PROPANE GAS had a rather inauspicious beginning. In 1910 an automobile owner complained to a chemist that the gallons of gasoline he purchased became only half gallons by the time he arrived at his home. Fortunately and fatefully, he complained to no other than a chemist named Dr. Walter Snelling. The car owner expressed his real concern that he and other consumers were not getting a fair deal. He felt strongly that the government should look into this evaporation, and the reasons why this evaporating gas got away so quickly. This was a very expensive loss of a precious fuel and he wanted to know why it happened, and how it could be prevented.

Well, good old Doctor Snelling accepted the challenge. Doctor Snelling made a discovery that would prove to change the history of energy use. He discovered and identified the evaporating gases as propane, butane and other hydrocarbons.

Doc Snelling actually built a still that could separate the gasoline into both liquid and gaseous parts. He did this using a simple rig of coils from an old hot water heater and other miscellaneous pieces of junk he happened to have lying around his lab.

The cat was out of the bag. There was no stopping propane now!

By 1912 propane gas was being used by American moms everywhere to cook their family's food. In 1913 the first automobile was being run on propane. In 1915 it was already at use and being sold as the best torches money could buy to cut metal. Marketers realizing the enormous potential of propane, started marketing it vigorously for cooking and flame cutting and to everyone by 1920!

Over one million gallons of propane were being sold in the United State annually by 1927. By the end of WW II, sales per year had reached to more than 15 billion gallons!

A Compressed Gas Association (CGA) had been formed in America by the 1930s. The CGA proposed a set of recommendations to the National Fire Protection (NFPA) for their consideration. By 1932 a first edition of the pamphlet of standards, known as pamphlet 58 (outdoor) along with is sister publication pamphlet 54 (indoor) have become the industry bibles containing all of the rules and regulations needed to insure the safe use of propane gas.

Let's get back to the good old doctor. By the time Doctor Snelling decided to sell his propane patent, his asking price was $50,000. This incredible low price was paid by none other than Mr. Frank Phillips, the founder of Phillips Petroleum Company. This $50,000 investment has turned into an $8 billion industry and counting, and this is just in the United Stated! This remarkable fuel we call propane is now being enjoyed by over 60 million Americans, and this number is growing even as you read this. Thanks Doc Snelling for making it all possible!