Off-Grid Simple Propane Install - NO BADDA BOOM!

Welcome to 2023! Our first video of the New Year. This video is even in 4K!
In this video we discuss upcoming plans around Propane based appliances and usage coming throughout the year. Incinerator Toilets, Generators, and Water heaters!
We also install the first simple propane system that will feed the LP range in the building kitchen.
This is not a how-to video, this is just how we did it, let us know if you have done similar installations and things you did differently, or even the same!
Coming shortly after this video watch for:
- 100G Water Catchment Experiment
- Propane Range Installation and Testing
Cabinet we used: www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermai...
2-Stage Auto Changeover LP Propane Gas Regulator: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...
Ranges: zlinekitchen.com/freestanding...

[@michaelamos4913]

Very nice, job, very clean

[@karlynmilam5764]

Very helpful , thank you

[@tommyb.7977]

Very Nice idea to cover the tanks. Thanks

[@alicianegron7130]

Thank You.

[@Braze-xxx]

Great work and hope that all is well with you and yours!

[@Le_Comte_de_Monte_Felin]

Enjoyed the video. Never occurred to me to use a resin storage box!

[@user-ne3yw2cu6c]

Nice job! Thanks for the great advice about having two tanks.

[@SeamrógCreek]

Its really worked out well, A year+ later and the system is still going strong. In fact we are now expanding it with a manifold so it can handle the new water heater and incinerator toilet. Hopefully I can get a video together on that.

[@cynthiakellett7933]

You look amazing!!!

[@timshull59]

I did the same thing at my place with 2 40lb tanks and rv regulator .Works great I got just over 1 year on 2 tanks just the wife and I. I have a 5 burner LG with a huge oven we love the gas never going back to electric!

[@SeamrógCreek]

Awesome to hear someone else doing the same kind of setup. It is so great having a nice big gas range on the propane like that, I couldn't agree more! We only have the range on the gas and we've used about 3/4 of one tank in almost exactly 1 year. We also don't live there full time. Right now i'm expanding this system to run our new Tankless Hot water heater and our incinerator toilet. The weather went sideways this months so probably get back to that soon, but I'll have to do a video on our expansion. I'm guessing that'll burn propane faster but by my guesstimate only having to fill them once a year or even twice would be awesome. Thanks for watching and sharing your setup!

[@timshull59]

@@SeamrógCreek awesome, I have been toying with the idea of a tankless propane WH myself and a 120 gallon tank. I just dont want to rent from a gas company they are as bad or worse than the cable/dish folks. enjoy your videos!

[@KuzweKanfarms]

Looks fantastic! Great video very helpful 😊

[@SeamrógCreek]

Thanks for watching! I need to check out your channel!

[@robertburbridge9579]

So happy to (somehow) come across your first and (maybe only) video post, "Keep going!" I'm right there with you on a propane project. I have a masters in common sense, your reminders 'save lives!' Happy 2024

[@SeamrógCreek]

Thanks for watching! We haven't done a video in a few months (we have some other things we are dealing with) but plan to get back to it soon. Hopefully getting a new video out soon. We've done quite a few videos over the past few years. Some are projects (like solar, etc), others are about the forest or wildlife. Anyway, glad you found us!

[@lelanacroft]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m in the middle of trying to figure out a way to put a small cooktop in my basement kitchen this setup will work perfect.

[@SeamrógCreek]

Glad you found it useful! Good luck on your project, we've been using this setup for about 6 months now and its been wonderful. No leaks, or issues thus far. Thanks for watching!

[@katewetherell4846]

you have totally inspired me to buy rural property and try off-grid living :)

[@SeamrógCreek]

Its a lot of work, but in my opinion worth it! And a lot of fun. Especially if you can get out a ways where there's less people and more wildlife. Thanks for watching! Let us know if you take the plunge!

[@aubreytaylor9930]

Thank you much appreciated. Only video I can find with the details for through the wall as well as the type of connection used to connect to the tanks.

