Frozen gas holder: common causes and ways to quickly fix the problem

Almost every user of a gas tank or gas cylinder is familiar with the situation when the gas freezes in the tank itself in winter or the gearbox stops working due to low temperatures. You have to quickly fix the problem, especially if such a source of fuel is the only one in your house. But, you must admit, it will be much wiser to understand the causes of this phenomenon and eliminate the freezing of the gas tank than to try to deal with the consequences every winter.

When the gas holder or its reducer froze, letting it all drift is not the best solution. In severe frosts, there is a high probability of being without heating. If you follow our tips below, you can choose the best gearbox, properly insulate the entire system and make it more reliable.

But before that, it’s worth understanding the very problem of freezing gas tanks, namely, for what reason this is happening and how to prevent this process. We investigated this problem and found several causes of what is happening, as well as ways to resolve them.

Causes of gas freezing in gas tanks

The situation when the gas froze in the gas tank will not surprise many users of this device. Everything is connected with the properties of liquefied petroleum gases (hereinafter LPG). As soon as they are pumped into the gas tank, they change the state of aggregation under high pressure and partially pass into the liquid, and partially remain in the gaseous form.

LPG consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon gases, usually propane and butane, which have different physical characteristics. So, in the warm season, more butane is observed near the neck of the gas tank, the active evaporation of which occurs at a temperature of more than -0.5 ° С. In winter, butane, on the contrary, becomes more liquid and is at the bottom of the tank.

Read about how winter gas differs from summer gas in this stuff.

In the cold season, it is unlikely that it will be possible to avoid lowering the temperature inside the tank, and this, with a poor composition of the mixture, can lead to its freezing.

Based on this, we can draw several conclusions:

1. The gas mixture for use in summer and winter should be different. The optimal ratio for winter time is at least 80% propane and 20% butane.
2. To prevent freezing of the gas tank, it is recommended to be installed underground, at a depth of at least 1 meter from the surface.
3. Must be observed installation rules for gas tanks.

If you follow these simple rules, the likelihood of freezing of the gas container will be significantly reduced.

The principle of operation of the gearbox

Gas tanks are often used to supply private houses with gas inside which are quite high pressure, but it is not suitable for supplying gas to the house. Therefore, to reduce it, it is used gearbox. It has a special design that reduces the pressure of the LPG to controlled values.

The gearbox works as follows: a special valve, which is connected with a flexible membrane, periodically opens and closes. Due to the difference in pressure between the lower and upper chambers, the membrane comes into action and passes gas at the desired speed.

Residents of country houses often encounter a problem when the gear of a gas tank freezes, and this happens quite often, especially in winter. How efficient will the system be in this case and how to fix it?

The problem is that the gearbox is installed openly, so it is often flooded with water, covered with snow, dirt, which, when frost sets in, causes the device to freeze

It is important to install a protective coating over the gearbox or sheathe it with moisture-resistant materials in order to prevent moisture accumulation and to avoid the problem of freezing of the device.

How to avoid freezing of the gearbox?

There are several ways to avoid freezing. For example, you can build a special shelter over this element of the gas tank to protect the device from moisture in it.

In order for the gas reducer to serve for a long time and without breakdowns, constantly inspect it for damage before the start of the heating season

The second way to avoid the freezing problem of the gearbox is to choose a quality device. Most in winter freezes even without moisture inside. They have to be insulated or heated.

If you get a good gas supply regulator, it will be able to work stably and give the desired output pressure even in the most severe frosts. For example, the leaders in sales among gearboxes for a gas holder are Rego and Gok appliances. Choose gearboxes with high nozzles to reduce the chance of freezing.

Install gearboxes with higher nozzles so that they are not deep in the ground - this will prevent freezing of the gas tank

The most optimal option is the purchase of expensive equipment and the construction of a special shelter for it with electric heating. This solution will maximize the life of the gas tank with the gearbox and avoid problems with its use.

Other options to avoid freezing the gearbox:

• install a gas holder with a high neck;
• purchase a device with a multivalve and high nozzles. It is also important to install it correctly so that the pipes are not deeply planted in the ground;
• purchase a moisture-proof gearbox in which the breathing valves have high nozzles;
• use only high quality fuel.

If you see problems in the operation of your gearbox, it is better to disassemble it and fix all the problems before freezing, since then it will be much more difficult to warm it up.

Regular device maintenance

Often, moisture in the gearbox appears during the endothermic process of gas evaporation (heat is absorbed in the gas tank and gearbox, they become very cold, and condensation appears on their surface), it can accumulate even during the construction of various shelters.

Therefore, it is important to periodically carry out preventive maintenance of the device - remove it from the gas tank and carry out cleaning and drying. This can be done independently, or you can invite a master who will take it apart, clean it from dirt and dust, replace a worn membrane or spring, and if necessary, adjust the pressure.

