Brewing in garage with propane burner?

My dad routinely brews in the garage with a propane burner. He has not had any issues with the ceiling and the heat. Just make sure to have good ventilation (partially opened door, fan circulating air, open window if you have one) while the gas is on.

 

Shouldn't be a problem with the ceiling, but you will want the door open to keep air movement for CO. I've done it and many friends have done it as well, with no issues. Can't say it enough though - be aware of CO. Safety first.

 

I have brewed in my garage a couple times, no big deal.

I also do most of my brewing on my back covered patio. The ceiling on that is maybe 7' (I can reach up and touch it standing flatfooted). Brewed well over 100 batches under it with no issues (and it's white).

 

You should be horrified of CO. Colorless, odorless, it just lulls you to sleep, then death. If I were you, I'd have a crapload of functioning CO monitors throughout the house. I have a rippy little Darkstar burner and in their instructions they are very clear to not use the unit anywhere near the house.

 

As someone with 4 separate OSHA certs and having completed a few dozen client specific safety training events, I want to relate to you an important concept in the world of safety and risk management.

Do not assume that it is safe because you are not aware or you have done it before without negative consequences. There is no relation to threat of an accident and your personal experience. In other words, if you are waiting for someone on BA to tell you "Don't do it. I burned my house down" or "My brother died from CO poisoning", that probably isn't going to happen but it does not mean the action is safe.

100,000 btu's of open flame burning in your dwelling is not a good idea. Don't put your BBQ in the kitchen either.

Should you be worried about burning the ceiling or CO poisoning? If you are asking the question then you already know the answer. It is a risk. You really want to ask yourself the level of risk you are comfortable with, not just for you but for your family and neighbors too. I have my own personal level of risk taking, your fire inspector has a much different assessment. But I also drive a lot of miles over the speed limit.
Risk acceptance.

Cheers.

 

Carbon monoxide detectors are cheap enough. I would keep one plugged in around foot level. As others said: colorless, odorless, you would never know you were in a precarious situation to begin with if it accumulates. If you keep cars in there and work on them, there is another excuse for a CO detector.

I think if you have an 8 foot ceiling you should be ok. Especially if the ceiling is drywall. You may want to suspend a thermometer near the ceiling to have an idea of whats going on there. We did this in the Navy in the engine rooms (I was not an engineer, I just had to go down there sometimes).

 

I always brew in my garage. Three tier setup, too big to move around. My hot liquor tank burner is about 4 feet from the ceiling and haven't had any problems.

 

Garage door and other door/window fully open...burner placed on concrete floor at garage door opening and never left unattended...caveat emptor

 

I used to brew in the garage with just the back door open (a couple feet from the burner). The CO monitor never beeped, but it beeps immediately if I start the car before I open the garage.

 

the voice of reason taking all the fun out of lighting fires in the house....

 

living on the edge

 

I use a Bayou burner in the garage every time with no issue. I'm honestly a bit afraid to take it outside because of possible contaminations and wind hindrance.

 

Any safety professional will tell you that it's not a good idea to have an open flame in a garage where you may have gasoline cans stored (or other flammables), and in many jurisdictions it is a violation of fire codes to have an LP tank inside a "living area" (I don't know if a garage space fits the definition of a "living area") so you, and anyone else who is reading this thread, are on your own if you take the risk to do it.