Propane Pipeline Question

[blume357]

Propane pipe line runs through the woods of my families farm. Has always been there along with the multiple signs, but the last time I was walking this pipeline I notices a new pole beside one of the standard signs.... you can see if just behind the round sign. Something about a buried magnet....

Anybody have a clue as the function of the magnet in relation to the pipeline?

 

[Bull Barrel]

Increases gas mileage....?

Seriously I have no clue.

 

[coach]

You got my curiosity up so I did a search. I think they are used as waypoint markers for intelligent "pigs" in the pipeline as it inspects the pipe for corrosion, etc.
http://www.heathenergy.com/pipeline.html

 

[Jimbo357mag]

...also a spot to hook onto the pipe for locating equipment. Sometimes called a test box. Other similar pipes in the ground might be just markers. Looks like that line is well marked.

Propane pipelines are rare because propane gas is stored in tanks. Natural gas pipelines are much more common. This must be a case where propane is being transported to a large customer where no nat. gas is available and tank storage is impractical.

Where does it go or what does it serve? Just curious.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Wonder if you could get them to tap into the line for you and supply you with FREE gas for heating, cooking, etc.
I had a friend in Long Beach, CA that inherited some operating oil wells when his Dad passed away. He used the Natural Gas from one of the wells to operate the pump engines (Old 4 cylinder Le Rois) on the other wells. He was rerunning one of the gas pipelines and a guy with a house on a neighboring property was watching and asked what my friend was doing. After hearing the explanation, the neighbor said, "You mean like the Natural Gas I use to heat my swimming pool?" Paul assured him it was indeed the SAME gas (Paul sold the excess to the Gas Company). The guy said, "could I hook into your pipeline?" Paul told him "SURE" and explained what fittings would be needed. Paul installed them and the guy connected up his pool, now heated for free and was happier that a pig with a trough full of slop.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Wonder if you could get them to tap into the line for you and supply you with FREE gas for heating, cooking, etc.

Many property owners have a deal with the driller to have a 'farm tap' put in the line from any gas well. These can be dangerous as the pressure is sometimes not well regulated and the gas has no odor.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Electricity can be dangerous too, it has no odor either and is a LOT more available to idiots.

 

[Bull Barrel]

And the stuipd plumbers fill all the pipes with wires...

 

[Selena]

Wonder if you could get them to tap into the line for you and supply you with FREE gas for heating, cooking, etc.

Many property owners have a deal with the driller to have a 'farm tap' put in the line from any gas well. These can be dangerous as the pressure is sometimes not well regulated and the gas has no odor.

Oh yes Jimbo, it would be a horrible thing to expect the guy getting something for nothing to have to buy & install his own pressure regulator.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Oh yes Jimbo, it would be a horrible thing to expect the guy getting something for nothing to have to buy & install his own pressure regulator.

The deal is gas can be dangerous and 'farm taps', especially so. There is quite a bit of discussion in the industry about who is responsible for maint and upkeep of the system. :shock:
http://www.gopherstateonecall.org/farm-tap-alert-ho

 

[Selena]

Oh yes Jimbo, it would be a horrible thing to expect the guy getting something for nothing to have to buy & install his own pressure regulator.

The deal is gas can be dangerous and 'farm taps', especially so. There is quite a bit of discussion in the industry about who is responsible for maint and upkeep of the system. :shock:
http://www.gopherstateonecall.org/farm-tap-alert-ho

Jimmy, jimmy jimmy... These are farmers not union members. They are perfectly capable of maintaining a gas pressure regulator from long experience with grain driers among other things and back pressure valves from welding equipment.

Life is dangerous, learn to deal with it.

 

[Beartracks]

:lol:

 

[radicalrod]

Gosh once again the civility of some on this site simply amazes me....

The awesome condescension shown must be some kind compensation for ones lack of social skills......

YMMV.....RR

 

[Rancher Will]

There are warning signs on my ranches, different than shown above, for the underground Propane pipelines on my ranches. On each of my ranches I have a large propane tank, that is kept filled by the gas company, and there are underground pipelines from the tank to each of the homes on the ranches including my home on each ranch.

 

[blume357]

Natural gas is scrubbed of a number of corrosive chemicals before it is 'repackaged' to the public. Using 'natural' natural gas will eat up what ever you are using it in pretty quickly. At least this is what I was taught in gas class.

I was speculating about the propane line company having inspection robots traveling through it... this line is a 12" diameter steel pipe...

I've thought about tapping into this line over the years but realized they probably have a way to find this.

