At 09:41 PM 11/6/2010  -0600, miguel pacheco wrote:
>Right, but this way you won't be using power when the engine is off
>.......it would be there in case you forget to manually close the
>valve.

Agreee.  Boats are a special case because they're like a teacup, no
place for vapors to go.  That's one reason alcohol stoves have been
popular, because the vapor is lighter than air (as well as dissolving
nicely in water, if the flame happens to get away from you).  I
strongly suspect that if a lightweight method of storing natural gas
comes along it will be rapidly adopted by the yachting community.  In
the mean time, propane sniffers and care have done pretty well
overall.  On smaller boats it can be difficult to find outside
storage for a 20# BBQ tank, though smaller tanks would be
easier.  Since only the big guys can afford to have an LP tanker come
and fill them up or a cylinder truck come and swap cylinders (which
they probably won't unless they're from the same company), BBQ tanks
are the most common system.

And this is assuming that you want the valve shut.  As you may have
surmised, I think the convenience of having the fridge run
continuously without attention is worth the slight increment of
danger.  Ask me if I feel the same after I've been toasted like a
marshmallow...oh, right -- I don't have a Westy any more.  :-(

Yours,
David