the appliances turned off(valves shut). He said impossi...
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Well Guys, while I did not receive a definitive answer in plain old English that this electrician/carpenter type guy can wrap his mind around, here is what I have garnered. With all due respect for everyone who replied, I think that Old Biscuit is correct but didn't explain it fully.
Propane unlike "natural gas" is delivered and stored in a liquid state, when the pressurized liquid is released into the atmosphere, it becomes a gas. The liquid propane is not flammable because the air/gas ratio is not such that it can combust. As an example Hydrogen GAS is not flammable until it reaches a ratio of 96% atmosphere and 4% hydrogen GAS(I learned this when performing maintenance on high voltage converters) I am surmising as Old Biscuit indicated that the lack of motion and as Chris Bryant said the changes in temperature modifies the gas and it like liquid propane is not flammable, when the appliance valve is opened, Propane enters the system in a flammable state and when the static propane in the system is expelled by the flammable propane and a spark is introduced, walla, flame.
In summary, the liquid propane in the tank becomes a vapor when released, it then becomes a flammable gas when it is further atomized when passing through the orifice in the nozzle and then oxygen is introduced in the burner tube and passes into the burner as a flammable gas. If the flow is stopped for an extended time, the initial vaporization slowly converts back to a liquid or near liquid state and doesn't atomize into the vapor needed to make a flammable gas when it passes through the orifice nozzle. In short the propane is still there but not in a flammable state.
These are my feelings of what happens which I expanded from what Old Biscuit and Chris Bryant said. At least it makes sense to me and I am no longer inquiring.
Propane unlike "natural gas" is delivered and stored in a liquid state, when the pressurized liquid is released into the atmosphere, it becomes a gas. The liquid propane is not flammable because the air/gas ratio is not such that it can combust. As an example Hydrogen GAS is not flammable until it reaches a ratio of 96% atmosphere and 4% hydrogen GAS(I learned this when performing maintenance on high voltage converters) I am surmising as Old Biscuit indicated that the lack of motion and as Chris Bryant said the changes in temperature modifies the gas and it like liquid propane is not flammable, when the appliance valve is opened, Propane enters the system in a flammable state and when the static propane in the system is expelled by the flammable propane and a spark is introduced, walla, flame.
In summary, the liquid propane in the tank becomes a vapor when released, it then becomes a flammable gas when it is further atomized when passing through the orifice in the nozzle and then oxygen is introduced in the burner tube and passes into the burner as a flammable gas. If the flow is stopped for an extended time, the initial vaporization slowly converts back to a liquid or near liquid state and doesn't atomize into the vapor needed to make a flammable gas when it passes through the orifice nozzle. In short the propane is still there but not in a flammable state.
These are my feelings of what happens which I expanded from what Old Biscuit and Chris Bryant said. At least it makes sense to me and I am no longer inquiring.
