Turn off propane at gas stations - DO YOU?

Sometimes I turn the propane off if I remember, but 90% of the time, no.

bid_time wrote:

ryanw821 wrote:

Jay Pat wrote:
I don't. My propane burning gizmos are about 15-20 feet behind my pickup and out from under the canopy.
Pat

I have watched someone get some pretty bad burns walking up to a brush pile that he had soaked in a little bit of gasoline, his propane torch set the whole works off from about 30 feet away as he was walking up to it, gasoline vapors can spread quickly.

Fill up with an ignition source on and this can be you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f4lPzxSm5A

EDIT: I should note ^^^ this idiot ^^^ got off lucky, it could have been much worse

A "little bit of gasoline" and "30-feet away" WOW!! That sounds like a stretch.

When I say a little bit of gasoline I may be stretching it for dramatic effect, but a heck of a lot less than someone would put into a vehicle, he used about half of a 5gal can, so in the ballpark of 2-3 gallons of gasoline.

And everyone is right its not the LP itself that is the cause of the fires, its the igniters, which is why I hit my battery kill switch, then igniters cant spark.

lots of people do not but if you do turn it off be sure you turn off the frig too. if you just turn off the gas the frig will still try to light by sending a spark tot he burner. that has caused fires in on gas station I know of. a guy in a MH thought he was doing the right thing by turning off the propane tank but the spark got him. burned up the MH a UPS truck fueling up next to him and the building and thank GId it didn't ge to the propane refueling station right next to the pumps. the fire man got a large stream of water on the propane tank and saved the day. But we, our town, got a nice new gas station out of it.

pappcam wrote:
Sooo.... does anyone have any evidence of a propane fridge in a trailer or motorhome actually blowing up a gas station along with all the people at the gas station?

I mean real evidence and not some link to some guy's blog or website who says he's heard of it happening. I want actual proof.

No dead bodies/destroyed gas station here, but...

Newsstory wrote:
Irwin Binder and his wife, Linda, escaped unharmed with their Yorkshire terrier, Holly. Binder, 73, said the blaze started as he prepared to fill up the Roadtrek recreational vehicle and the nozzle spewed gasoline, igniting when it came into contact with a pilot light on the RV. The light is accessible through a vent on the RV and connected to a propane tank that powers a refrigerator, he said.

Source

Francesca Knowles wrote:

The problem is pilots/ignition sources, not the fuel supply- so the answer to your question is "don't bother to close the tank valve".

But DO turn off pilot lights and any autoreignite-type systems attached to propane appliances.

X 2

A story: While eating lunch with some coworkers in a fast food joint, I happened to look out the window and see, across the street, a U-haul truck at the gas island. The pump nozzle was in the saddle tank and gas was pouring out of the tank.

I stopped eating and ran across the street to see what was happening. This was in Winter so the plowed drifts adjacent to the island had pooled the gas around the truck and island. The pump read over 170 gals. and was pumping gas out of the nozzle at full detent of the nozzle. Inside the station I saw a single young guy on the phone. I launched 2 snowballs at the front window, pointed at the island, and left. I do not know what happened after that. Imagine what could happen if an RV'er with a running pilot flame had entered the station and drove up to the island. It's not always about our own actions but a string of happenstances that can cause a catastrophe.

ryanw821 wrote:

Jay Pat wrote:
I don't. My propane burning gizmos are about 15-20 feet behind my pickup and out from under the canopy.
Pat

I have watched someone get some pretty bad burns walking up to a brush pile that he had soaked in a little bit of gasoline, his propane torch set the whole works off from about 30 feet away as he was walking up to it, gasoline vapors can spread quickly.

Fill up with an ignition source on and this can be you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f4lPzxSm5A

EDIT: I should note ^^^ this idiot ^^^ got off lucky, it could have been much worse

A "little bit of gasoline" and "30-feet away" WOW!! That sounds like a stretch.

For anyone willing to take a chance because they simply don't think anything can happen to them, do a search on "remember Charlie". I saw Charlie in person and have seen a couple of his DVDs. His story about what he goes through simply because he didn't think it could happen to him will make you cry. The circumstances behind his accident are different than refueling your car, but the message is the same, which is why take a chance? I also know people who have been burned because they never thought it would happen to them. Do what you want, it's a free country (well, almost) but I will turn off the ignition sources when refueling.

Sooo.... does anyone have any evidence of a propane fridge in a trailer or motorhome actually blowing up a gas station along with all the people at the gas station?

I mean real evidence and not some link to some guy's blog or website who says he's heard of it happening. I want actual proof.

I don't........Fridge is set to 'auto'. Runs on electric when hooked to to AC power and then swaps to propane when disconnected from AC power.

Propane is always valved in service.

Propane has only been valved out of service when on a ferry or when some east coast tunnels required it.