Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
Originally Posted By: madRiver
This is why it is really safe to have 250 gallons of home heating fuel sitting in Your basement.
If home heating oil is like diesel , it is not anywhere as easily ignited as gasoline .
A fuel like natural gas is already a gas and all it needs to do is mix with air / oxygen . Almost the same with propane / butane .
As has been said , gasoline must be atomized and hopefully vaporized .
No quibble with your facts, just an addition:
Natural Gas is safer than Propane because it is lighter than air; it dissipates rapidly and completely into the atmosphere and can reach a non-cumbustive ratio quite quickly. If there is a continuous source of gas, then you have a problem, because there will be a variety of mixture ratios available, only one has to light to create combustion, but if the source of the leak is stopped quickly, or the escaping gas is small volume (like with a Natural Gas stove) not a problem, really (you need a pretty continuous leak in an enclosed area to create an explosion risk with NG).
With Propane, which is heavier than air, it tends to pool at the lower level of an enclosed or open space; think of an low lying fog of explosive gas around your feet and legs. This layer of combustible material will mix with air above it, there will always be a combustible ratio available.
For a real-world example, think of a propane bar-b-q that lights up explosively if you are having problems lighting the thing but eventually introduce a working spark. With a natural gas bar-b-q or stove, the gas being on isn't going to cause that kind of reaction, the thing just lights when the working spark is introduced. Naturally there is always a danger when dealing with any explosive gas and enclosed spaces, but outdoors the risk or a reaction like the propane bar-b-q is near zero; the lid being open insures rapid dilution of the gas (versus it hanging around in the bottom of the grill with propane).
Butane, MAP Gas, etc are similar to Natural Gas in that respect. It's also why some Parkades ban Propane powered vehicles.