Safety Considerations for Cooking on your Rig

[Mr_Mnml_Engnr]

Hey fam! As I start to get some trips under my belt, and my blueprint for the rig takes shape, I wanted to stop and ask what safety considerations I need to take when building a cooking/kitchen system on my rig. I see a lot of set ups with stoves built into a drawer, or just on the tailgate of a truck, and have thought: “is it safe to be running propane so close to an 18 gallon container of gasoline?“ I’m not sure if this is a minor enough risk that we has overlanders just accept it, but I’d also like to stay off the nominee list for the next Darwin award!

Thanks for the guidance everyone!

 

[tjZ06]

All modern vehicles have EVAP systems for fuel tank ventilation. In short, the EVAP canister traps all fuel vapors from the fuel tank/system, and when the engine is running they're sent to the intake tract to be burned off. Trust me, the EPA wouldn't let us run around in vehicles that vent raw fuel to the atmosphere. In (much) older rigs, or a rig that's been heavily modified in ways that delete EVAP maybe it's a consideration, but in anything even semi-modern I wouldn't think twice about it.

-TJ

 

[Alanymarce]

If I remember correctly, in Canada no-one is permitted to smoke within 7m of a petrol pump In New Zealand it's 20m). I think that's a Zone 2 area so risk is higher than it is for a vehicle's petrol tank which is probably considered Zone 1, so risk should be managed accordingly. Obviously, if you're buillding a stove into a vehicle you don't have 7 m available.

A quick look online (for guidance on camp stoves) gave the following: "Place gas cylinders at a distance of half a metre from (a) gas stove and one metre from the heating device". Now a petrol tank's fumes are more of a risk than a pressure-containing gas bottle, so you'd think that the safe distance would be greater.

So, your concern is valid, I believe.

We cook either on a camping stove or a camp fire. Either way they are at least a couple of metres from the vehicle, and in a well-ventilated area (camp table top or on the ground at a distance from the vehicle); if there's a significant wind we don't start a camp fire, and will seek to locate the stove in a proteected area, still at least a couple of metres from the vehicle.

I hope this helps.

 

[Mr_Mnml_Engnr]

All modern vehicles have EVAP systems for fuel tank ventilation. In short, the EVAP canister traps all fuel vapors from the fuel tank/system, and when the engine is running they're sent to the intake tract to be burned off. Trust me, the EPA wouldn't let us run around in vehicles that vent raw fuel to the atmosphere. In (much) older rigs, or a rig that's been heavily modified in ways that delete EVAP maybe it's a consideration, but in anything even semi-modern I wouldn't think twice about it.

-TJ

That makes sense, so thanks for pointing this out. I suppose I’m more concerned of a propane leak as I imagine the camp stoves or gas lines are more prone to fail and leak than the vehicle fuel tanks.

 

[grubworm]

i built a slide out kitchen thats in the shell on my tundra and i built a kitchen in a cargo trailer conversion and really the only possible issues i saw were that some of the cheap chinese import fittings and hoses for LP might be a bit shoddy and leak. pretty rare, but since everything is made in china, i try to go with a better named brand fitting and hose hoping that the specs for those are better...

i noticed that the LP hose coming off the tank on our teardrop camper has a lot of cracks in it. a hose out in the sun wont last all that long, so keep an eye on things like that

 

[tyler87432f]

If I remember correctly, in Canada no-one is permitted to smoke within 7m of a petrol pump In New Zealand it's 20m). I think that's a Zone 2 area so risk is higher than it is for a vehicle's petrol tank which is probably considered Zone 1, so risk should be managed accordingly. Obviously, if you're buillding a stove into a vehicle you don't have 7 m available.

A quick look online (for guidance on camp stoves) gave the following: "Place gas cylinders at a distance of half a metre from (a) gas stove and one metre from the heating device". Now a petrol tank's fumes are more of a risk than a pressure-containing gas bottle, so you'd think that the safe distance would be greater.

So, your concern is valid, I believe.

We cook either on a camping stove or a camp fire. Either way they are at least a couple of metres from the vehicle, and in a well-ventilated area (camp table top or on the ground at a distance from the vehicle); if there's a significant wind we don't start a camp fire, and will seek to locate the stove restaurant furniture in a proteected area, still at least a couple of metres from the vehicle.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for sharing informative topic.

 

[bgenlvtex]

My last vehicle was a Gladiator with a shell on the back. Inside that shell along with my other gear was propane canisters and a 17 gallon transfer tank.
I vented the tank through a charcoal canister and then out of th ebed and down.(to allow for temperature and elevation changes) it was grounded to the bed and I ised a bond wire when charging or pumping off.

I installed a 12v bilge volatile vapor monitor for a boat to sniff for leaks. It was very inexpensive and sensitive enough that the test for function was to "smell" a butane lighter discharging. It was comforting , and loud enough to hear it from the cab.