Shifting to propane

The stove on Fryedaze is electric. That works well at the dock but when we anchor out we must run the genset to use the stove/oven. The previous upgrades made to the alternators and batteries, along with the upcoming solar panel install will significantly reduce genset operation. So, propane just made sense.
There is a breaker labeled LPG on the breaker panel. It had a dyno label over it marked fish finder. That fish finder supply was moved during the fall electronics upgrade. I suspected that the boat either previously had propane or it was wired for it. I got lucky and found the LPG wiring. There are control wires and power supply feeds in the galley. A control wire is routed to the bridge for a the shut off solenoid.

 The stove is a three burner Euro style Seaward stove. It is the exact size as the Seaward Princess electric we removed.

 Some people have concerns about propane on boats. Fears of fires and explosions influence the cooking and refrigeration equipment decisions. We have always had propane stoves, dryers and gas fire place logs at home. So we are comfortable with the gas. As a measure of safety there will be propane sensors in the bridge where the propane locker will be, and one down in the galley. These sensors will alarm at the control panel in the galley that  also operates the solenoid shut off valve.

 I ordered King Starboard on line and had it all cut to size. The big plan was to screw and glue it together. Turns out that Starboard does NOT glue well and if you do glue it you have to use very expensive glue as well as flame treating the board.

 Plane 'B' was to install 1/2" mahogany cleats and screw everything together. I also flame treated several edges and used 3M 4200 on all seams. I think that will seal well but realy wont know if it bounded to the poly. There are 176  3/4" #4 screws in the box.

The box has the regulator - gauge and solenoid mounted on the back wall. It will not be air tight due to the latch I installed. There will be a drain that will vent the box outside the bridge area.

 The locker is complete and ready for install on the bridge.

 Top fitting is a vapor tight fitting for the power to the solenoid. The lower fitting is the 3/8" connection for the LPG hose to the galley. There will be a vent/drain installed when it gets mounted on the boat.

Fireboy Xintex Propane solenoid control with two propane detectors. Fireboy-xintex.com  One detector is at floor level under the steps next to the stove and the other is in the bridge enclosure at deck level. The unit will shut the propane solenoid on the bridge if it alarms. Propane is heavier than air so it sinks, hence the floor level for the detectors. There are two 1 amp fuses next to the unit. One for the solenoid and one for the monitor. The fuse holders selected make a nice install and will be convenient to work on.

 

2/22/2015 Today was completion day for the new stove. A friend helped me move it to the boat yesterday and today I hooked it up. Before I connected the LPG hose to the stove I ran a test on the propane sensors that shutoff the gas if you have a leak. I hit the button that opens the valve to the stove and let it port gas into the galley. In less than two minutes the alarm went off and the system shutdown the gas. I could barely smell the gas. Feels like a successful test for our propane safety equipment.