Other than cooking devices, propane appliances are designed to shut off
all gas flow if there is no flame. RV fridges are included in this,
including our 30 year old Westy fridge designs. These have a "safety
valve". That is the button you push in and hold while lighting as this
over-rides the safety shutoff. After the flame is lit for a short time
the safety valve sees it and you can let go of the button. If the flame
later goes out the safety vale will see that and shut off all flow.

In the hold of a ship any propane leak is a serious matter. On a craft
that carries passengers some rules are implemented to guard human life,
even against remote dangers. The greater danger is from cooking devices,
causing fires during illicit use or turning on when ship movements cause
something to shift inside the unattended RV. The safest course is to
require all tanks to be turned off at the main valve before boarding.

Mark

Roger Whittaker wrote:
> dear fire in fridge
> i asked that question a long time ago and was told that the driving can blow
> out the flame and cause the gas to run on unabated ...
> when one wants to board the ferry here and there are several here ..to get
> to powell river bc...
> they make a big deal out of having propane shut off at source ...
> again in case pilot light is extinguished ...
> so i have never questioned this line of thinking cause i have never heard
> any other ...
> even though i have asked others ...no other ideas have been put forward
> yours
>
> On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 5:52 PM, Loren Busch<starwagen@gmail.com>  wrote:
>
>>   RE: Burned out RV
>> Okay, but someone is going to have to explain to me how leaving the 'fridge
>> on propane while driving is going to cause a fire.
>>
>
>
>