Interesting. Thanks for the information, and I’m sure you’ll pardon me if I choose to be not particularly confrontational about it in the future. I’ll just open the door & windows to the back–instead of the garage door to the front–and try to mind my own business.
[quote=“moose”]
Some of those youtube vids show people with the turkey fryers inside the garage. Of course, the videos usually depict them catching their house on fire.[/quote]I was just thinking that people burning down their houses with turkey fryers may have “sparked” (pun intended) concern over propane in garages. There is even a State Farm ad on TV about it.
[quote=“grainbelt”]
THen you may have to do something to the walls and such for code to, or do nothing and try to get away with it for as long as you can.[/quote]
Touche’; dang building code…
[quote=“Silentknyght”]
Interesting. Thanks for the information, and I’m sure you’ll pardon me if I choose to be not particularly confrontational about it in the future. I’ll just open the door & windows to the back–instead of the garage door to the front–and try to mind my own business.[/quote]
Cool. Sorry this happened to you.
This thread reminds of time when I didn’t have a garage and was brewing outside and a pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses came right up and tried to save me… I explained what I was doing and one told the other it was “devil’s brew”. 'twas fitting for a fall pumpkin ale :cheers:
Be safe in your garages everyone!
[quote=“zwiller”][quote=“grainbelt”]
THen you may have to do something to the walls and such for code to, or do nothing and try to get away with it for as long as you can.[/quote]
Touche’; dang building code…[/quote]
What would you ‘do to the walls for code?’
People use gas and propane burners on their stove top in their kitchens all time. I’m not aware of any particular wall treatments that take place for code?
You should have an exhaust hood/fan for sure.
[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“zwiller”][quote=“grainbelt”]
THen you may have to do something to the walls and such for code to, or do nothing and try to get away with it for as long as you can.[/quote]
Touche’; dang building code…[/quote]
What would you ‘do to the walls for code?’
People use gas and propane burners on their stove top in their kitchens all time. I’m not aware of any particular wall treatments that take place for code?
You should have an exhaust hood/fan for sure.[/quote]
At the very least, you’d need to install gas pipes, which I am sure is one of those tasks that requires a licensed professional to perform, plus the building inspector would need to inspect it (likely with the walls open, so he can see the whole thing). I would guess you’d need to have appropriate emergency cut-offs, etc as well. When a kitchen is built, they get all that done before the drywall is put up. So unless your garage is already plumbed for natural gas, it could be an expensive upgrade.
The homes in areas that do not have natural gas have propane plumbed to appliances about the same way. I lived in a house yeas ago that had a gas stove and furnace that were fed by a bulk tank outside. Propane tanks have a regulator and the appliances need a different orifice. The big difference is that the tank is outdoors and a ways from the house.
Another home I owned had a fuel oil furnace and all electric appliances. I used propane tanks outdoors to brew. When natural gas was available yours truly ran and connected all of the pipe for it. The gas company guy hooked it up, bled the air and lit the pilot on the water heater I also installed. Then off he went. He never really checked a thing. Scary but I was anal about having a perfect install so there would be no problem. Code? What code? I have no idea if there was a local code but it was a rural area and I don’t think they had many PIA rules to protect us from ourselves. We sold the house and it was inspected so I guess it was OK.
My point is that is you do the instal right and stealthy then keep your trap shut, no one will notice. The problem is that if you want to follow local code it always seems to be a secret until you don’t follow it. I.E. someone walking up the driveway to tell you you can’t brew in your garage.
BTW in our house now I plumbed an outside natural gas connection to be able to brew with it. I have found that even though it is easier because you never run out the gas pressure is way less than propane so it took way longer to get things done. I have since gone back to lugging the LP tanks back and forth.
The issue with the natural gas is not really pressure related. Propane has a higher energy density than natural gas, so it burns hotter. I prefer propane to natural gas for my stove, but I have natural gas in my house and it’s cheaper than propane so I will stick with it. But I will not plumb natural gas to my grill or for use in brewing. I want that higher energy density for better grilling.
[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“zwiller”][quote=“grainbelt”]
THen you may have to do something to the walls and such for code to, or do nothing and try to get away with it for as long as you can.[/quote]
Touche’; dang building code…[/quote]
What would you ‘do to the walls for code?’
