My Friends House Exploded!!!!!

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HPNFlyGirl

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iBrookieMonster
Well I think its my friends house anyways. DO NOT KEEP PROPANE TANKS IN YOUR GARAGE!!!!!

APEX, N.C. -- Authorities are investigating whether a hot-air balloonist's propane tanks played a role in a house explosion and fire in Apex.

Investigators said the fire occurred at around 3:20 a.m. Thursday at a home on ___________ Drive.

Neighbors told WRAL that they heard two distinct explosions. When they went outside, they found pieces of a home scattered across several yards.

The couple in the home damaged in the explosion were able to get out safely. Emergency crews treated them at the scene.

According to investigators, propane tanks located in the garage may have ignited, causing the explosion. The owner of the home may be cited for improperly storing the propane tanks.

http://www.wral.com/news/9898227/detail.html
 
Yep. Even worse are the tanks at the store where you exchange tanks when you refill. They take your empty tank and give you one that's full then they refill your old tank and sell it to the next guy that comes along. No telling what the history of the tank you get from their cage is.
I use to work with a guy that one was on his patio that blew the bricks on the back of his house through the living room and turned his shed into used kindling. Fire dept told him it happens all the time with those beat up old tanks and valves that have been abused year after year.
 
fgcason said:
Yep. Even worse are the tanks at the store where you exchange tanks when you refill. They take your empty tank and give you one that's full then they refill your old tank and sell it to the next guy that comes along. No telling what the history of the tank you get from their cage is.
I use to work with a guy that one was on his patio that blew the bricks on the back of his house through the living room and turned his shed into used kindling. Fire dept told him it happens all the time with those beat up old tanks and valves that have been abused year after year.
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Note to self...rethink going to Home Depot this weekend to get a new propane tank for the grill!

So what's a person to do who doesn't have a gas grill attached to a house supply? Are there places that will refill your own tank while you wait? And if so, how expensive is that?
 
ausrere said:
Are there places that will refill your own tank while you wait? And if so, how expensive is that?
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Every ACE in our area fills tanks while you wait. I think it was $14ish the last time I had a BBQ size tank filled.
 
I take my tank out to the local Flying J truckstop and have them fill it up. Right now it is running about 9 bucks each time.
 
ausrere said:
Are there places that will refill your own tank while you wait? And if so, how expensive is that?
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A lot of U-Hauls do it. The cost depends on the price of gas. 10 bucks for a grill tank.
 
ausrere said:
Are there places that will refill your own tank while you wait? And if so, how expensive is that?
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Look around a bit. There are lots of places that'll refill your tank. If all else fails, ask the local RV/camper sales place. They're bound to know. Since I don't have a tank, I haven't paid attention too close but I've driven past all sorts of places (including one that had a field full of tanks that NASA would drool all over) with signs out front saying refills are available for your own tank.

Known history since new is worth the extra pennies...and especially the peace of mind that if it blows you up, at least it was your fault, not someone elses. Nothing scares me more than the guy that pulls up with 4-5 of them rolling around in the back of their pickup and starts unloading them by dropping them to the pavement. That's just a smithereens looking for a place to go kaboom.
 
I talked to my friend and Karen is going to be OK. She was still at the hospital getting stitched up from where the glass cut her face.
 
HPNFlyGirl said:
I talked to my friend and Karen is going to be OK. She was still at the hospital getting stitched up from where the glass cut her face.
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Yikes, glad they are okay!

I wonder if the insurance company has any clause in the policy they will use to try and deny the claim.... will they cover you for fire damage if you're storing propane tanks that big in your garage?
 
Troy Whistman said:
Yikes, glad they are okay!

I wonder if the insurance company has any clause in the policy they will use to try and deny the claim.... will they cover you for fire damage if you're storing propane tanks that big in your garage?
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Chances the size of the tanks had little bearing on the explosion which is more likely to have involved an explosive mixture in the whole garage than a direct explosion of a tank.
 
Thank goodness they're ok.

And thank goodness it wasn't the result of the bean burritos. :rolleyes:

Last time I filled a tank, it was $18 at UHaul. I keep the tanks outside.

When I need a new tank, I prefer to get a tank from one of the "exchange" places. I always pick the newest looking tank of the bunch, not one that looks repainted. Yes, you can tell. You can also look at the date stamped in the ring. I then keep the tank and refill it as necessary at UHaul.

Why do I get a new exchange tank? I bought several brand new tanks from places like Lowes, Sam's Club, RV supply store, etc. Of those that I bought, better than 50% were defective or went defective after the first couple of fills. The OPD simply prevented the tank from being filled AT ALL.

I got tired of taking them back after trying to fill them. And after 2 fills, I couldn't take 'em back. So, I get 'em from the exchange place. That way I know they'll fill (i.e. not broken), and since they repair/recertify non-working tanks as part of the business model.....

Anyway, good success here with the exchange tanks, if you shop carefully.
 
Yow. I hope your friend gets through without any permanent damage.

A buddy of mine and his young son were in their house about 10-12 years ago. There was a leak in the gas line in the front yard. The gas worked its way into the basement and got triggered by the water heater pilot light. They were in the opposite corner of the house from where the explosion centered and were uninjured. The gas company paid for a new house on the same foundation.