 

[mohavesam]

Natural gas is scrubbed of a number of corrosive chemicals before it is 'repackaged' to the public. Using 'natural' natural gas will eat up what ever you are using it in pretty quickly. At least this is what I was taught in gas class.

I was speculating about the propane line company having inspection robots traveling through it... this line is a 12" diameter steel pipe...

I've thought about tapping into this line over the years but realized they probably have a way to find this.

Yes, they probably would be tipped off by the 200" fireball and scattered crispy bone fragments all around the crater!
The pressure inside a 12" line would topple trees alone!

I was called out to set up a 3-way pig (X-ray, eddy-current and still/movie cameras) on a 12" line outside Austin. The UN-ignited pressure plume rippled the air a hundred feet verticle! We were kept 200' away but it really wouldn't have been far enough.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Natural gas is scrubbed of a number of corrosive chemicals before it is 'repackaged' to the public. Using 'natural' natural gas will eat up what ever you are using it in pretty quickly. At least this is what I was taught in gas class.

I was speculating about the propane line company having inspection robots traveling through it... this line is a 12" diameter steel pipe...

I've thought about tapping into this line over the years but realized they probably have a way to find this.

Well blume,
Don't know what Gas Class you took but it wasn't a good one.
Just about every Offshore Platform and Onshore Gas Plant uses Nat Gas right from the wells or the Off Gas from the Oil to run the utilities such as Generators and Compressor Engines. All that is done to it is to run it through a Glycol Dehydration Unit to knock out the water. It is still considered a WET Gas and is then sent to shore where the Propane, Butane, and Light Oil/Gasoline is recovered. Now that is for sweet gas. If it has some H2S in it it will run through a Amine Unit to knock out the H2S then will be used as House/Methane Gas and will have the Odorant added to it.
I WOULD not suggest taping into the line. It probably is operating at 100/200#min.
You are probably not to good at doing a Hot Tap :wink: Think Crispy Critter here
They don't send robots done the line. They send Pigs which could be Scrapper, Batching, smart pigs and several other types.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Natural gas is scrubbed of a number of corrosive chemicals before it is 'repackaged' to the public. Using 'natural' natural gas will eat up what ever you are using it in pretty quickly. At least this is what I was taught in gas class.

I was speculating about the propane line company having inspection robots traveling through it... this line is a 12" diameter steel pipe...

I've thought about tapping into this line over the years but realized they probably have a way to find this.

Well blume,
Don't know what Gas Class you took but it wasn't a good one.
Just about every Offshore Platform and Onshore Gas Plant uses Nat Gas right from the wells or the Off Gas from the Oil to run the utilities such as Generators and Compressor Engines. All that is done to it is to run it through a Glycol Dehydration Unit to knock out the water. It is still considered a WET Gas and is then sent to shore where the Propane, Butane, and Light Oil/Gasoline is recovered. Now that is for sweet gas. If it has some H2S in it it will run through a Amine Unit to knock out the H2S then will be used as House/Methane Gas and will have the Odorant added to it.
I WOULD not suggest taping into the line. It probably is operating at 100/200#min.
You are probably not to good at doing a Hot Tap :wink: Think Crispy Critter here
They don't send robots done the line. They send Pigs which could be Scrapper, Batching, smart pigs and several other types.

I CAN tell you that there were NO Glycol Dehydration Units on the lines going to them old pump engines and they ran pretty good on it. Sometimes a little hard to start (especially if Hand cranked) but pull the spark plugs out, throw'm on the ground pour a little well head "Drip Gas" on them and toss a match; When the flame goes out use gloves to re-install them, a squirt of drip gas into the manifold and they crank over at once.
You should have seen the Compressor his Dad used to pull a vacuum on the wells, The dang fly wheel must have been close to 6 ft across and the head was around 24-30 inches in diameter. It too was run by a 4 cylinder LeRoi engine, but it took five or six minutes getting the fly wheel FINALLY moving enough to crank over and another 4 or 5 to be able to finally leave the clutch out and let her spin.

BTW, His Dad modified their water heater in the garage with a burner from a crude oil heating device, but that WAS hooked up to the City Gas line.

 

[blume357]

Well the reality is the instructor that I remember in the class was describing a specific instance when he worked for a furnace manufacturer and they had to keep replacing a furnace every two or three years for a guy in Kentucky and finally the guy from the company went out to see what the problem was... homeowner had a line running from the rock outcropping behind his house.

Few years agoI was mentioning to my father about tapping into the propane line and he explained to me how to do it.... was way beyond my abilities but he seemed to know how to do it. Then again the propane tank buried in the ground behind his house was built in something like 1938..... he had it dug up and moved when the house was built in about 1961.