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LP or Propane Gas Tank Installation: here we provide descriptions and photographs of unsafe gas piping, indications of unsafe or improperly operating gas appliances, gas meters, and other gas installation defects are provided. The photo above shows two 24-gallon LP gas tanks installed outdoors on a wobbly unstable base.

This document also provides free sample draft home inspection report language for reporting defects in oil and gas piping at residential properties.

Also see How to Report Defects in Oil Piping. NOTICE: while example report language is provided here, reproduction of this or any of our web pages or their contents at other websites or in printed documents for sale is prohibited.

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General safety warning: improper installation and even improper inspection and testing methods involving natural or "LP" gas can involve dangerous conditions and risk fire or explosion.

If you smell gas you should leave the building immediately and should do so without doing anything that could create a spark such as operating a light switch or telephone.

From a safe location, call your gas company's emergency line and/or your fire department.

Immediate LP or natural gas safety hazards: if there is evidence of an LP or natural gas leak at a building, gas odors, for example, you should:

• Do not do anything that is likely to cause a gas explosion, such as lighting a match, operating an electrical switch, or even using a telephone in the building
• Leave the building immediately
• Notify other building occupants of the safety concern
• Contact the local gas company and/or fire department

LP Gas Tank Observations & Gas Tank Safety Recommendations for Home Inspectors & Home Owners

How to Install Liquid Petroleum Gas Tanks - LP or Bottled Gas Tanks

Specifications for Installing & Inspecting Above-ground LP Gas Storage Tanks - gas cylinders not filled on site

These LP Gas tank location clearances for above-ground gas tanks are given as measured from the tank's relief valve in any direction away from any potential source of ignition (of a gas leak) or where leaking gas could be drawn into a building window or other vent opening.

• Gas tank distance from windows, crawl space openings, fan openings: Install the above ground LP gas storage tank at least three feet from a building window, crawl space opening, or through-wall exhaust fan opening
• Gas tank distance from appliance air intakes: Install the above ground LP gas storage tank at least five feet from the air intake to any direct venting appliance (such as a high efficiency gas boiler)
• Gas tank distance from air conditioners: Install the above ground LP gas storage tank at least ten feet from the nearest window air conditioner to avoid a possible gas leak ignition
• Gas tank fill valve distance from building components: If the gas cylinders are to be filled on site, say from a gas delivery truck, the fill valve used to connect the gas hose from the filler truck must be at least ten feet from any exterior source of ignition and from building windows, vent openings, or air intakes.

Sample gas tank inspection report language: Safety: Install secure and level support for the LP gas tank at ... - if a tank tips over and breaks gas line it could be dangerous. This is an inexpensive item. This item should be handled promptly on establishing gas service for the house, preferably before tanks are filled.

Below we provide Installation specifications for Buried LP gas tanks.

Specifications for Finding, Inspecting, Installing Buried LP Gas Tanks

How to Find a Buried LP Gas Tank

Finding a buried LP gas tank should not be difficult at a property, since the top of the tank has to be accessible for filling and inspection. Look for the access cover, usually white steel on older LP gas cylinders or black plastic covering an access well on new buried LP gas tanks, as we mention next.

At some new properties you may first have to see and recognize the plastic access well and cover such as the buried LP gas tank cover shown in these photographs.

When the buried LP gas tank access cover is opened, the buried LP gas tank fill valve and regulator are plainly visible as should be a gauge indicating the remaining amount of LP gas in the tank.

How to Find & Read the LP Gas Tank Gauge Guide

The LP tank gauge is installed at a fitting either on the tank top itself or on a combination fitting at the tank top where the gas valves and connections aer also installed. This Liquid Petroleum Gas Tank Gauge - LP tank gauge or bottled gas tank gauge shows us that it is intended for installation on a 200 Lb. LP gas cylinder, and that the tank is at about 40% full.

LP Gas tanks are normally filled before the tank is totally empty. The liquid petroleum gas delivery truck driver can assure that no contaminants have leaked into the tank if it is still under pressure. LP tanks are usually not filled to 100% of tank capacity, since doing so would risk sending liquefied LP gas out of the gas tank and into the regulator where it could cause damage or be unsafe.