This year he gave his son a metal detector for Christmas - they have dug up parts of a refrigerator, doorknobs, and all other kinds of hardware that was scattered all over the yard from the explosion.
 
My mechanic at the airport occasionally grills some brats and etc. on Friday afternoon...anyone around is welcome to have some. There are often some of his customers, including me, hanging around his shop. One time the propane for the grill was low, one of the customers ran over to a store to get it filled. He made the trip both ways with the tank inside his car, on the floorboard of the front seat. I don't know how he is in a plane, but I wouldn't be inclined to ever fly with him. Though I see this all the time...ever see a parent load a bottle into a van with their kids in back..... Duh.
 
Baron 55 said:
My mechanic at the airport occasionally grills some brats and etc. on Friday afternoon...anyone around is welcome to have some. There are often some of his customers, including me, hanging around his shop. One time the propane for the grill was low, one of the customers ran over to a store to get it filled. He made the trip both ways with the tank inside his car, on the floorboard of the front seat. I don't know how he is in a plane, but I wouldn't be inclined to ever fly with him. Though I see this all the time...ever see a parent load a bottle into a van with their kids in back..... Duh.
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I don't get the problem. They don't just blow up unless mistreated. The secret is to keep the outside of the tank really clean. The only problem I have ever had with a propane tank was when the hose connecting it to the grill failed and lit on fire.

How else do you get the tank to the store to refill it?
 
Guess I better move those two out of my attached garage. I have a couple
empty .. or almost .. ones that I use in the hangar that I brought in to
take and have refilled. Normally they're down at the airport.
 
I was concerned about propane bottle being inside an automobile in the case of a serious collision. I haven't heard of any exploding this way, but it makes me nervous to think about. I admit I've carried them, tied down, in the bed of my pickup...true, if I were in a bad enough crash in the pickup, a bottle could explode and probably wouldn't help my health any even if outside in the truck bed. But inside a car's interior with me? Nope. I know plenty of people who also carry gasoline in 1 to 5 gal. containers inside the car with them, too. You know, lawn mower or chainsaw gas, whatever. I hope they don't die regretting it. Friend of mine who flies back country jobs in Alaska tells me it's common to carry a fifty gal. drum of diesel or kerosene to remote outposts and villages, tied in the baggage area of their planes with the mail and other supplies. I know it's done all the time...just makes me pause to think about.
 
Baron 55 said:
I was concerned about propane bottle being inside an automobile in the case of a serious collision. I haven't heard of any exploding this way, but it makes me nervous to think about. I admit I've carried them, tied down, in the bed of my pickup...true, if I were in a bad enough crash in the pickup, a bottle could explode and probably wouldn't help my health any even if outside in the truck bed. But inside a car's interior with me? Nope. I know plenty of people who also carry gasoline in 1 to 5 gal. containers inside the car with them, too. You know, lawn mower or chainsaw gas, whatever. I hope they don't die regretting it. Friend of mine who flies back country jobs in Alaska tells me it's common to carry a fifty gal. drum of diesel or kerosene to remote outposts and villages, tied in the baggage area of their planes with the mail and other supplies.
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For the size of a normal road vehicle, unless the tank departs the vehicle and is thrown clear, if it breaks and ignites catastrophically, anyone near/in the vehicle is very likely done for whether it's in the trunk or in the floorboard.
Gasoline in the vehicle? No flippin way in one of those feeble 10th rate shoddily made plastic fuel containers. They leak no matter what you do and the vapors are horrific for weeks in a car that's been left out in the sun with the windows up for a day. I'll stick to carrying my all steel literally bulletproof air/liquid tight fuel can when it's going to be inside the vehicle.

Baron 55 said:
I know it's done all the time...just makes me pause to think about.
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If you're going to carry fuel, boat, airplane, car, motorcycle, whatever, just take 10 seconds to think about how to do it safely. IMO it's the people that just do it like they're carrying a 2L pop bottle without considering anything else are the ones that get blown to smithereens >99%+ of the time.
 
Baron 55 said:
I was concerned about propane bottle being inside an automobile in the case of a serious collision. I haven't heard of any exploding this way, but it makes me nervous to think about. I admit I've carried them, tied down, in the bed of my pickup...true, if I were in a bad enough crash in the pickup, a bottle could explode and probably wouldn't help my health any even if outside in the truck bed. But inside a car's interior with me? Nope. I know plenty of people who also carry gasoline in 1 to 5 gal. containers inside the car with them, too. You know, lawn mower or chainsaw gas, whatever. I hope they don't die regretting it. Friend of mine who flies back country jobs in Alaska tells me it's common to carry a fifty gal. drum of diesel or kerosene to remote outposts and villages, tied in the baggage area of their planes with the mail and other supplies. I know it's done all the time...just makes me pause to think about.
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Not having a pickup truck, I generally carry the propane bottle in the cabin with the windows open. It's the gas buildup I'd be concerned about, and that's going to happen in the trunk, not the well-ventilated cabin. I also wouldn't want it in the trunk because it's the cabin that they've designed the protection for. The trunk is the crumple zone. Now, it should either be on the floor in the back seat where it's not going to become a missile or secured to a seat with a belt.

If anyone else has better ideas, I'm all ears. I admit I always get nervous taking it to get refilled.
 
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