Propane Heater

[Joe Mullee]

I have a Mr Buddy small propane heater on board. My batteries are located inside a settee approximately four feet away. Is there any potential problem with having the batteries (4 golf cart types) at this distance to the heater?

Thanks,
Joe Mullee

 

[centerline]

possibly... but in a proper setting and atmosphere, it would not be a problem. is your battery compartment ventilated? read along...

when batteries are charging up.... or when they discharge at a very high rate, they give off hydrogen gas.... sometimes quite a lot under heavy charging conditions.
VERY explosive.

the batteries being in an enclosed area and possibly without ventilation, you could have a small tank of hydrogen waiting for ignition.... from ANY source.

so with all this said, it may not be the heater that is the problem, but the lack of ventilation in the battery compartment.
with that many batteries there needs to be some way to ventilate the space... hydrogen is lighter than air, so it wants to rise.

there are others who will chime in and give some ideas on how they have the ventilation set up in their battery area....

now that I have spread all the doom and gloom, with the heater being 4ft away, unless the gas escapes near the heater, it will probably rise away from the heater or be so dissipated by the time a whiff of it got there, that it would never ignite...
if you arent charging, and havent in awhile and arent under heavy usage loads, then I would not worry about it myself.... just keep the battery area closed off from the heater area.

but make sure you either have a vent for the battery compartment, or get one installed, because the ignition source can come from anywhere, such as a wiring issue below the liner, or switch being thrown when the gas concentration is just right...

 

[Bill Roosa]

Hydrogen is a VERY light gas and dissipates very rapidly if given the chance. Sooooo if you have any kind of vents on the battery compartment there should not be any problem. Course if the vent is into the location where the heater is that would be a problem.

 

[Scotty C-M]

Joe, Please excuse a thread drift. I'm sure you're careful with that heater. Carbon monoxide (CO) is very dangerous and builds up with no smell or real symptoms (you get tired and a bit headachy). I'm sure you keep it well ventilated and never go to sleep with it on. Do you have a CO monitor installed? Thanks for letting me go on a bit. Back to batteries ...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

As a practical matter, the igniter would have to be IN the battery compartment where it may be possible to achieve the LEL ( lower explosive limit). In the absence of a confined space, exceeding the LEL is virtually impossible. Add to that the unlikely possibility of evolving sufficient hydrogen gas from a properly operating charger and good batteries and you are quite safe.

There are always risks. Why chance it?

 

[centerline]

As a practical matter, the igniter would have to be IN the battery compartment where it may be possible to achieve the LEL ( lower explosive limit). In the absence of a confined space, exceeding the LEL is virtually impossible. Add to that the unlikely possibility of evolving sufficient hydrogen gas from a properly operating charger and good batteries and you are quite safe.

There are always risks. Why chance it?

I believe the risks are low, as you seem to also, but why would the ignitor have to be in the compartment?...
Its a Given that it is extremely unlikely that a thread of hyrodgen gas would make its way laterally 4 feet to lit heater, but in the event that it did, why would it be any different than a propane leak?


and for a follow up on the sentence "the unlikely possibility of evolving sufficient hydrogen gas from a properly operating charger and good batteries"...

in my opinion, when answering someones question here, we can only hope, but should never assume the system and components are in good order.... we have all seen too many photos posted here, that someone thought was "good enough, because it still works"....

but even so, in a confined space, a properly operating system with lead acid batteries can create and collect a sufficient amount of gas for an explosion, regularly..... im not saying that it wont eventually dissipate from the space before an explosion occurs, or that it wont escape as soon as you open the space, because with it being lighter than air it will be looking for a way out, but as long as the system IS working, its producing.....

 

[Benny17441]

The Mr. Buddy burns very clean with minimum CO emissions. It is also equipped with an oxygen depletion sensor which will turn the unit off when oxygen levels hit a low before it gets critical. It is quite safe when compared to using the stove or fuel burning lamps but still should be turned off prior to going to sleep. Let's not tempt Murphy's Law. Even the best designed system can fail. As far as the batteries, it is those deeply depleted or faulty ones that produce excess gases. Know the condition of your batteries and the risks they may pose. I agree that the igniter would need to be in the battery compartment to pose a problem. A gas lighter than air tends to dissipate in the air thus lowering the concentration. On the other hand a gas heavier than air, like LPG, tends to flow like water and pool in a low spot maintaining concentration. It is a high concentration that makes gases explosive when exposed to a spark or an open flame. I would say running the Mr. Buddy at a distance of 4 feet from the battery compartment is fairly safe.

 

[Joe Mullee]

Thanks everyone. I thought I was OK but wanted to ask the forum to get second opinions. While the boat is closed up I run several small fans to keep the air moving. My battery box is vented and I do check them every month. I also maitain a CO monitor in two locations onboard.

Again, thanks.

 

[Brian S]

Dang, you guys all talking about little propane heaters got me thinking I want one for my boat: http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=338 Although it just looks awfully tippy compared to the bigger units like this one: http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=24

Of course, my little O'day has to get pulled by the end of October, and can't go in until the first of April. Almost wouldn't need one. On the other hand, maybe taking the chill off occasionally wouldn't be such a bad thing. A friend has one on his Montgomery 23. It seemed like quite the luxury for our small lake…

Brian

 

[russlmiller]

Have a Mr Buddy heater on my 1973 Oday 22. Works great and makes s night on the hook here in Tennessee (average night temp 28-34f) great. And yes we do sleep with it on. Vented with fans on of course. Good product. Works well.

Russ and Donna
SV Tying the knot

 

[Steve Dion]

Brian S: We have one of the single bottle units on our boat and we also sleep with it on (only lasts for about 4-6 hrs, depending on setting). We also have one of the double bottle units at home for our emergency survival. The larger units are 18,000 btu's and also have a fan.

 

[topcat0399]

Plus its fun watching My Buddy fire up in a darkened cabin.
I always encourage the admiral to witness the light up.

Sometimes in rougher water I dangle it from the poptop on
long stiff wire hooks. I also dangle a 12v fan behind it.
.
I only wish it had a stat.