Propane Leak

Topic: Propane Leak (Read 1837 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #25 – November 26, 2015, 09:19:27 pm

Roger,

Yes, that would be a good test. 30 PSI would certainly show a leak a LOT faster than at less than 1/2 PSI!

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #26 – November 30, 2015, 07:27:48 pm

OK I have started tracing the leak (leaks) with my new leak detector good to 50 ppm and found a T fitting that was leaking that could not be verified with the bubble method. I will be installing shutoff valves on all the supply lines to make it easier to trouble shoot once I get past the tank compartment.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #27 – November 30, 2015, 08:48:26 pm

Good job finding a leak. I hope it is the only one. Probably a flared T fitting. Some tightening may be possible and then a recheck. A manifold after the regulator with valves is common in homes. The fewer number of joints the less chance for leaks. I like the teflon pipe joint goo that you brush on to the threads for threaded joints. I have had better long term results with the pipe goo than with the tape.

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #28 – December 01, 2015, 06:30:21 pm

Added some shutoffs (4) and two T. Have one teeny leak will take care of that tomorrow.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #29 – December 01, 2015, 06:36:06 pm

Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 – November 30, 2015, 08:48:26 pm

I like the teflon pipe joint goo that you brush on to the threads for threaded joints. I have had better long term results with the pipe goo than with the tape.

Me too, as an irrigation contractor for thirty years, pipe dope gets it!

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #30 – December 01, 2015, 07:00:24 pm

And, the "pipe dope" I have used over the years is Rectorseal#5: No. 5(R) Product Datasheet

If others have "favorites", would like to know.

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #31 – December 01, 2015, 07:43:36 pm

Nice work Roland. I've thought about doing the same. I'm guessing about $100 in parts??

I notice no shutoff on the bottom line. Did you figure out what it's used for & why no shutoff?

The top line has a tee with shutoff going to a rubber hose. Since it located past the regulator I'm guessing it's not for a grill or gas firepit??

see ya
ken

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #32 – December 01, 2015, 08:54:28 pm

Quote from: kenhat – December 01, 2015, 07:43:36 pm

Nice work Roland. I've thought about doing the same. I'm guessing about $100 in parts??

I notice no shutoff on the bottom line. Did you figure out what it's used for & why no shutoff?

The top line has a tee with shutoff going to a rubber hose. Since it located past the regulator I'm guessing it's not for a grill or gas firepit??

see ya
ken

Shutoffs were under three dollars each on E-bay...payed more for shipping.

I had about a hundred dollars in fittings.

Bottom line is for the front furnace that I have removed ergo no shutoff there. going to terminate somewhere downstream.

Top line T is for the Blue flame heater.

The line with the Second line from the top with the valve shutoff is the mysterious line.

My total cost for the propane leak detection and repair was just under $500. However I ended up with a quality Ridgid flaring tool, a spring manometer for low pressure and a gas sniffer. I prefer buying tools than paying a plumber or RV serviceman that may or may not fix the problem.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #33 – December 02, 2015, 09:57:44 am

Ken and Roland, regarding the rubber line and being after the regulator, I have a valve for a BBQ extension hose and just took off the reg on the unit and it works fine so does not have 2 which would decrease the volume of gas some.
JohnH

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #34 – December 06, 2015, 07:51:09 pm

Quote from: Roland Begin – December 01, 2015, 06:30:21 pm

Have one teeny leak will take care of that tomorrow.

Roland

Well today was tomorrow. Finally found and resolved the last leak. Was on one of my "new" fittings. Could not have found it without the sniffer. We are now ready to head to Arizona.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #35 – December 10, 2015, 01:15:29 pm

Dang the saga continues. I left a spring manometer connected to propane plumbing. When I began this ordeal I found that the propane pressure was a 8.5 inch water column, should be between 10 and 11 inch water column. So I adjusted the regulator to 10.5 inches. The other day I looked and the pressure was above 15 inch water column. Readjusted and ordered a new regulator, well I actually ordered two just in case. The fun never stops.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #36 – December 10, 2015, 01:27:43 pm

Quote from: Roland Begin – December 10, 2015, 01:15:29 pm

The fun never stops

Look at it this way, Roland: If you ever run low on coach bucks, you know enough now to go into the leak detection business at campgrounds!

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #37 – December 20, 2015, 02:45:55 pm

Part of the problem with working on twenty plus year old coach plumbing is that it is easy to disturb the status quo. You touch one thing and disturb something else. I had a line that was leaking behind the refrigerator. I took that line out and fabricated a new piece. When I put everything back together the tiny leak was now a bigger leak somewhere else. Went back there with my sniffer and found two additional leaks. One by 12V propane solenoid and one a the pressure test port. Pressure test port is obsolete so I either have to fix it or plumb around it and I have to find a replacement for the solenoid. Those leaks are bad enough that I am running the Dometic on electric have the propane to the Dometic shutoff.....in two places. AND the fun continues.Good thing as I didn't have much else to work on....Not. Fun and games out here in the Arizona desert.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #38 – December 20, 2015, 04:50:52 pm

I have to agree with Roland. With a coach this old I have become even more convinced that "If it ain't broke don't fix it and if it is broke you can't hurt it". I have always been a "Be Prepared" boy scout type person. Preventative maintenance has been my motto but with an old coach, similar to a 130 YEAR OLD house I had in the past, I learned to leave well enough alone. Many times when you fix one thing any movement seems to break something else so only fix what you have to.

