Peter Frederick wrote: > Propane is a compressed gas in an AC system, and hot while in use. > Gasoline is a liquid, and while it will readily ignite and burn, it is > NOT explosive unless atomized or very hot (yes, a gas tank IN A FIRE > will explode, but liquid gasoline just spilled will not). >
Gasoline is a liquid, but a very volatile one. Just about any amount of liquid gasoline will form a flammable mixture in the air around it. I've heard it said that if you can smell gasoline, you're probably standing in a flammable atmosphere. Propane, by contrast, needs to reach a fairly narrow range of mixtures in the air before it will burn. Just look at how finicky it is to light some propane burners! > As I said before, if there is air INSIDE the AC system, you can easily > get high enough temps to ignite it, with shrapnel from the detonating > compressor blown around. Do you have any references to this actually happening? I'm not saying it's impossible, but the chances seem really remote. If it's really as dangerous as you say, though, there ought to be some stories in the news. > The issue is strictly safety -- hydrocarbons work pretty well as > refrigerants. Its the flamability and explosion hazard that makes > them unsafe. I suppose all the cars that are actually *running* on propane must be hideously unsafe too, then? I mean, they're carrying a high pressure tank with 20 gallons of the stuff, plus lines of it at 30 psi in the hot engine bay...
