What Is Propane?
The plain answer, without the sales pitch.
Request a Free Estimate →Propane is a gas that turns to liquid under modest pressure, which is the whole reason it is useful. Compressed into a tank it takes up about one two-hundred-and-seventieth of the space it would as a gas — so a tank in your yard holds weeks or months of cooking, hot water and heat. Open a valve, the pressure drops, and it becomes a gas again on its way to the appliance.
The basics, answered
It is separated out during natural gas processing and oil refining. Almost all the propane burned in the United States is produced here, which is part of why supply stays steady.
No. Natural gas is mostly methane, arrives by pipeline, and cannot be stored on site. Propane is delivered and stored in your own tank, which is why it works where no gas main runs.
Same fuel, different scale. A grill cylinder holds about 4.6 gallons. A whole-home tank holds 120, 250, 500 or 1,000 — and it is filled at your house rather than swapped.
No. Propane does not degrade, gum up or go stale the way gasoline and diesel do. A tank filled before hurricane season is exactly as good in October as it was in June.
Why it smells the way it does
Propane has no natural smell. The rotten-egg odour is ethyl mercaptan, added deliberately so that a leak is obvious long before it becomes dangerous. That smell is a safety feature working exactly as designed — if you notice it, leave the area and call 911, then call us.
Why it is measured in gallons but sold by the pound
Both, depending on context. A tank is described in gallons of water capacity, but is only ever filled to 80% — the space above the liquid lets it expand safely on a hot day. So a “500 gallon” tank holds around 400 gallons of propane. Nobody is short-changing you; that gap is a code requirement and a good one.
What a gallon actually does
A gallon of propane carries about 91,500 BTUs. In practical terms that is roughly an hour of a large standby generator at load, or several days of ordinary cooking. It is why sizing a tank is about how you will use it rather than how big the house is — a home with a generator and a pool heater burns through a tank far faster than one with a range and a water heater.
Is it safe?
Handled properly, yes — and the rules that make it safe are the reason gas work is licensed and permitted. Propane has a narrow flammable range, it will not ignite below about 920°F, and a correctly installed system has multiple layers of protection: a regulator, a relief valve, and a leak-tested line. It is heavier than air, which is why it is kept away from basements and low enclosed spaces, and why placement rules exist.
What makes propane dangerous is not the fuel. It is unpermitted work, undersized piping and fittings nobody tested. That is the whole argument for using a licensed contractor.
If you are considering it
- Free estimate — tell us what you want to run and we will give you a number.
- Property site visit — where the tank can go, and what the route looks like.
- Contract and property survey — what is being installed, drawn and agreed.
- Permit — we file with your local building department and handle the inspection.
- Install and first flame — tested, inspected and commissioned with you there.
We do not deliver propane. We design, install and maintain the system — you buy your fills from whichever company you choose.
Still working out whether propane suits you?
Ask us. The estimate is free, and if propane is the wrong answer for your property we will say so.
Request a Free Estimate