Distance to propane tank

[ptonsparky]

What should the distance between a generator and propane tank be? We usually set them at 10", but can't find a distance in this genset installation manual.
Generac water cooled, 25kw if it makes any difference.

 

[Buck Parrish]

Did you write 10" ? That seems very close. Did you mean 10' ?

 

[ptonsparky]

Did you write 10" ? That seems very close. Did you mean 10' ?

Damn bifocals. I even looked. Ten feet is the answer to my question.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Don't think the distance is a real world issue...look at a propane heater where the heater is directly attached to the 20 pound propane tank or a gas grill where the top of the tank is within a few inches of the burner. Not saying there is not some rule that specifies a distance...just saying it probably does not make any real world difference.

 

[Dzboyce]

I'm remembering that my propane delivery company told me that there is a minimum distance from structures when you go over 125 gallon tank size. I know there is no set back for the 100 gallon tanks,

 

[hbiss]

Local codes probably have something to say about it too. Usually for a generator the propane supply needs to be larger than 100 gal. if you expect any run time.

-Hal

 

[ptonsparky]

We had this all but done once, last spring but the customers significant other did not like the generator and tank sitting on the existing pad that was perfectly placed. Add 200' of boring and now another pad for the tank that will have to be moved, again.

 

[nhee2]

Not sure if NFPA 58 applies to your installation - it defines area classifications for tanks > 1000 gal as 15'. For cylinders less than 125 gal Table 6.4.4.3 says to keep any relief valve vents 10' from sources of ignition. So your proposed 10' seems reasonable.

 

[hbiss]

We had this all but done once, last spring but the customers significant other did not like the generator and tank sitting on the existing pad...

Pretty much automatically here a buried tank is called for which are normally at least 25-30 ft from the house. Commonly 500 gal.

We have problems getting propane companies to install and maintain tanks for generators. Unlike propane used for heating and cooking, generator propane never gets used. Propane companies make their money selling propane which covers the cost of providing the tank and maintaining it. If all you have is a tank that needs to be topped off maybe once a year, there's no money in that especially with an expensive buried tank and the installation.

And we have a lot of paranoid quasi-rich people here that have hissey fits when, God forbid, their power goes out for an hour once every 5 years. They MUST have a generator!

-Hal

 

[GoldDigger]

Pretty much automatically here a buried tank is called for which are normally at least 25-30 ft from the house. Commonly 500 gal.

We have problems getting propane companies to install and maintain tanks for generators. Unlike propane used for heating and cooking, generator propane never gets used. Propane companies make their money selling propane which covers the cost of providing the tank and maintaining it. If all you have is a tank that needs to be topped off maybe once a year, there's no money in that especially with an expensive buried tank and the installation.

And we have a lot of paranoid quasi-rich people here that have hissey fits when, God forbid, their power goes out for an hour once every 5 years. They MUST have a generator!

-Hal

On the other hand, our propane supplier offers a service which uses an RF transmitter on the tank to allow their route truck to check the level when driving by. They then schedule a delivery when the level reaches 30%.
But if you then connect a generator to the tank they will no longer offer that service and you have to call each time you need a fill. When you are actually using a whole house generator it pulls down the tank level too fast.

 

[hbiss]

But if you then connect a generator to the tank they will no longer offer that service and you have to call each time you need a fill. When you are actually using a whole house generator it pulls down the tank level too fast.

Right. It will either consume the little it needs to run for the weekly exercise period (and not need refilling for years) or suck the whole thing down in a matter of hours if there is an outage.

-Hal