The P. Gagnon & Son Blog

10 Things You May Not Know About Propane Gas

Propane gas information seacoast region new hampshire southern maineFor many of us, our first introduction to propane was the white propane cylinder attached to Dad’s BBQ grill.

But there’s so much more to propane than that!

We’re here to tell you some interesting facts about propane, and all it can do for your Seacoast region home.

10 Propane Facts

  1. Propane was first identified in 1910 by Walter O. Snelling, a Pittsburgh chemist who was looking for a solution to gasoline evaporation after a driver of a horseless carriage complained that he wasn’t getting all the gasoline he had paid for from a filling station.
  2. Three years after his discovery, Snelling sold his patent for propane to Frank Philips, the founder of Philips Petroleum. Snelling got $50,000 for the patent. That’s $1.3 million in today’s money.
  3. The chemical formula for propane gas is C3H8.
  4. Propane has no odor or color naturally. An odorant is added during production to enable a propane leak to be detected. The odor is commonly described as smelling like rotten eggs.
  5. Close to 90 percent of the United States’ propane supply is produced domestically.
  6. Because propane is so clean-burning, it’s named as an alternative fuel in both the 1990 Clean Air Act and the 1992 National Energy Policy.
  7. In the rare event of a propane leak, propane does not harm air, water, soil, aquatic life, marine life or plant life.
  8. Propane adds $40 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
  9. Today’s propane heating systems have efficiency ratings of 95 percent and higher! That means you’ll get more heating for less money.
  10. Propane is safe to transport because it cannot ignite when combined with air unless the ignition source reaches 940˚ Fahrenheit.

The experts at P. Gagnon & Son are glad to tell you all about the benefits of propane. Contact us today!