[TheForge] Propane supply problem

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

comments intermixed below.

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 marc at ironringforge.com wrote:

marc>
marc> My propane supplier won't give me more than 5psi to my new shop. They did in the
marc> old one, but that garage was detached. The guy cited a part of the fire code
marc> limiting delivery to a building using a vapor system to 5psi.
marc>

which company is your propane service company?

also ask him for the specific chapter and paragraph he is going by.

the national fire prevention association code allows for greater than 5
psig if the piping meets certain criteria. the main criteria is that the
piping system is welding or brazed. 

my piping system is running at 20psig propane.

i would suggest visiting the library and checkout the latest nfpa for
fuel gas and the lpg. 
NFPA 54	  National Fuel Gas Code
NFPA 58	  Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code

also checkout the book,  NFPA 58: LP-Gas Code Handbook, 2004 Edition 

http://www.nfpa.org

marc>
marc> So what to do? I'd like to keep using a non-blown burner. I know that I can
marc> forge at 5psi right now, but not weld. A larger jet would get me more heat, but
marc> only to a point. Somewhere along the line the velocity will be too low to mix
marc> using just the venturi. Any experience with this?
marc>

this really depends on the burner you are using.
5psig of propane should be able to reach welding temps.

marc>
marc> Also, I was looking to use the piped propane to run some oxy-propane for cutting
marc> and spot heating. What pressures are needed for that? And how about a hand
marc> torch, like a propane TurboTorch? Do they need higher pressure than 5psi?
marc>

nfpa 54 and 58 do not cover any fuel gas piping system used for welding.

marc>
marc> My other option is to get my own tank, like an 80-lb, but I got spoiled with my
marc> previous 100-gal tank. It took 6 months to empty that one and that's easy to
marc> catch long before it's empty. Also only a phone call to fill it.
marc>

personally, i would have two different bulk tanks, one for the house and
one for the shop.

marc>
marc> Thanks for any thoughts on this.
marc>
marc> --Marc
marc>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>