The way to quickly warm the gearbox

If an emergency has already occurred and the gearbox is frozen, it can be poured with boiling water. It is strictly forbidden to heat the device with an open flame or appliances with a spiral, for example, a hairdryer. This can lead to ignition of the gas mixture.

Plain heating cable and other electrical appliances are also not recommended to be used, since in the event of a short circuit, a spark may occur that can cause a subsequent gas explosion in the gas tank.

It is allowed to use a safe heating cable to warm the gas tank gearbox, in which the occurrence of sparks and ignition is excluded

It is possible to determine if the gearbox is frozen if the outlet gas pressure is too unstable. It may be absent, sharply increase or decrease during stable operation of the boiler. If you observe at least one of these problems, you should contact the master.

Gearbox heating kit

The way to use boiling water to warm the gearbox, as a rule, helps for a short time, therefore, if you have professional skills that allow you to repair the gearbox yourself, we recommend that you purchase:

• safe heating electric cable;
• a heat-insulating shell for putting a reducer in it;
• fork 2 meters from the gas holder.

This kit can be installed independently if you have experience working with gas equipment, but if there is no such experience, you should consult a specialist. After all, any careless movement can “finish off” the gearbox membrane that is already damaged by ice.

What to do if the gas holder itself has frozen?

Although the main reason for the lack of gas supply from the gas holder is the freezing of the gearbox, sometimes the tank itself can freeze. So, the water on the site can be in such quantity that it can flood the gas tank and freeze it with the advent of frost. And there is a situation when there is still gas in the tank, but it does not go outside.

The second reason for gas tank freezing is the consumption of propane from LPG and the remainder inside only butane and water condensate, which freeze with ease.

It is important to insulate the gas holder, because in severe frosts any LPG will freeze. For example, pure propane in a liquefied state can freeze already at -15 ° C. It leads to a fall pressure in gas pipesboiler malfunction and other problems.

Install the gas holder as deep as possible underground, at least 1-1.5 meters deep, to avoid freezing in severe frosts

In such cases, users have only one question: how acceptable is it to use heating to restore the gas tank? The easiest way is to pour boiling water over the gearbox and part of the container near it. This will warm up the neck itself, where a gaseous product should form. But it is much more important to correctly install the gas tank and connect reliable equipment to it.

So, if the tank is installed too close to the surface of the earth or even stands on it, then the balance of propane and butane in the mixture will quickly deteriorate. Propane will evaporate even at the lowest temperature, butane will remain in the tank. This gas is much more prone to freezing and often creates a plug in the pipe, leading to a drop in pressure.The optimal ratio of propane and butane should be at least 75:25, and preferably 80:20.

Options for gas tank insulation

Owners of houses that are heated exclusively with the help of an autonomous gas supply often think about additional insulation. This is especially true for residents of the northern regions, where the operation of the gas tank is complicated by very severe frosts. But how effective can be insulation with a standard insulation, for example, polystyrene, for the operation of a gas tank?

As already mentioned, butane freezes quite naturally at extremely low temperatures. In view of this, in the northern part of the country people do not rely on the quality of the winter gas mixture, where there is more propane, but prefer to insulate the tank with heat-insulating materials, for example, extruded polystyrene foam.

In those regions where there is no severe frost, it is enough that the gas holder is installed at a depth, and on top of it a layer of snow protects it, which does not let cold air pass below.

In warm areas where the earth does not deeply freeze, it is enough to insulate the gas tank around the perimeter with a thin layer of heat-insulating material

As insulation materials, it is best to use polystyrene, both sheets and crumbs, mineral wool, penofol, polystyrene foam. Their number should depend both on the lowest air temperature in the region, and on the depth of the gas holder.

If it was decided to insulate the gas tank, use the following expert advice:

• install insulation on top of the tank;
• carefully sheat the neck and cover with heat-insulating material;
• make quality shelter for the gearbox.

Some try to bring the pipe from the underfloor heating to the gearbox and maintain a temperature of about 30 degrees in it.

But not all engineers approve of such a solution, so consult with experts before implementing it. But never bring the electric cable to the gas tank.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

In several videos below, you can get detailed information about the reasons for the freezing of the gas tank gearbox and how to defrost it, as well as how to choose the gas tank itself.

Principles of the correct choice of gas tank and its installation on the site:

The main causes of freezing of the gas tank gearbox and methods for their elimination:

So, the freezing of the gas tank gearbox and even the tank itself is a frequent occurrence in the winter. The choice of an unsuccessful gas mixture, the use of cheap equipment, the lack of timely preventive maintenance for the gearbox - all this leads to emergency situations.

To resolve the problem, it is recommended to contact specialists who carefully defrost the gas tank and resume its work. In the future, it is worth thinking about warming the entire system so that such situations do not recur.

If you have encountered the problem of freezing a gas tank or its gearbox at your site or have professional knowledge in this area, leave your comments, ask questions, share your own experience.