mounting propane tank next to battery box

[purpdog5000]

I am wanting to put my propane tank in the space between the front drivers side wheel and the existing battery box. It is the best location for me but I am worried about the battery cables coming out of the box and the proximity to any propane that leaks when filling or vents out.

Anyone done something similar or have thoughts on the safety of this setup?
it is a used rv horizontal mount propane tank. I am thinking it is beneficial that propane will find the low ground since the battery cables/junction will be above the tank.

thanks

[Ross]

I mounted my 29 gallon horizontal LP tank in the space between the entry door/stairway and the house battery box, which was originally just a storage/tool box on the passenger side. In that box I have four 6 volt lead acid deep cycle batteries on a slide-out tray. The tank is well protected in its position between the stairs and the battery box, and there is no issue with batteries and propane leakage.

I'd be more concerned with protecting the propane tank from road splash and flying debris from the front tire.

[LargeMargeInBaja]

What year is the tank?
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I think I would take a used pressure tank to a test facility to verify its condition and ability to perform its assigned duties.
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I lean toward simplicity.
I go with five-gallon twenty-pounders for several reasons.
Here are just a couple:
a -- they are easily re-filled without manoeuvring the entire vehicle at the station
b -- they are re-certified by the supplier each time a fiver is exchanged.
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https://frangergas.com/how-to-recert...d%20are%20safe
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(If I am reading this right...)
Apparently, your cert is good for twelve years from date of manufacture.
Apparently, after the first twelve, your tank needs a re-cert every half-decade.
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With fivers, the test and certification is included in the exchange price.

[Albatross]

An additional bonus to using the standard 25-pounders is that, even if they won't re-cert a tank, as has happened to me, you can usually buy another one in the same town, usually that-day, for something realtively cheap, like an additional $20-$35 bucks, but sometimes more. Regardless, you can get your propane pretty much anywhere.

[Kentucky Dreaming]

Standard grill tanks are 20 pounds. If yours ages out, that's when you go to Blue Rhino. Before that, I take mine to the local farm co-op to get refilled

[nikitis]

The local re-fillers will fill it up more too than Home Depot/Lowes.

Also, I don't see a problem with adding the propane tank there but, your ground line there should be re-routed to the C-Channel. that looks like to me from your pictures to be the Batteries main ground cable for the Bus Body. That line is what enables you to ground any device to the body of the bus. It's a terrible location for the body ground wire IMO. And many buses already ground it to the C-Channel, so I'm not sure why your's is mounted to the underside panel like that.

Assuming there's nothing on the other side of that panel connected to that wire it should be safe to move. Just unscrew it and take it from there and route it to the side of the C-Channel making sure you remove the paint where you mount it so there's good contact, you can then re-paint over it once mounted properly. This will free up the area for you to make a propane cage and hang it there, and you'll have a better ground connection.

For those who are new to electrical and don't understand and may be looking at this wondering what's the point of that ground cable. When you tie positive wires to your devices and they require a ground wire but notice those devices ground wires are just screwed into the body, it ends up where the ground current uses the body as the ground wire instead of using a wire that ends up connecting up to that ground line which connects to the battery completing the circuit. So you don't need a ground wire connecting it all the way.

This also causes the bus body to be energized to a degree, and the more devices you run through ground body the more energized it can become. The alternative is to just complete a ground wire instead and not use the body at all and send it straight to the ground battery or battery disconnect negative points if you have one, and it won't energize the body.

[turf]

i think you'll be fine.

just remember the basic principles of how propane behaves. propane is heavier than air and will fall to the lowest level. the regulators are designed to leak off propane before the tank is dangerous, so at some point, you'll hve small amounts of propane vented to the bottom of the bus.

if the bus is left as it is, natural venting will dissapate any propane. you'll be fine.

if you tried to preserve heat and build a skirt around the bus.... haybales, anything that reduces the natural venting under the bus, then you could get into problem.

think of carbon monoxide and boats.....same kind of issues. swimmers near the boat are starved of o2, because of the CO.

dont let those heavy gasses accumulate.

leaking propane fridges do the same.... fill the camper insides with gas and displaces o2... easy way to take a permanent nap.

i dont think the forum has seen a bus explode like this yet. so based on history, you'll be fine. (dont be the first)