Terry Spragg wrote:
bruce wrote:

Hi
I'm looking at $220 for a 9kg alloy lpg gas cylinder or $60 for one of
steel.
How long is a steel one likely to last?

cheers
bruce



How willing are you to meticulously touch up any paint chips? Rust is a
steel tank's biggest enemy.

Presuming that 10 year old steel tanks are not worth refurbishing, as
required by regulation, that means tanks cost about 3 bucks a year. The
fuel cost will likely far outweigh the storage cost if you use much, so
this part of the discussion is really a waste of effort.

You would need to keep your alloy tank for about 70 years to approach
break even, not counting testing and refurbishing every decade, which
would seem to make it unlikely to ever occur.

Alloy tanks that old likely would have been sold with the boat by your
heirs long before you derive any financial benefit from them.

Having such fancy tanks would be bait for thieves, who might think you
simpleminded for using them, and an easy mark. Anything outstanding like
that would be the same bait. Or, they might think you must be a
military bigwig, or astronaut with inside scrounge connections and they
might wonder what other classy booty you have hidden below decks.

Better a shabby looking poor man's boat, for security reasons, with bad
paint, a broken something on display, painted on oily drip marks, dark
tinted windows, hidden alarms, and a nasty dog, might be better
camouflage and protection for your high end interior. Sparking wires
hanging into the water a la Captain Nemo's Nautilus might also scare
away or electrocute potential trespassers and thieves. "Monster"
Simulated sparking wire detractory security systems can be obtained, but
they, and their expense, only make sense in extreme circumstances.

Depending on how you value your time spent touching up paint chips, the
equation could swing toward alloy tanks at possibly 100 dollars an hour
and many chips in the paint. You will have to do that cost benefit
analysis yourself, since alloy tanks have their own maintenance
requirements, dependent on the alloy.

Terry K -Proprietary Stealthy Wealth Security Systems Consultations- ;-)

Aren't these about 30$ Can?

For security aboard, consider a net based joy camera and sound.
motion detection extra.

Dockside satellite? Why not?