[@SeamrógCreek]

Glad I could help, and thanks for watching! Good luck on your project

[@johnsturtevant9351]

Thank you, that answered a lot of questions I had - but the fitting from the propane line to the range itself the appliance - in our state has to be done by a licensed pipefitter. Still doing my research - but I want a range in the cabin too. For now my camp stove and kerosene heater will have to do. I want propane for the shower too. I know keep dreaming - got it. Thanks again.

[@jnbarefield]

Thank you for putting up this video. I wanted to do something similar, and after seeing this I immediately ordered everything I needed. We just got done setting up a nearly identical setup for our Tiny House. One change added was vents (one on each side) to the cabinet along with a solar panel fan kit, that vents out all the hot air. As our cabinet is in direct sunlight for a few hours a day.

[@SeamrógCreek]

Awesome! Glad it worked for you too. Cooling is a great idea, I was actually thinking about this last weekend when it was 88 outside and the cabinet was quite toasty. It is in direct sunlight but only in the morning. I have (and didn't show) a couple small vent holes at the bottom of the box to allow any leaked propane to leave the cabinet (someone else in the comments also mentioned that idea), but you got that covered with your vents. Love that the fan is solar powered so it really only comes on when the suns out and it might be hot. Brilliant. I think either way the biggest call out, is venting propane if it leaks, even in tiny amounts. For a passive system like mine, the vent holes should be at the bottom due to propane being heavier then air, but if you had active fans it'd do the same thing I would think, on top of cooling it down. Thanks for watching and commenting on what you did!

[@jimbob3030]

@@SeamrógCreek Is this an installation that will pass inspection and permitting? I have a normal size house in a small country town and I want to put in a couple small on demand water heaters and a stove, neither of which will use that much propane and hoping I can diy it like you rather than spend thousands on the install.

[@SeamrógCreek]

@@jimbob3030 It probably will depend a lot on your city, county, and possibly state codes, they are all different. I would suspect in some areas the tank switcher I'm using might be an issue on a permanent install? Its built for RVs. The piping, fittings, and valves, I "m using are made exactly for this and are what's in my primary home (installed by the builder). It's what they are made for. Many gas lines codes dictate pipe size based on BTU's or number of appliances, I used online charts to determine the size to run this stove based on its maximum BTU. I'm DEFINITELY no expert on these types of codes, you should research your area. Most places have these codes online now, would take some looking and reading, but probably worth it in money savings if you have the time.

[@wmdouglas3]

That cabinet looked like it was lockable as well (a nice benefit).

[@SeamrógCreek]

Yes it is! and the lock loop part is actually metal so not super cheap built.

[@Sparks1253]

You really should use Brass pipe and Brass fittings for Gas. It won't rust or react to Gas.

[@sylviapap3]

I'm no expert either but I believe this system has to be vented in the bottom as LP is heavier than air. Cool video. Thanks

[@SeamrógCreek]

You are correct it does need to be. The box actually is, there are vent holes around the bottom of the box that I drilled. It was just post video. Thanks for the feedback and thanks for watching!

[@charleshairston4853]

Hank Hill is a propane expert, ask him.😊

[@dschussler544]

Nice clean set up. Couldn't tell but hopefully that cabinet has venting at the bottom? As LP is heavier than air it will sink if there is a leak and vent out rather than fill the cabinet with explosive gas....

[@SeamrógCreek]

Yes! I should have shown this, its a super good point. I'll see if I can slide a comment about it in the next video we do. Hopefully soon!

[@Barret_Radtke]

just do 1080p it scales good to 4K

[@dk0751]

Is there a parts list?

[@muskegonhunterscamp]

"legally you can go to 86% or some number don't quote me on that"....................... "Seamrog Creek legal" taking over the content. Also, nice job Michelle on the enclosure.

[@SeamrógCreek]

Lawyers.... always gettin' in the way.

