Propane Grill Fire Danger
Quick Column Summary:
- Keep grill away from house
- Doublecheck propane connections
- Call fire department first
One of my ham radio friends almost burned his house down in the past two weeks.
He had to switch out the four-gallon propane tank under his grill and somehow cross-threaded the hose connector.
The leaking gas caught on fire and even though he had a fire extinguisher nearby, he failed to put out the fire.
As soon as the fire happened, he told his wife to call the fire department, but she panicked. He ended up calling.
Look at the photos and then READ his advice below the last photo.
The firemen stripped off the vinyl siding to see if the wall sheathing was burning. You can see the melted siding from the fire. Photo credit: Frank Martin
You can clearly see the tank where the fire raged around the tank outlet! Photo credit: Frank Martin
Here's Frank's after-action report and I might add it's fantastic advice:
- keep the grill as far away from the dwelling as possible
- make sure that the connection to the propane tank is tight (no leaking gas)
- call 911 before you try to put out any fire yourself.
His last point is very important. The growth of fire is exponential, not straight line. This means the volume of fire grows FAST. The two or three minutes you spend trying to beat it can mean the difference between life, death or complete property destruction.
I'm SURE some firemen will comment below and tell real stories about what happens when you FAIL to call them FIRST.
Tim built custom homes and did ultra-custom remodeling for 20+ years before launching his Ask the Builder media presence. He was selected as one of the Big 50 by Remodeling magazine in 1993. This award gave birth to Ask the Builder in October 1993. Tim also operates https://DrawPlumbingPlans.com. His @askthebuilder YouTube channel was the first home improvement channel on YouTube.
Tim,
I think you meant to say the growth of the fire is exponential, not logarithmic. A logarithmic rate of increase is LESS than straight line.
I think you're right! I'll go fix it.
Point #2 is important, and although it is mentioned in every gas grill Owner's Manual, I bet a large percentage of homeowners ignore that instruction...until something like this happens. It's simple: When you change tanks, mix up a tiny bit of soap and water, pour it over each gas fitting, and turn on the gas. If you see bubbles in the solution, you have a leak. Re-attach the fittings and run the test again. If there are no bubbles, there's no leak. If there ARE, don't use the grill until you fix the source of the leak. It only takes 1 or 2 minutes to identify a problem. I've always done that, but perhaps not everyone does. I know two people who didn't: One burned down the apartment building she lived in...the other was my brother who blew a hole in the side of his house as he ran across the back yard and scrambled over the neighbor's fence, scared to death.
My wife says " don't have a gas grill at all ".
Frank, we know they're safe. You know what to do in the future. Test the connection with some soap and water.
On a similar note, also be sure to periodically inspect the bottom, burners and grease pan (or cup) of your grill. I had an old grill and discovered that the bottom had rusted out and the grease would flare up right over the tank. If I had not caught it, it could have burned a hole in the hose and caused a dangerous situation.
PS- Bill Meeder, Wow!
I gave up the propane a while ago when I got a Biolite camp stove and matching portable grill. This setup uses twigs, wood chips and sawdust for fuel. It is small good for one person and I don't have to worry about fuel leaks.
My question is, how do you cross thread that large of a fitting? It is supposed to be tightened by hand and if you used an open end adjustable wrench on the nut, you are probably going to have some type of leak. That is also why it is a left hand thread, so you do not screw it into anything that it is not designed to mate with. And I am sure some one has made an adapt-a-kit to fill small bottles. Yikes. Can you say: KABOOM
Not to be rude.... But you just have to be smarter than the tank and gas fittings.