WEBVTT - What's the difference between LPG or natural gas?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart happens. Hie a Marshal Brain with today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>when you're buying gas appliances, why do you always have

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<v Speaker 1>to specify whether you're using LPG or natural gas? If

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<v Speaker 1>you've ever shopped for a gas grill, gas fireplace, logs,

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<v Speaker 1>a gas stove, or a gas dryer, you know that

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<v Speaker 1>you're always asked to specify whether you plan to use

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<v Speaker 1>it with natural gas or LPG, also known as liquefied

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<v Speaker 1>petroleum gas. The reason you have to get it right

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<v Speaker 1>is because LPG and natural gas have very different properties.

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<v Speaker 1>Natural gas is just that it's natural. If you sink

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<v Speaker 1>a well in the right spot, natural gas flows out

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<v Speaker 1>of the ground. It's mostly methane or H four. Liquefied

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<v Speaker 1>petroleum gas, on the other hand, is a product of

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<v Speaker 1>crude oil distillation. It contains mostly propane or C three

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<v Speaker 1>H eight. Propane has a very nice property that when

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<v Speaker 1>you can press it, it easily condenses into a liquid.

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<v Speaker 1>This means that it's much easier to store in a

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<v Speaker 1>tank than natural gas, which doesn't compress easily. You can

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<v Speaker 1>see the difference between natural gas and LPG. Most easily.

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<v Speaker 1>When you buy a gas stove, normally you're supplied with

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<v Speaker 1>two sets of jets, one set for natural gas and

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<v Speaker 1>one set for LPG. You install one jet in each burner.

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<v Speaker 1>The jet is simply a little screwing cap with a

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<v Speaker 1>whole drilled in it. The difference is that the hole

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<v Speaker 1>in the jet for natural gas is bigger, about twice

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<v Speaker 1>as big as the whole in the jet for LPG.

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<v Speaker 1>The reason for this difference is because LPG contains much

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<v Speaker 1>more energy than natural gas does. A cubic foot of

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<v Speaker 1>natural gas contains something like a thousand btu of energy.

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<v Speaker 1>A cubic foot of propane contains maybe two thousand five btu.

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<v Speaker 1>You can see that if you take a gas appliance

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<v Speaker 1>set up for natural gas and you run it on LPG,

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<v Speaker 1>the apply this is going to run hot. In some appliances,

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<v Speaker 1>that extra heat is a fire hazard. In others, like

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<v Speaker 1>a gas grill, it means that the grill is either

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<v Speaker 1>going to be way too hot or way too cold

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<v Speaker 1>if you use the wrong jets. Do you have any

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<v Speaker 1>ideas or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at podcast at how stuff works dot

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<v Speaker 1>com For more on this and thousands of other topics.

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<v Speaker 1>Go to how stuff works dot com.