People use gas and propane burners on their stove top in their kitchens all time. I’m not aware of any particular wall treatments that take place for code?
You should have an exhaust hood/fan for sure.[/quote]
That’s gonna depend city to city probably. And a big 3 burner whatever btu is much bigger than any stove puts out.
have a freind with a rig in his basement it needed a exhaust fan and tile around the rig it was going to be done anyways for easy cleanup.
To be fair, my garage does not face the street and is tucked in back of the house. There is only one neighbor that can see, at least from their house.
So one day when I was brewing, I saw the neighbor’s drapes twitch.
The next day was garbage day, and I put out one can and one bag.
The bag disappeared before the garbage truck came.
Having seen a bunch of TV cop things on TV, I wondered if the dear girl dropped a dime and said I was cooking meth, and maybe the narcs grabbed my garbage to look for evidence…
The only evidence may have been some hop packaging.
I think most of those dudes know what those are for!
My apprentice Brewdog, Calli. We brewed “Born to be Mild” today:
You people are way to paranoid.
Who’s paranoid? Don’t see anyone bring paranoid.
I brew in the garage all the time.
I keep the door open. I also live out in the country and have never had any police or neighbor issues. I would think they would be more concerned with the illegal fireworks and target practice that causes more noise than brew day 
[quote=“tookalisten”]I brew in the garage all the time.
I keep the door open. I also live out in the country and have never had any police or neighbor issues. I would think they would be more concerned with the illegal fireworks and target practice that causes more noise than brew day [/quote]
+1 here’s to livin’ in the boonies :cheers:
[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“tookalisten”]I brew in the garage all the time.
I keep the door open. I also live out in the country and have never had any police or neighbor issues. I would think they would be more concerned with the illegal fireworks and target practice that causes more noise than brew day [/quote]
+1 here’s to livin’ in the boonies :cheers: [/quote]
Yep. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mi. away. With all the trees between us, he couldn’t see anything anyway.
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“tookalisten”]I brew in the garage all the time.
I keep the door open. I also live out in the country and have never had any police or neighbor issues. I would think they would be more concerned with the illegal fireworks and target practice that causes more noise than brew day [/quote]
+1 here’s to livin’ in the boonies :cheers: [/quote]
Yep. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mi. away. With all the trees between us, he couldn’t see anything anyway.[/quote]
So yeah… we’re thinking about moving to Wisconsin for just this reason. I like neighbors, and then, I don’t…
Like where I am now, everyone in the cul de sac knows what I’m up to and if they see that I’m brewing stop by to chat.
Also running burners on natural gas works well for me. I run two blichmann burners but I also just built my house 1.5 years ago so could run a line to make hooking it up easy. When I talked to the HVAC contractor about what I wanted he was asking some questions about what I wanted the line for so he could size it appropriately. Showed him the specs for the burners and he was a bit surprised at how many BTU’s the burners were. He ran a ‘high’ pressure (still is only a few PSI) line straight from the where the gas comes in the house. There is a regulator right where I hook up in my garage and then another regulator in the basement that is for all the other gas stuff in the house.
[quote=“Flip”]There is a regulator right where I hook up in my garage and then another regulator in the basement that is for all the other gas stuff in the house.[/quote]I like that with the two regulators. Nothing but pretty blue flames I would imagine.
[quote=“MullerBrau”][quote=“Flip”]There is a regulator right where I hook up in my garage and then another regulator in the basement that is for all the other gas stuff in the house.[/quote]I like that with the two regulators. Nothing but pretty blue flames I would imagine.[/quote]Yep, never seem to be starving the burners for gas and on full blast it heats things up plenty quick. It heats up my strike water so fast that if I’m not paying close attention I over shoot the temp. :oops: Also pretty quick getting my starting kettle volume of 14 gallons to a boil.
I brew in my garage. Top Tier stand, three burners, two tanks of propane, fully equipped woodworking shop in the other half of the garage. Always be concerned about safety! Propane and burners SHOULD be what, something like 50-100 feet away from the house? Never leave it alone, always check for leaks, be attentive! I store propane tanks outside next to a shed away from the house.
A few brew sessions ago my wife smelled propane (I didn’t) and sure enough I sprayed the lines and found a leak. I’m not saying not to brew in the garage… I do, but BE careful for your sake and everyone in your house who you love!
Prost!