[@adelinawarriner6259]

rv rated tanks 20,30 or 40# tanks can have the bluetooth monitored

[@erveyc81]

Flare fitting should be ⅜ threads on the inside.

[@jeffcollupy8285]

Vise grips and channel-lock pliers are not really the recommended tools for tightening gas fittings. Hopefully you rechecked all connections with the appropriate size wrenches.

[@JRL1963]

Is this black pipe specific for propane or is it common black IRON pipe which is standard NG pipe? I guess iron or steel are not much different. But sometimes little differences are. Complete game changers

[@SeamrógCreek]

What I used is not specific to propane, its the same stuff used in NG pipelines, in my case its Steel. From what I understand the black pipe is recommended for all LP and LNG gas lines. Whether you use iron or steel I think is specific to gas line pressure? Iron pipe is way harder. In my case its pretty low, so I didn't use Iron Pipe. The only real thing I saw to watch out for in this case was galvanized stuff unless its specifically say its gas safe. So I just stuck with the black Iron Steel pipe for lower pressure gas lines. This kind of stuff: www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing-Pipe-Fittings-Pipe-Black-Pipe/Natural-Gas/N-5yc1vZ1z18i40Z1z1b2kz Let me know if you have different info! I think in this small install I'm good, but when we do the Water Heater, Incinerator toilet and generator I'll need to run a lot more black pipe line.

[@spencerrodgers]

What size shed is that? I’m thinking about getting one myself for my cabin for our propane tanks

[@SeamrógCreek]

I don't remember the dimensions off the top of my head, but there's a link to the exact unit we purchased from Home Depot in the Video Description, along with the Regulator we used. Its been over a year and its still working great!

[@I_Am_Killer_B]

I think those regulators are made to automatically switch over to the other tank when the primary is empty.

[@SeamrógCreek]

The on in our RV will just stop passing propane rather then switch over, which is great because then you absolutely know one is empty and have to go flip the switch. With this one I'm not sure, I'm hoping its the same, we shall see at some point haha. I do have a couple weight monitors on the tanks though so I can easily check them. I'm using the weight sensors from Flame King that connect to your mobile device.

[@adelinawarriner6259]

auto switching does that . duel stage brings the 150# pressure to 11# in stage1 then immediately to .035# in stage2 , which is what the appliances need

[@frijoli9579]

In my area code says you have to have a ventilated cabinet to store propane.

[@SeamrógCreek]

You should always ventilate propane systems. Propane is heavier then air so any sort of holes at the bottom will allow minor propane leaks to exit the propane out the bottom. This is easy to add into any cabinet.

[@frijoli9579]

@@SeamrógCreek, where did you ventilate yours?

[@SeamrógCreek]

@@frijoli9579 what we ended up doing was drilling 1/2" holes at the base of the unit on 3 sides. This allows plenty of air movement for any propane that might leak to flow out the bottom. So far (1 year later) we've never had any leaks, I test it pretty regularly since I don't want to lose propane. I just started expanding the whole system with a manifold and plumbing multiple appliances using CSST. Hoping to do a video on that as soon as the weather clears up! Adding water heater and incinerator toilet to the system. I'll be sure to mention/show the ventilation on the cabinet as its come up in previous comments.

[@Barret_Radtke]

does your regulator auto switch when one tank get close to or empty? the regulator i have does that and i have 2 100ib tanks as well as 2 30s.

[@SeamrógCreek]

No, this isn't quite that fancy. It will run one tank, or the other tank, via the manual switch. OR it can run both tanks together. I don't like the later, because if it runs out and you've forgotten to deal with it, your totally out. Cool you have 4 tanks on yours though! For us though its fine running one and then the other because when we aren't there we shut the whole propane system off anyway, so I'm in that cabinet every trip. I think however if we do end up living up there, I would probably change that out to be more automatic, and possibly handle more tanks. Right now its only running the kitchen range, but we are about to hook up the Incinerator toilet and the Water heater to that system, hoping to do videos on that as we get all that built out, so I'm expanding this system into a manifold to run several devices. We will probably use propane faster at that point, so I may re-think some of it down the road. Hoping to do a video on the propane expansion, we are moving to CSST. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Barret_Radtke]

@@SeamrógCreek i can only hook up 2 at any givin time, i fill what i can afford, but i have to use propane for heat.

