Deck Cooking Safety (best, tank)

[blktoptrvl]

I have NEVER worked with propane (or propane accessories) and I have this question about safety practices...

My rear deck gets full sun in the summer.

I am building a pergola that will relieve my living room of much of that direct sun, and the heat it brings with it.

At the same time, I have decided to build a "nook" onto my deck where I will install a gas grill for summer cookouts. I plan to build it in such a way that there will be a door blocking the direct sun that would otherwise strike the propane tank. The sides of the nook will have open ventilation so that a breeze can pass through cooling the entire rig.

Question:

Would this shading and ventilation typically be sufficient protection for the gas canister to prevent heating and explosion? How hot can a gas canister get without damage?

Yes, I plan to check the web, but would like input from others who have created such an arrangement.

[Hemlock140]

Like a water heater, those tanks have a pressure relief valve to prevent them from exploding. Shade is best anyway, but it's unlikely to get hot enough to explode just from the sun. Before that, the relief valve would release some pressure (and raw propane) into the air. That, of course would be dangerous if any sparks or flames nearby. The exploding tanks seen in building fires are heated quickly to beyond what the relief valve can handle, and the flames of a fire are a lot higher temperature than what the sun hitting the tank will produce. Your plan sounds good.

[TWG1572]

While it's always wise to be safe around propane, I think you are overthinking this. Propane tanks are designed to be used in the sun. They are painted white to reflect light, and are only filled to 80% capacity to allow for expansion. As mentioned, they also have a pressure relief valve in a worst case scenario.


The only situation I can think of where some pressure might build up and be released is if you get someone to fill your tank to 100%. The odds of that are pretty much zero, especially if you use one of those tank exchange places.


I have a grill on a full sun deck, and the 1000 gallon propane tank I use to heat my house about 50' away. I have no worries about either exploding.


Awesome Hank Hill reference, btw.

[blktoptrvl]

Thanks folks... I'm good!

[jim9251]

It gets over 100 degrees with bright sun every day in summer here, I've never had a problem with my gas grill propane tank (other than it running out in the middle of grilling).