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Author Topic: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house  (Read 1506 times)

Offline jamminbrew

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Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« on: July 03, 2014, 07:44:05 am »
I was brewing in my garage Sunday, and got a front row seat to my neighbor's house burning down. The cause was a faulty hose on the propane tank he was using to grill with. In addition to the damage to the garage and upstairs bedrooms, his expensive SUV is a total loss. Luckily, no one was hurt.
I simply want to remind all of you guys to routinely check your equipment, especially anything having to do with propane. It could save your house, and even your life.
In caelo cerivisiae nil, hic igitur bibimus.

Offline theDarkSide

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Re: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2014, 08:10:56 am »
Wow...that sucks.  I'm glad no one was hurt.

I never brew inside with my propane burner, even in the open garage and always have the fire extinguisher within reach for these events.

Hopefully your neighbor gets back to normal soon and doesn't have any trouble with the insurance company.
Seacoast Homebrew Club - Portsmouth, NH
AHA Member
Stephen Mayo
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Offline 69franx

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Re: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2014, 08:12:49 am »
Thanks for the heads up. That is a pretty scary story. No brew day is worth losing the house, car, life, etc. Make sure to leak check your equipment!
Frank L.
Fermenting: Nothing (ugh!)
Conditioning: Nothing (UGH!)
In keg: Nothing (Double UGH!)
In the works:  House IPA, Dark Mild, Ballantine Ale clone(still trying to work this one into the schedule)

Offline theDarkSide

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Re: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2014, 08:20:59 am »
I'm going to leak check my propane burner this weekend.  If it has a leak, I can then tell my wife I need to spend $2k on a new electric system. 

"It will be a lot cheaper than spending tens of thousands of dollars repairing the damage to the house"

But seriously, I am going to check my burner and grill this weekend.
Seacoast Homebrew Club - Portsmouth, NH
AHA Member
Stephen Mayo
------------------------------------------------

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2014, 09:12:27 am »
I think they make fire with electricity too, not just gas. So that might not work.

Offline Jeff M

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Re: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2014, 09:24:12 am »
I think they make fire with electricity too, not just gas. So that might not work.

Very True, while electrical fires wont be as explosive, they can happen and tend to not be noticed cause they are in the walls.  Make sure you get a proper electrician and have the town inspector verify its safe.
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline David Lester

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Re: Equipment safety, and not burning down your house
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2014, 10:42:20 am »
This is a good reminder. I too had a hose come off the BBQ, caught fire and started shooting the fire out in the direction of the hose as it fell to the ground. I didn't find it for a couple minutes, and fortunately, nothing was near it that could catch fire. Whew, I thought. That could have burned my house down.

I'm checking my gas lines again.