[@SeamrógCreek]

@@Barret_RadtkeOh that makes sense, i know they do make giant manifolds like that, probably not worth the expense. Ya, propane for heat! That would consume a lot. Heating is the hardest off grid thing of all. We are 100% wood at this place. So in the summer we have to spend a few weekends dealing with wood for the next season. We also don't leave full time so that makes a difference. I'd probably have propane as a backup heat source if we did, for sure.

[@Barret_Radtke]

@@SeamrógCreek also it will work the same as your setup if i don't keep the second tanks valve open.

[@brodeesmith]

if those propane tanks leak while enclosed, felling the enclosure with propane, and you set a spark when opening that enclosure, badda boom......

[@SeamrógCreek]

The chances of plastic doors generating a spark is highly unlikely. But more importantly propane is heavier then air, and sinks, where it exits the bottom of the cabin in the vent holes, so it can't build up inside the cabin.

[@brodeesmith]

@@SeamrógCreek excellent video and thank you for the reply!!!

[@JoryBlake]

Very nice but to save time, use a lighter to check for leaks.

[@SeamrógCreek]

😂 💥

[@paulgibson1032]

How long does the 40 lb tank last before you have to switch over? I'm looking to do a similar setup, but not sure about the tank sizing. My wife says she doesn't want it going out in the middle of cooking a Thanksgiving turkey. ;)

[@SeamrógCreek]

We haven't actually finished one off so I'm not really sure. Just running the Stove/Oven though it should last quite a while. I'll be sure to let everyone know when I figure that out. You can do the math on the burner capacity / hour if you ran it all the time, as an estimate. I have not done that yet. If you do use two tanks and only drain one at a time, you will never run out in the middle of a cook! Unless you fail to fill the empty one. When one finishes and you switch it over, you can pull the empty one and go get it filled in plenty of time before another tank drains.

[@jnbarefield]

It depends on the BTU usage of your appliance. You can look up converters/calculators. I have a two burner propane stove installed (12800 btu combined) with two 40lb tanks, so my estimated burn time is 134 hours (67 hours per tank) or about 5 1/2 continuous days. Using the same setup as the video. The only difference being the stove is different than his. I haven’t had the chance to really break ours in yet because we just finished installing it. But considering we only use the stove 1-2 hours per day, I’m sure it will last a very long time.

[@adelinawarriner6259]

on average with range, HwH and a pilotlight on a fireplace. we (family of 5) used 200# in 8 months..

[@donbrandt2231]

Do you have a link for the cabinet?

[@SeamrógCreek]

Yes, here's the exact one we bought. I'll add it to the description as well. www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-Bridgeport-123-Gal-Resin-Patio-Cabinet-1863391/204725829

[@garymartinez4864]

Where did u find the cabinet?

[@SeamrógCreek]

We got it from Home Depot. I ordered it online and had it delivered to the store and we picked it up. Its the Bridgeport 123 Gal. Resin Patio Cabinet from Rubbermaid. So far its been great, amazingly water tight and windproof. The box/packaging wasn't very big ,3.375"H x 26.5"W x 46.75"L. Not very heavy at all. Hope this helps!

[@pasha_kasha]

Can you link to that regulator please? that splits into 2

[@SeamrógCreek]

Yes, here's the 2-Stage Auto Changeover LP Propane Gas Regulator I used, made by Flame King. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XYH5H6Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[@pasha_kasha]

Perfect. Thank you Sir@@SeamrógCreek

[@joeygrundy3916]

😅 calling the elk

[@kapitolking]

Soapy water

[@ShemZ664]

For some reason my Wife has a ton of those 4K batteries. Shoot me your address and I will send you some.