Date:         Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:38:55 -0800
Reply-To:     Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Water content of propane exhaust (as Re: ...its alright ...if
              you wanna get down .... propane ... (apologies to eric c.))
Comments: To: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
In-Reply-To:  <A32E6CE9-D600-4663-8A99-3127B3F7C230@pottsfamily.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Hey -- that reminds me of the question I asked a couple weeks ago:
comparing a human to a small catalytic heater in terms of O2 consumption
and CO2 output. For the CO2 side, you have the heater's output right there
in that formula, but I don't know enough chemistry to turn that into volume.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR



On 1/16/2008 2:52 AM Greg Potts wrote:

> Hi Roger,
>
> I did the chemistry on that last year, as I was interested in just
> how much water was produced.
>
> C3H8 + (5)O2 --> (3)CO2 + (4)H2O
>
> According to my calculations, a 1lb bottle of propane produces 76 ml
> of water (less than three ounces), with the remaining byproducts
> emitted as CO2 gas. See this page for details:
> http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/chemistry/
> chapter7section3.rhtml
>
> A human being exhales 2-4 cups of water per day, depending on the
> relative humidity. Divide that by 3 (8 hrs sleeping in the westy) and
> you still get a LOT more water from a human than you do from a
> propane heater.
>
> Happy Trails,
>
> Greg Potts
> 1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
> www.pottsfamily.ca
> www.busesofthecorn.com
>
> On 16-Jan-08, at 1:29 AM, Roger Whittaker wrote:
>
>> if you have a propane heater that you wish to use during the night
>> remember that propane heaters produce lots of water as a byproduct of
>> combustion
>> this will make the underneath of foam cushions where you sleep
>> damp ...
>> also make sure you have enough ventilation ...