Safe placement of a 100 lb. propane cylinder?

Jesse Smith

Jesse Smith

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Dec 2, 2013
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I'm just finishing up my first forge, which is a 1.5" blown burner in a 40 lb propane tank for the forge body. I purchased a 100 lb. propane cylinder to fuel the new forge, and I intend to use the forge just inside the garage door of my detached shop. Would it be better to store/use the propane tank in the corner of the shop, next to the garage door; or does it need to be outside.

If it's safe, I'd much rather store the tank inside rather than outside in our Montana snowy and icy -15° winters, or in the direct sun of our 105° summers.
 
I had a 110 gal. Tank that was supplied by my propane company corrode through and leak. You do not want that in your garage. BOOM!
 
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Code and insurance requirements mean it needs to be outside. I have mine secured behind my shop with a long extension going out to it that I disconnect when not in use.

--nathan
 
Check code. Dad runs a propane furnace in his large shop and there are rules about how close certain sizes of tanks can be to buildings.

Look up BLEVE videos. Not necessarily that you'd have to worry about that per se, but they are interesting nonetheless.
 
BLEVE, as rumor has it, the most violent non-nuclear explosions known to man! Very cool videos out there! Remember the MOAB (mother of all bombs) that they dropped on Bagdad? BLEVE!
 
OK, Outside it is then. Thanks.

Wish I had bought more than a 10' hose.
sad.gif
 
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I've used a 100 lb tank for years inside my barn/shop running a mushroom heater. Isn't that the whole idea of the tank (protection)? I know several others who use them inside shops, as matter of fact I never saw anyone set it outside and run a line inside the shop.
 
Bludgeon said:
I've used a 100 lb tank for years inside my barn/shop running a mushroom heater. Isn't that the whole idea of the tank (protection)? I know several others who use them inside shops, as matter of fact I never saw anyone set it outside and run a line inside the shop.
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I'd like to say, I think dad's is either a 250 or 500, so maybe not the same thing, but it never hurts to check into it. I'd hate for something bad to happen and insurance not pay because of something stupid.
 
I compromised by putting a 100 lb tank just inside the big sliding barn door where it is out of the weather but still in a super ventilated airy spot. Then a copper line runs through the wall and into the fully enclosed shop to run a heater.
 
It should be outside. Unless you live in a larger city, it can be just outside the shop wall and piped through the wall.

Run 1/2"copper tubing from the tank into the shop and have that connected to the regulator. Use 1/4" hose from the regulator to the forge. A quick connect propane fitting on the regulator and forge makes putting the hose away very easy. HTT&R sells them.

If the elements are a worry, buy or build a small shed for the tank and other things that are best stored outside. The small Rubber Maid garden sheds are perfect. Most big Box hardware stores carry them.
 
I have a 100lb. tank outside of my detached garage workshop. I run a hard line through the cinder block wall and overhead to the forge location. Then a flexible line goes from there to the forge. The flexible line has a stainless steel braided jacket. The first one I used was just rubber which melted through from the heat. The new one has been much better. I also have a ball valve on the end of my hard line.
 
Someone mentioned using a quick disconnect from HTT&R. I actually ordered one, but it says 1/2 PSIG MAX on it. Is it actually safe to use at the normal 3-5 PSI that the forge will probably be running? Also, the QDs I use for air lines leak constantly, especially in winter when the rubber seal is cold. How safe are the QDs for gas, really?
 
I agree that it should probably be outside, but like Don I've used 100 lb. tanks inside for years (just less years!)
I'll move mine outside as an improvement, when I get to it. I don't worry about it now, though.
 
Jesse17 said:
Someone mentioned using a quick disconnect from HTT&R. I actually ordered one, but it says 1/2 PSIG MAX on it. Is it actually safe to use at the normal 3-5 PSI that the forge will probably be running? Also, the QDs I use for air lines leak constantly, especially in winter when the rubber seal is cold. How safe are the QDs for gas, really?
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Contact your local welding supply for those questions, they will be happy to help from my experience.
 
not smithing but i have 2 60lb on a switching reg outside my shop for my shop heat. i can let one run empty and flip then have the empty filled (at 106 filed weight i can still put over a shoulder and walk it back to the work shop from the driveway(going to get a dolly to move the tanks in the future )
 
Jesse17 said:
I'm just finishing up my first forge, which is a 1.5" blown burner in a 40 lb propane tank for the forge body. I purchased a 100 lb. propane cylinder to fuel the new forge, and I intend to use the forge just inside the garage door of my detached shop. Would it be better to store/use the propane tank in the corner of the shop, next to the garage door; or does it need to be outside.

If it's safe, I'd much rather store the tank inside rather than outside in our Montana snowy and icy -15° winters, or in the direct sun of our 105° summers.
Click to expand...

My answer is also outside and here's why


I was once at an outdoor auction with a food truck that had two 100 gallon propane cylinders on the tongue of the trailer


Around 11:30 there was a hellofa noise, lasted about six seconds

It turns out that they had filled the tanks the previous night and as the sun warmed one up, the pressure blew off the pressure release valve.
No harm done.

If you work in a cold shop and it warms up because of your nearby forge,
and your forge lights that gas that was released, that's a fireball you weren't ready for.



If you look at the stores that have cages of prefilled cylinders for sale like the propane cylinders at wallmart, or the air gas cylinders at TSC stores
, they are in ventilated cages that may still have a roof and sides semi enclosed protected but still ventilated.

I'm sure there are regulations that force them to do that.
 
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