P.O. Box 1113
Garden City, Kansas 67846
620-276-0506
Propane Gas Grill and Range Safety Tips
l First used as a motor fuel in the mid 1800s.
l It is odorless and colorless, an odorant must be added to give it its characteristic odor.
l The odorant added to propane is ethyl mercaptan and is listed in Guiness Book of World Records as the smelliest thing on earth.
l Chemical name is C3H8 -- 3 parts carbon and 8 parts hydrogen.
l Liquid propane weighs about half the weight of water - 4.20 lbs. per gallon.
l Propane vapor is one and half times heavier than air. (Natural gas is lighter than air.)
l Propane boils at -44 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees below zero).
l Propane expands 270 times to 1 from liquid to vapor (1 gallon of liquid equals 270 gallons of vapor).
l Vapor pressure at 100 degrees Fahrenheit is 196 psi (at 70 degrees = 172 psi).
l Btu per cubic foot vapor = 2488.
l Btu per pound (liquid) = 21,548.
l Btu per gallon (liquid) = 91,502.
l When vapor is pressurized it becomes liquid at about 100 psi (depending on temperature).
l A kilowatt of electricity yields 3,413 bTUs. A gallon of propane yields 91,500 BTUs. Therefore, it will require 26.8 KW to produce the same 26.8 KW as a gallon of propane. What does your electricity cost per KW?
l A formula to determine the cost per hour of operating an electric motor on an irrigation well: $/hour = gallons per minute pumped x head in feet x .746 x kilowatt per hour of electric rate.