FACTS ABOUT GAS Leave a comment

Facts About LPG You (Probably) Don’t Know

• Liquefied petroleum gas is also simply known as LPG, propane, butane or cooking gas (gas ophikila).
• LPG is a by-product of refined gas and oil production.
• LPG is a fossil fuel, but it is relatively the cleanest in comparison to other fuels e.g charcoal (makala).
• LPG emits about 50% less of carbondioxide (CO2) compared to makala, making it cleaner and safer for your family to use at home.
• Gas fires are very rare, but when they did occur it is usually a result of gas leaks and the gas coming into contact with ignitions such as flames, thus resulting into a gas fire.
• LPG is easy to control with on and off activations. It’s a simple process of turning the gas valve (on the cylinder) and/or gas knob (on the gas cooker) on and off.
• The intensity of gas heat can be easily adjusted as required.
• LPG produces heat immediately thus reducing the duration of time it would normally take to cook a meal in comparison to other alternatives.
• In the same way that gas produces heat immediately it also cools down immediately.
• In comparison to makala and firewood (nkhuni) there’s no hassle with turning on gas for usage and theres also no wastage of energy in turning it off. Gas can be immediately switched off after usage, whereas makala and nkhuni are let to burn out.
• Gas is unaffected by load shedding. When electricity goes off, cooking continues as normal as the gas cooker is uninterrupted by power outages.
• Gas significantly reduces costs on electricity bills or partially running a generator and usage of makala in the long term.
• Gas has two (2) warning signs. These are sound (hissing sound) and smell. If you hear a hissing sound or you can smell gas it means your gas valve is probably open or you have a leak somewhere. It’s best to:

1. Close the gas valve
2. Open all doors and windows
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. TO NOT IGNITE/LIGHT ANYTHING

If after attempting to close the gas valve and either one or both of the warnings are still present, it is best to contact your gas distributor immediately.

• LPG has varied uses. Apart from cooking it can also be used for heating and lighting just to name a few of it’s other uses.