Staying safe with propane when ice fishing.

With ice fishing still going on strong in the Northland, keeping warm with the cold temps is a must. Leading many to purchase propane heaters.

But with the cold temperatures sometimes that propane freezes. Marine General Owner Russ Francisco says, “Heaters become a real problem. When it gets cold propane that comes in these bottles tends to become liquid and doesn’t burn as well."

He says you can tell right away sometimes due to tanks being a little frosty on the outside. But keeping those tanks thawed is quite simple.

Russ says the smaller tanks you can put right under your coat to keep them thawed. For bigger tanks he suggests you keep them inside. He also says, “You’ll know right away if it’s too cold because it won’t fire up your equipment."

And with recent propane explosions Russ says to be extra careful when it comes to monitoring the propane. He says, "And the people that have trouble are the people who have open up the valve and the propane isn’t being burned and it continues to escape and then it goes on to the floor and then somebody lights a match or turns on a stove or something like that. And that’s when the explosion happens.”

He also explained how propane is different from other gases. Russ says, “It doesn’t escape like gas and people think because it is a gas or turns into a gas that it escapes but it doesn’t."

So when ice fishing make sure you use your heat source safely.