Wendy Cooks Dinner

After living on the boat for about 10 days Wendy decided to actually cook a meal.  Up until then she had used the little microwave we have onboard.  This was something Wendy had been dreading for weeks and she was finally ready to give it a try.

The reason she had been dreading this was using propane on a boat is dangerous.  A small 1 pound canister of propane can turn a large boat into a bomb.  Propane gas is heavier than air so if it gets loose inside a boat it just settles to the bottom of the boat and stays there.  Then all it needs is a spark to set it off (things like flipping a light switch, turning on a fan, even a static electricity shock) and the boat explodes.  If you want to see what happens when two 1 pound propane tanks ignite, take a look at this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxm3uMy6MPI  Jump to 4:40 in to see the explosion and stick around for a minute to see it from inside and on the boat in slow motion.  That’s two 1 pound canisters; we have four 10 pound tanks.

So, to prevent that from happening there are a number of safeguards.  First, the propane tanks are stored in a sealed compartment with a hose attached that leads overboard.  If a tank leaks the propane leaves the boat and dissipates in the wind.  Second, there is a solenoid switch right by the tanks to shut off the flow of propane going into the boat.  A solenoid is an electro-magnetic switch that creates no spark when it turns on.  So, you turn on the solenoid to let the gas flow to the stove, cook your meal then turn off the solenoid.  That way no gas can get free and get into your boat.  The third safeguard is a sniffer.  It is sort of like a smoke detector, but it detects small amounts of propane in the air.  If that alarm goes off you just leave the boat and call the fire department.

Anyway, Wendy had never cooked on a gas stove much less a propane stove on a boat, so she had been a little nervous about cooking even though I assured her it was easier than is sounded.  Just turn on the valve at the tank, flip the switch on the switch panel to supply power to the solenoid, turn on the solenoid, turn on the burner and light it.  What could be easier?

I went out to turn on the propane at the tank and noticed that the tank was really light.  We tried starting the stove, but found that the tank was out of gas.  No big deal, we have 4 tanks.  I tried the others and found one that was much heavier.  I just needed to grab a wrench and switch them out. 

This connector was a little different than the one on my gas grill.  Instead of the connector going over the outside of the tank valve this one screwed into the tank valve.  I put my adjustable wrench on it and gave it a turn counter clockwise to unscrew the connector and it moved about an eighth of a turn.  Wow, that was really tight.  I just need to get a better angle on the thing.  I pulled the whole tank out and laid it on the cockpit seat, so I could get some weight on it.  I leaned into the wrench, the connector turned a little bit, I leaned some more and the wrench slipped off rounding a corner of the connector.  OK, I was getting mad at the stupid fitting.  I took the connector apart so that only the final threaded piece was still connected to the tank then headed inside to get my socket set and breaker bar.  I was going to get this thing off.  I dug through my tool kit to find a large enough socket.  I knew one was in there and I finally just dumped the tool box on the floor.  I found the socket I was looking for in the pile of tools and headed back to the propane tank.  Since I had rounded a corner, I had to encourage the socket onto the connector with a hammer.  OK, I was set, this time I was going to get this thing off.

I leaned on the breaker bar, leaned a little more and finally put all my weight onto it.  The fitting moved about a quarter turn and stopped hard.  It was moving no further.  About that time a little light bulb went on over my head.  A question started forming, "Was this thing reverse threaded?"  I flipped everything over, leaned on it again and it started to move.  I put the ratchet on it, kept turning it clockwise and it easily spun off.  Lesson learned, the connector is reverse threaded and I don’t need to tighten it all the way before taking it off.

Wendy was able to cook the meal in spite of my help.  The propane system worked as it should and our boat has not exploded.  Wendy has since cooked several meal s and no longer fears the propane stove.

 

Wendy cooks dinner without blowing up the boat.