# Venting A Gas Locker



## GDog (May 9, 2010)

Hi all. I'm building a gas locker to enclose my Campingaz 907 bottle. I need to adequately vent the locker and wondered if the vent should be placed in a low position or above the bottle?

Ta

GDog


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## biggirafe (May 9, 2010)

***** said:


> Hi Gdog,
> Gas is heavier than air.
> I can confirm that the vent should be fitted at the bottom, otherwise your gas locker will serve as an external gas tank



***** is correct the vent should be at the bottom and vent to the outside world 

Also if you locker is built into the habitation area then it must be sealed from the habitation area so that if there were a leak or fire in the locker nothing can get into the hab area


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## Samson (May 9, 2010)

GDog said:


> Hi all. I'm building a gas locker to enclose my Campingaz 907 bottle. I need to adequately vent the locker



Also, if the bottle locker is within the living quarters of the van, then the locker should ideally be air tight when closed , and the vent made such that gas could not drop and then circulate around the bottom of the floor area.  I had a custom made steel box made for my last van with a hole in the bottom and then a piece of steel pipe welded over the hole that fed through the van floor where any escaping gas would drop.


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## AndyC (May 9, 2010)

***** said:


> In my many moons ago profession as a boat builder,


What sort of boatbuilding were you involved in?


> the gas tank would be fitted with the bottom of it above the water line and with a tube welded onto the bottom. A pipe would then be connected to this tube and run down hill to a skin fitting through the hull. It would then vent outwards. There is no need to seal the top of the tank as the gas will always vent downwards.


There is now a requirement (for new boats) to have a vent at the top of the gas locker as well.

AndyC


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## biggirafe (May 9, 2010)

AndyC said:


> What sort of boatbuilding were you involved in?
> There is now a requirement (for new boats) to have a vent at the top of the gas locker as well.
> 
> AndyC



Does that vent have to go to the outside and not the hab area to allow air in?


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## AndyC (May 9, 2010)

biggirafe said:


> Does that vent have to go to the outside and not the hab area to allow air in?


Remember that these are construction regulations that apply to boats licenced to be used on the UK's inland waterways, but yes, the requirement is that it must be from outside the boat. 

AndyC


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## AndyC (May 9, 2010)

***** said:


> Hi Andy.
> Firstly Canal Narrow boats, then Moody's and then years in Marine Sales.
> Been very active in the powerboat and waterski environment.


I wondered if you had an involvement with narrowboats  

I've been working on them since the mid 1970s, but just do the safety inspections nowadays.

AndyC


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## biggirafe (May 9, 2010)

***** said:


> I started at Shropshire Union Cruisers at Norbury Junction, which I think was layer taken over by Dart Line or Anglo Welsh.
> Then moved to Ladyline, Marine Projects and Vospers. About 25 years in total
> 
> No one has answered the Carbon Monoxide alarm question yet



Thanks Andy, I expected that to be the answer, it would be daft having a top vent in a boats hab area but it would not be the first time a daft rule had been brought it.

Hi *****
There have been a number of freds on this and the answers were not clear to me as a lesser mortal 

Eventually I chatted to a fire officer and his answer was that because carbon monoxide is produced during a 'fire' or 'combustion' the main factor as to where carbon monoxide would be was convection and the air currents created due to fire or the use of a faulty gas fire therfore there advice is to have it high up. 

He went on to tell me that Carbon monoxide is only about 3% lighter than air at normal temps so unlike propane excaping your very unlikely to get a blanket effect as the air in the room is constantly moving due to breathing and other heat currents, your alarm is just looking for an increase in the amount of carbon monoxide in general in the atmosphere. One tip he did give was to place it in a convection current from the gas fire if that is your major concern.

I'll try and drag the the old thread out as I'm sure Maingate and a couple of the other 'scientist' types had some good info on this


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## AndyC (May 9, 2010)

***** said:


> I started at Shropshire Union Cruisers at Norbury Junction, which I think was layer taken over by Dart Line or Anglo Welsh.
> Then moved to Ladyline, Marine Projects and Vospers. About 25 years in total


You might have know my mate Pete Borshik, he worked at Norbury for a while I think.


> No one has answered the Carbon Monoxide alarm question yet


biggirafe seems to have pretty well covered it, when people ask me about fitting them on boats I usually suggest fitting a couple of them, one at about head height in the sleeping area and one in the main cabin a few inches below roof level. The accommodation space in a motorhome is going to be less than most boats so one centrally placed a few inches below the roof should suffice.

AndyC


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## kenjones (May 9, 2010)

GDog said:


> Hi all. I'm building a gas locker to enclose my Campingaz 907 bottle. I need to adequately vent the locker and wondered if the vent should be placed in a low position or above the bottle?
> 
> Ta
> 
> GDog


My gas locker is sealed from the inside of the van and the bottles sit on a  steel mesh base which allows any leak to flow away safely outside.


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## degzie (May 9, 2010)

re carbon monoxide alarm, this is a link to the one i bought for my van.
Smoke Alarms | CO Alarms | FireAngel
hope this helps.


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