I was visiting a family member who lived across the street from a trailer park. The trailer exploded and critically burned 3. All were life flighted out in a helicopter. An old lady, an old man, and the neighbor who ran inside to get the old lady out. The old lady died at the hospital.
Apparently it was an extremely old trailer, so maybe these tanks give out after several decades.
Depending on the propane tank, it may have to be recertified 12 years after manufacture. Depending on how it is recertified, it must be recertified 5, 7, or 12 years later.
Tanks certified by the DoT (Dept. of Transportation) are subject to the 12-year rule. An AMSE-certified tank does not require re-certification, because it is made out of heavier steel. I've seen conflicting information about whether AMSE-certified tanks are allowed in RV's.
I used to fill propane tanks at a Uhual. From what I remember, propane expands at about 270x its liquid volume when exposed to air? So, big fireball potentially, and forceful, but enough to knock out a block worth of windows?
The issue isn't the material, it's the physics of making it explode.
It's not like TV where you shoot one and it explodes. If you do that, it just jets out if tank. If you light that, then you still just have a large, unregulated propane torch.
In order for a propane tank to go up, it has to be liberated and allowed to expand all at once. That only happens two ways. You can cook the entire tank until the pressure rises high enough to fail, which is extremely unlikely since they have safety valves to prevent that exact occurrence, or they have to be blown up by another explosive and then continue the blast themselves.
In short, a propane tank isn't going to blow up, but if you blow one up, it will dramatically magnify the blast.
I investigate fires and explosions. Trust me, propane explosions do happen. Not saying that's what this is, but nothing man made is failure proof.
Happens all the time with fish houses in my state, even with layers of safety features on them.
More often than not, these features are ignored or disabled for various reasons.
Welcome to the production industry.
“Why is the safety door lock jumpered out?”
“Because I can’t reach in there and adjust it while it’s moving”
Some people don’t deserve fingers.
I just started in production places a few years ago. I can't believe how much easier and better-paying it is than washing dishes.
And I've heard through the grapevine about a number of accidents, some more hideous than others.
Almost every time, someone either worked around a safety mechanism, or the safety mechanism just didn't stop the machine like it should have.
So, you're best off just assuming there is no safety mechanism.
I was visiting a family member who lived across the street from a trailer park. The trailer exploded and critically burned 3. All were life flighted out in a helicopter. An old lady, an old man, and the neighbor who ran inside to get the old lady out. The old lady died at the hospital.
Apparently it was an extremely old trailer, so maybe these tanks give out after several decades.
Depending on the propane tank, it may have to be recertified 12 years after manufacture. Depending on how it is recertified, it must be recertified 5, 7, or 12 years later.
Tanks certified by the DoT (Dept. of Transportation) are subject to the 12-year rule. An AMSE-certified tank does not require re-certification, because it is made out of heavier steel. I've seen conflicting information about whether AMSE-certified tanks are allowed in RV's.
I used to fill propane tanks at a Uhual. From what I remember, propane expands at about 270x its liquid volume when exposed to air? So, big fireball potentially, and forceful, but enough to knock out a block worth of windows?
The issue isn't the material, it's the physics of making it explode.
It's not like TV where you shoot one and it explodes. If you do that, it just jets out if tank. If you light that, then you still just have a large, unregulated propane torch.
In order for a propane tank to go up, it has to be liberated and allowed to expand all at once. That only happens two ways. You can cook the entire tank until the pressure rises high enough to fail, which is extremely unlikely since they have safety valves to prevent that exact occurrence, or they have to be blown up by another explosive and then continue the blast themselves.
In short, a propane tank isn't going to blow up, but if you blow one up, it will dramatically magnify the blast.