If you are using propane to keep your house warm, you need to make sure that you take steps to keep yourself and your house safe this winter. Here are the measures that you need to take before a large snowstorm hits your area to protect your propane heating system.
#1 Mark Where Your Storage Tank Is
When your home gets hit with a large snow storm, the snow can get really deep and can hide the location of your storage tank, fill pipe, and vents. You want to make sure that you can easily locate your storage tank, fill pipe, and vent so that you can get to them if you need to.
Purchase markers like the ones used to mark driveways in the snow. You can get these markers at a local home improvement store. These makers are tall, flexible, and have a bright orange flag on top of them. Place these flags next to all the important parts of propane heating system so that you can always find them.
#2 Know Where the Shut-off Is Located
The second thing that you need to do is make sure you know where the shut-off is to your outdoor propane supplies. That way, if your propane tank is damaged in any way or starts to leak, you can turn it off quickly.
You should also know where all the shut-off valves are located for all of your appliances that use gas. That way, if anything happens to the appliances, you can turn off the gas by yourself.
#3 Clear Snow from around Your Home
After the snow storm hits, you need to clear the snow from around your house. Doing so will make it easier for you to get outside and service your propane tank. This will also make it easier for emergency services to reach your home if anything happens with your propane system.
You should also clear all ice and snow from all the valves, pipes, regulators, vents, and tubing on the tank. Ice on these pieces of equipment will cause them to not vent properly and could damage the components of the system. When you clear the snow from these areas, use a broom to gently sweep away the snow so that you don't damage any components.
If you use a propane heating system in your home, make sure to follow the above tips before and after a big snow storm. Make sure that you have new batteries in your carbon dioxide monitors in your home as well so that you are alerted to any gas leaks in time to take action. For more tips about propane tank safety, talk to a company like Graves (John) Propane Of Arizona Inc.
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