We have a slow leak in the propane tank at the valve where it connects to the tank. I have several question:
1. Once it is totally empty, is there a law requiring tht the tank be tested hydrostatically?
2. Should I have alll connections taken apart, cleaned and re-assembled with pipe dope?
3. I feel that after 10 years and 4 months that the gas regulator should be replaced. correct?
4. How long could it take to empty this 17 pound tank only running the reefer on propane and some occasional cooking?
4. If you have the smaller tank, a year...
George..... I would not wait for it to run out. With something like this it would be best to take it to FOT or MOT and get them to look at it NOW. Even a slow leak could be disastrous. What if the leak increased in volume? From my experience, it could take months to use 17 pounds of propane if you are not using the furnace regularly.
George H
I had a leak on the 88 Grandvilla we owned. Took it to the factory they parked up behind the mfg building and hooked up a line to a pipe that was up in the air 15 to 20 feet and burned of the propane and than replaced the leaking valve. Took most of the day to burn off.
1. No. This is not required by ASME standards. You have ASME tank which falls under ASME rules, not DOT rules. The DOT tanks like you see hooked to a BBQ grill may be used for 12 years, they have to be re-certified every 5 years thereafter .
2. No. Only the connection that is leaking.
3. Most manufacturer recommend 12 years, but some go out as far as 25 years. Check with the manufacturer. They do have moving parts that get weak and do wear out.
4. :'( My thought says to save it somehow. I don't see why it can not be pumped back into a bulk tank and replaced when the repair is completed. I'd go to a propane dealer and see how they would approach this. No sense burning off perfectly good propane if they can pump it out. Propane dealers deal with leaks all the time!
This should be a simple fix for a Propane Distributor .
Here is more info on our propane leak. It is a very, very small leak. We have had the leak for some time now -- not that that means we can go indefinitely without looking at it. We did have MOT check it out. They told us it would/could take 3-4 days to burn off the 17 pounds by hooking up to a "fish cooker".
Rest assured. We are taking steps to get this resolved ASAP, but we do not feel we are in any danger.
George, Is the leak at the packing gland on the valve ? If so you may be able to tighten the gland. If its at the boss where the valve screws into the tank a good cleaning and a dab of J B Weld might be a temp fix. In the meantime, open door each time you stop to vent compartment and don't provide a spark source till clear.
Hi George, I had what I think is the same problem on a 1990 Bluebird M.C. - The 45 gallon L.P. valve was leaking where it screwed into the tank around the threads. I took the coach to a major propane supply facility where they did tank repair and re-valving, (updating & repairing tank valves). They could also hydro-test the tank to the proper PSI to re-certify your tank, if requested. Hydro-testing would require removal of the tank from the motor home. I had a new tank "vapor valve" installed in the existing tank with no other problems occurring. This fix would also work if the packing is leaking around the stem. ;D
We are still trying to use up all of our propane so that we can get the leak fixed. We have been using our Weber Q almost continuously for the past 7 or 8 days and we are now on empty. We have been on empty since around 6:00 p.m. last night and it keeps burning fuel. Gotta be done soon so that we can get the new valve installed. The needle is all the way at the bottom below empty.
So for any of you who get nervous when you see the gauge hovering around 1/4 tank, if all you use it for is the fridge and some occassional cooking, that 1/4 tank will last a L-O-N-G time.
George, As you are finding out a little propane goes a longgggg way. If I remember right propane liquid expands at about 400 to 1 so a gallon or so of liquid in a tank becomes a WHOLE lot of vapor as it expands. Then you mix propane vapor with air to get a flammable mixture and you can see That this is the property that makes propane so useful. I wish diesel would expand the same way, I would cry a lot less as I watched the totals run up at the fuel stop. :D
Gary, dont feel too bad. The link below sends you to a web site that shows the equivalent BTU's per gallon of propane as compared to diesel (#2 Fuel Oil). Diesel is the best value:
Propane:
1 Gal Propane = 91,600 Btu's
Gasoline:
1 Gal Gasoline (mid grade) = 125,000 Btu's
Ethanol:
1 Gal Ethanol = 76,000 Btu's
Fuel Oil:
1 Gal of #2 Fuel Oil = 139,000 Btu's
1 Gal of #4 Fuel Oil = 145,000 Btu's
1 Gal of #6 Fuel Oil = 150,000 Btu's
http://www.cogeneration.net/FuelAndEnergyConversionandEquivalence.htm (http://www.cogeneration.net/FuelAndEnergyConversionandEquivalence.htm)
And #6 oil is so nasty!!!! Yucky, sticky, black stuff, much like liquid asphault . Glad I don't have to mess with it any more!
And, avjet fuel is a form of distillate as is Fuel Oil. But Bunkers (used in the moster diesels on ships) is like goop, just before you get to coke in the cracking process.
Peter. Thanks for the relative energy table, I had wondered about the relative output of these fuels. It is illuminating (pun intended).
Remember vividly refueling underway in the North Atlantic (AKA to LSD) in December,1957. They had to heat the bunker fuel to get it pumped over.
That is ok. I had a full tank of propane and then went to take the coach out and it was empty. So, I had it filled again. Then I saw the leak was in the regulator. Replace that and all is fine. I have had the same tank of propane now for over a year.