Outdoor kitchen ventilation question

[frenmor]

Dear Forum readers
i am constructing my outdoor kitchen out of bricks and cement and it has come to my attention I need to ventilate the island. I am using a fire magic aurora a430i grill with a propane tank.

my question is how many vents do I need? The island is probably 5 feet wide and so a couple of sources online suggest a vent every 4-6 feet ie 1 vent. However the instructions supplied by fire magic suggest 4 vents (2 on each end). 4 seems like a lot and that many vents will look unsightly. Then again you can’t mess around with gas safety.

How many vents do you guys have on your island? Realistically if I put in 2 is that going to be safe enough? Is the 4 purely suggested by fire magics lawyers?

thanks help
morgan

 

[shanebo]

I have an L-shaped outdoor kitchen, 12.5' x 5', and I have 7 vents -- one each on the back of the grill, back of the side burner, and back of fridge, and four on my propane compartment (top and bottom on each side), which is separated from the grill/burner by a plenum wall. Probably overkill, but better safe than sorry ...

Rule of thumb is one vent every 4-6 linear feet. BUT a propane compartment needs at least 2 vents minimum -- one at the bottom (because propane is heavier than air and will sink to the ground) and one around the height of your valve. Ideally these will be on opposite sides to allow for cross-ventilation. Alternatively, you could use vented cabinet doors and add a cross vent on the back. So for your setup, you might be able to get away with a single vent on each side -- one at the top and the other at the bottom -- but I would also add a third vent to the back or used vented cabinet doors just to be absolutely safe. Propane explosions are no joke.

 

[frenmor]

That is what the instructions say. If propane sinks why do you need a vent at valve level? Surely any gas that comes out of a leaking valve will sink to ground then out. There’s a gap around the bbq control panel and the cabinet door isn’t air tight so there will be cross ventilation. What if I use two vents of 10,000mm2 instead of 4 of 5,000mm2?

 

[shanebo]

I think it's just to ensure cross-ventilation. I know the reason they suggest top and bottom vents on each side is so if the wind is coming from the bottom vent side, the propane won't get trapped on the bottom of the high vent side. And low vents alone can be easily blocked by flowerpots, shrubs, or furniture.

My vents are about 4" x 18", so they're pretty large -- stainless steel, not at all unsightly. I'm no expert, and so I don't really know what is/isn't sufficient for your purposes, but I would err on the side of caution. If you really want to go with just two vents, might make sense to dry-fit everything, throw in a propane tank for a day or two, then open the door and see if you smell propane. If you do, it might make sense to add another vent or two.