Update on Propane System
Propane system on a sailboat. It’s one of the areas where we’ve spent the most time, money, and energy figuring out. It’s an important system for us because it’s a system that if not done properly can result in catastrophic failure leading to devastating (and perhaps deadly) explosions. Fortunately, after replacing the original propane system with all new parts and materials (see related video here) we are operating safely and have had no significant issues (knock on wood) and feel safe with it. However, we have experienced annoyances. Particularly around false alarms from our remote propane control and detection system.
After research and reading through manuals we originally decided on the Trident Marine propane gas control and detection system:
This unit was working well for at least 6 months. But we noticed an increasingly annoying number of false alarms. And the false alarms would come from the most everyday of tasks. We would be cleaning the galley with regular household-style cleaners and receive a false alarm. Devin would do her hair halfway on the other side of the boat and in the head, spray some hairspray, and it gives a false alarm. Or we’d leave an open bottle of wine on the galley counter and it would alert a false alarm. And the alarm isn’t a little chirp. The alarm is as loud or louder than a standard household smoke detector.
And while we appreciate the attention to detail the unit provided, it wasn’t a good fit for our day-to-day lives. Constantly having to silence the alarm by opening hatches & flapping a towel in front of the sensor didn’t make for a fun Netflix night. And of course, our little barnacle baby, Bella, has huge ears and any loud noise upsets her.
So we decided to try a new unit from BEP Marine:
And although it was more expensive, we liked that it was made in New Zealand, and perhaps paying a little more meant higher quality and fewer false alarms? The manufacturer also claims that the power consumption for the unit, while the solenoid is on, is lower due to their “pulse” technology to keep the solenoid open. Only time will tell if the false alarms stop. We will be sure to give an update about this very important piece of equipment in a future video!
In this video, we also installed the outdoor Magma BBQ grill. We purchased the Magma Marine Original Size Marine Kettle 3 Combination Stove & Gas Grill:
The dimensions of the grill fit our boat well. And we both have previous experience with Magma products and it appears to be of high quality. We haven’t yet cooked on it but we’ll be sure to give an update in a future video.
Keep in mind that out of the box the grill will not work with an onboard propane system. It will only work with the 1LB propane bottles we did not want to manage. We wanted to connect the BBQ grill to our house propane system. Additional hardware and fittings are needed to install to the house propane system which for our boat are the following.
First, stub into the house propane system with this accessory low-pressure kit:
That kit will give a stub-out or t-fitting from the low-pressure side of the house system. It also includes a ball valve to shut off the gas going to the BBQ grill. Once you have the stub-out installed the kit comes with a hose to run from the stub-out to the grill. And unfortunately, the grill cannot be connected directly to the hose. To do this an additional low-pressure valve must be installed:
Clearly, the BBQ is not plug-and-play for the house propane. But I suppose the manufacturer doesn’t include all these pieces as not everyone will run this to their house system. Furthermore, not everyone will mount the grill in the same way. Magma has various different mounts for their grills so be sure to get the correct one for your boat. Our boat pushpit railings are just a tiny fraction over 1” in diameter so we ended up using this mount:
And for the final touch we live our purchasing motto of: “buying nice things and keeping things nice” so with that we purchased a grill cover:
And no fabric of ours outside will be on its own. We prefer to add a little extra protection from the sun and rain with:
The summer is just beginning here in Portland. And while we have spent a little extra time getting this propane system dialed in, the extra peace of mind (and quiet), will keep the dockside grilling going all summer long.
Video link: https://youtu.be/6xpWPLuZIKY
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