The curved graph at the upper end of the LP gas gauge dial shows the effects of temperature on the LP gas stored in the tank and thus on the effective remaining amount of fuel in the tank.

Some smaller LP gas cylinders may lack a gauge. When a gas cylinder has no percentage-full gauge and we want to know if the tank is empty or nearly so, we gently rock the tank (be careful not to cause a gas leak). If the tank is heavy and hard to move it's probably nearly full. A bit of experience with pushing slightly on the tank just before and just after it has been filled by your LP gas delivery company can make it easy to have a general idea of the level of fuel in the tank.

Be sure that LP gas cylinders are not so loose or poorly supported that they can tip over - risking injury or even a gas leak and explosion!

Installation Specifications for Below-ground LP Gas Storage Tank

• Install the below-ground (buried) LP gas storage tank at least ten feet from the nearest window air conditioner to avoid a possible gas leak ignition
• Install the below-ground (buried) LP gas storage tank at least ten feet from the nearest crawl space vent opening.
• Install the below-ground (buried) LP gas storage tank at least ten feet from the nearest building wall
• Install the below-ground (buried) LP gas storage tank at least ten feet from the air intake to any direct venting appliance
• Install the below-ground (buried) LP gas storage tank at least ten feet back from the property line
• Install the below-ground (buried) LP gas storage tank at least ten feet from an "important building" [presumably we exclude things like garden sheds] or from abutting property that may later have a building constructed on it.

Above we provide additional installation specifications for above ground LP gas tanks and cylinders.

LP Gas Tank Home Safety Tips & Inspection Report Language Examples

Here are some LP gas safety recommendations and home inspection report examples:

LP Gas Cylinder that is Incompletely Buried

Propane Gas Tank Safety Recommendations: The liquid propane gas tank at ... is partially buried - this may not be a recommended building practice; accelerated rust may lead to failure of the container. Please review this question with the gas supply company.

Propane Gas Tank Safety Recommendations:Be sure that the safety relief valve and controls atop the LP gas tanks outside are protected from icing (for example from exposure to rain or gutter overflow). Iced controls can prevent proper operation of safety devices.

Questions & Answers regarding this article

Questions & answers about LP tanks or propane tanks at residential installations.

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GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS
  Gas BTUH & Cubic Feet
  Gas Conversion LP Natural Gas
  Gas Flame & Noise Defects
  Gas Igniter Defects, Repairs
  Gas Leak Detection
  Gas Lighting Pipes & Fixtures
  Gas Meters
  Gas Piping Defects
  Gas Regulators for Appliances
  Gas Regulators for LP Tanks
  Gas Regulators, Two Stage
  Gas Shutoff Valves
  LP Gas Tanks
  LP & Natural Gas Safety Hazards
  Natural Gas Combustion Products
  Types of Fuel Gas Source

• U.S. Energy Information Administration - eia.doe.gov/
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - epa.gov/solar/energy-and-you/affect/natural-gas.html
• At Natural Gas.Org www.naturalgas.org/environment/naturalgas.asp#emission you’ll find a table of combustion products
• At geocities.com/rainforest/6847/report1.html is an interesting and detailed though not “neutral” report on the components and contaminants in the combustion of natural gas. You’ll see a long long list of emissions products, but look again – most of the contaminant levels listed are in the picograms.
• apvgn.pt/documentacao/iangv_rep_part1.pdf lists the components in natural gas exhaust from vehicles
• The Need Project, Manassas, VA: need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/SecInfo/NGasS.pdf
• Kroschwitz, Jacqueline I., and Mary Howe-Grant (eds.). "Gas, Natural." In Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. 4th ed., vol. 12. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1993.
• Tussing, Arlon R., & Bob Tippee. The Natural Gas Industry: Evolution, Structure, and Economics. 2nd ed. Tulsa, OK: PennWell Publishing, 1995.

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• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

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