At 10:56 PM 6/9/2010, Karl Wolz wrote:
>WEAR GLOVES.  The primary danger of dealing with propane is FROSTBITE.  This
>is a question on the exam for a hot-air balloon pilot's license.

Dear Karl,

I have to say I question this advice.  I'm reminded of the time my
dad came in from a freezing-cold afternoon sailing dinghies at the
Naval Academy where he was at the time incarcerated.  It was a custom
of the time for sailors of this class of dinghy to wear several
sweatshirts and make sure they got well-saturated to get more weight
"on the rail."  Annapolis has a pretty mild climate but I can vouch
that sitting with your feet in ice water breathing icy spray for a
couple or three hours will get your attention.  Anyway, he was
discommoded and impatient to regain normal body temperature and his
hands were clumsy so he jumped into a hot shower without removing his
sailing rig.  About five minutes later he noticed that he was still
in pain and his hands were still clumsy, but he was now wearing about
ten pounds of slippery slimy boiling-hot sweatshirts, and the message
was beginning to get through.

If you have a pair of loose heavy rubberized propane deliveryman's
gloves it makes good sense to me; but if you're not so equipped  I'd
be inclined to go as nature intended.  Now having said that, I was
introduced at a tender age to chopper's mitts, which are cowhide
mittens with thick woolen mittens inside.  I might give those a shot,
specially since being so loose and all you can whip them off in a
flash.   But as Benny might tell you (Huot, not HInn) "There once was
a lad from Quebec / who was buried in [CO2] snow to his neck. / When
asked "ain't you friz?" / He replied "Yes I is..." / "...but *we*
don't call this cold in *Quebec!*"

>He overfilled the tank so that nothing would work till I vented out a quart
>or so.

I hope you kept on venting until no more liquid issued from the line
-- that gives a 20% headspace.

Yours,
David