RTL Today – Fact check: Dipping a gas bottle into water doesn't stop a leak, experts say

Submerging a leaking gas cylinder in water had “no effect” on the leak, a spokesman for Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina told AFP, contradicting social media posts that claimed it prevented the gas from spreading into the air. Pertamina tests its bottles for leaks by submerging them in water. However, this would neither prevent the gas from dissipating nor reduce the risk of an explosion.

“No need to panic. If the gas cylinder begins to leak, grab it and immerse it in a bucket of water to prevent the gas from spreading into the air.” reads Indonesian-language text in a SnackVideo clip uploaded on September 17, 2024.

The clip, which has been viewed more than 12,000 times, shows an upside-down gas cylinder partially submerged in a bucket as water bubbles and hisses around it.

The video was circulated after a woman was injured when a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder exploded in a house in Jakarta in June 2024 (archived link).

Similar clips were shared on Facebook and TikTok posts, which also claimed that submerging gas tanks in water would prevent leaks.

Comments on the posts suggested that some users believed the claim.

“Thank you for the information,” wrote one, while another called the advice “very useful.”

But liquefied petroleum gas does not dissolve in water and submerging a gas cylinder in water would not reduce the risk of an explosion, experts told AFP.

“No effect”

Heppy Wulansari, a Company Secretary at Pertamina Patra Niaga, the sole distributor of LPG cylinders in Indonesia, told AFP that submerging a cylinder in water had “no effect” on a gas leak.

She said Pertamina dips its LPG cylinders in water to ensure there are no holes or cracks before filling them with gas.

However, a cylinder leaking gas should be moved to an open place and kept away from sources of ignition, she said on September 23.

Pertamina offers the same advice on its official website (archived link).

Joko Winanto, head of the Natural Oil, Gas and Coal Technology Laboratory at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyarkata, added that the liquefied petroleum gas used in gas cylinders cannot dissolve in water.

“Soaking cannot stop the spread of the gas… even if it is soaked in water, it will still spread in the air,” he told AFP on September 26.

“It is very dangerous if there is a fire source near the bucket, an explosion could occur,” he said.

AFP has debunked other misleading claims made in Indonesia about the safety of LPG tanks here and here.