Date:         Mon, 31 Jan 2000 16:43:54 PST
Reply-To:     Tony Peet <tpvw@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tony Peet <tpvw@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Propane Horror Story  --  "ok" ending
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Well folks,

The other night I pulled into one of the two gas stations in my area where I
regularly get my Westy's propane tank filled.  I walk up to the attendant
who has filled it for me in the past, and he says, "oh no, we don't do RV's
that have mounted tanks anymore", and proceeds to tell me the story of how
they were filling an RV's tank a couple of months ago and suddenly a
'fireball 11 feet high' shot out of the valve and (hold on to your hats)
into the face of the attendant who was filling the tank, blowing him
backwards a fair distance.

First I will tell you the "good" news:  despite having second degree burns
all over his face and hands, he has healed ( with lots of medication) during
the past two months to the point where 'you can hardly tell anything ever
happened'(!!) (If you had described this incident to me beforehand, I would
have imagined that he would have died!) The medics said that the key is that
he KEPT HIS MOUTH AND EYES CLOSED AND HELD HIS BREATH WHILE THE FIREBALL WAS
AROUND HIM so that nothing internally -- mainly lungs -- were burned.

Wow.


And by now some of you have probably already guessed the likely cause:  the
RV owner had not turned OFF (as in COMPLETELY OFF) his heater and somehow
the pilot light ignited the propane.  The RV owner denied this, but the
fireman at the scene checked the heater housing and it was warm!

As you may guess, there are now some lawsuits about all this -- another
reason the gas station would no longer fill my Westy's propane tank.

Anyway, the point of all this is to remind us all to be VERY careful to turn
the stove and refrigerator completely off  -- both with the inside knobs and
with the valve at the main tank -- before filling.  I would also add the
following:

-- turn off the engine and all electrical accessories

-- trust your instincts:  if the attendant doesn't look like he/she knows
what they're doing or something looks 'wrong' -- just stop the whole deal
right then and there.  It's not worth it.

-- if the nozzle isn't fitting in just the nice way it's supposed to
(screwed in fully with several short turns) and the guy is trying to "make
it fit"-- find out what's going on.

-- If the guy doesn't know right where the bleeder valve is, that's my
indication that he hasn't filled a Westy before.  It doesn't mean he can't
do it well, but it does mean I will ask him some questions and instruct him
more actively....

-- Warn them in advance that it only takes a MAXIMUM of 3 gallons.  Most
attendants I've dealt with are NOT used to this. In practice, my tank only
usually will take a max of around 2.5 gallons, even from 'empty'.

-- Don't be afraid to say, "Are you sure you know what you are doing?" or
"Have you filled one of these before?"  or "Is there someone else here who
has more experience with these kinds of tanks/vehicles/"

--AND finally, make sure that no one is smoking a cigarette or has any open
flame anywhere NEAR you!  I think 25 feet is the distance. Tell them to
leave RIGHT NOW!

If anyone else has any good propane filling safety tips or educational
stories, please post them.

Tony
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