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #39 – December 20, 2015, 05:59:09 pm

"Preventative maintenance has been my motto but with an old coach, similar to a 130 YEAR OLD house I had in the past, I learned to leave well enough alone." Kent, I'm going to forward this sentence to our son. He, his wife and son just moved into a house built in 1831.

Anticipating problems is generally a good idea, but even better is to anticipate what might break while trying to head off the original problem. If anyone has figured that out, I'm sure that there are lots of us who would like to consult you before we tackle the next project.

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #40 – December 20, 2015, 07:20:15 pm

Spent some time behind the fridge after the Pats beat the Titans. The major leaks that I discovered were on the 12V solenoid and the pressure test point assy. Pipe dope took care of the leaks on the pressure test point assy. The 12V propane shutoff valve was another matter however. I believe this thing has been leaking for awhile off and on. I took it apart and it looked to me as though there was an O-ring missing. Not sure, but I had one that fit and there was no more leaking after I reassembled. And it works!

On a side note I purchased a propane leak detector for a bit over a hundred dollars before I started chasing what I believed was one leak. That tool has paid for itself many times over. The soap trick just did not reveal most of the leaks I found.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #41 – December 20, 2015, 08:10:44 pm

@Roland,

If you are coming to Q this year I'll help you recoup some of you money by renting your sniffer for a day.

see ya
ken

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #42 – December 20, 2015, 08:31:52 pm

Quote from: kenhat – December 20, 2015, 08:10:44 pm

@Roland,

If you are coming to Q this year I'll help you recoup some of you money by renting your sniffer for a day.

see ya
ken

We still plan on getting to Q the week before the show. You're welcome to use the sniffer. Gratis.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #43 – December 20, 2015, 08:36:13 pm

During this process I have permanently installed a spring manometer, it makes it real easy to determine if any propane line is leaking and the shutoffs I installed make it simple to identify which line is leading.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #44 – December 20, 2015, 08:42:19 pm

Roland, I have always considered a good and capable tool an investment in the future and like you have found they pay for themselves quickly. It has been interesting to follow your leak hunt.

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #45 – December 22, 2015, 06:52:41 pm

A little more on that darn shutoff valve. Was going to turn the fridge on propane but thought I'd check that solenoid one more time. Well it still be leaking some. So we still be running the Honda for a while longer for the fridge. As I was poking around back there I noticed that I had a couple charred 12 VDC wires. I attributed that to overcurrent, not so. Had my DW put the fridge on propane while I watched. Nice little fire all around the solenoid. Went off quickly enough but sure gave me a scare. Have no idea why this rig is not in ashes. Naturally the original part is now obsolete. Spoke with a prats guy at PPL and he was going to check with Dometic to see if the part was available but I have not heard back from him. In the meantime I ordered a solenoid from Amazon, will see if that will work if not will return and try something else or call PPL again.

On a side note I had my son get me a "real" regulator to replace the Camco that seemed a bit erratic. Installed that today Seems to be working better. Also had my son get me the same pipe dope he uses, stuff works well. It is "Gasoila" with PTFE you can get it on Amazon. After installing the regulator I redid all the fittings on the manifold using this new to me pipe dope. Once done I slowly turned the propane on until I had 9.5 inch water column pressure. The solenoid for the fridge was the only thing that was isolated. The pressure held with no decrease at all while I put all my tools away and cleaned up. As soon as I turned the shutoff for the fridge on, down went the pressure in the line, not fast but a steady decrease nevertheless. If the regulator from Amazon works (has enough flow for the fridge) I will get the part number to Barry. Understand through all this neither we nor anyone who has been around our coach has ever smelled propane AND I could not detect the leaks with bubble solution. Scary stuff.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #46 – December 22, 2015, 10:11:01 pm

Roland
Glad you are getting things taken care of before a fire!!! Great job.

I too would like to use your sniffer to check my system and since you don't want any rent, maybe we can partake of some Bourbon tasting again at Q. See you and Carmen there.

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #47 – December 23, 2015, 05:16:40 pm

OK, today I removed the propane shutoff solenoid to see if I can stop it from leaking at least temporarily. After taking the thing apart I cleaned out the seat area with Brasso. Wasn't much I could do about the neoprene or rubber seat itself but I did clean it off as well as I could. Put everything back together and did another pressure test. Set the manometer to 9 1/2 inches of water and the pressure held for the required three minutes. AND was still holding after five minutes. I consider the leak fixed BUT I will be replacing that solenoid as soon as I can get my hands on a replacement. You can also rest assured that I will be keeping a close eye on the solenoid also. through this ordeal we have been running the fridge on electricity via our Honda inverter generator as we are boodocking. We have been shutting everything down when we both leave the campsite and when we retire for the night. Will now run on propane but will continue the shutdown practice until I replace the solenoid. Oh and I cant detect a leak with the leak detector.

Roland

Re: Propane Leak

Reply #48 – January 09, 2016, 06:20:05 pm

Received a new marine solenoid and was about to install it when I thought I would try to determine how much current the old solenoid drew as there was quite a large physical size difference. Yeah I know should have done that before I bought the new solenoid. Could not determine the wattage of the old solenoid by the faded markings. The coil measures about 50 ohms, so the relay draws about 250ma.. The new relay is marked 750ma. I don't know if the dinosaur board will will handle the additional current ( 750ma vs 250ma) . As I had the old solenoid in hand decided to take it apart again and spend some time polishing the brass seat with Brasso. When I put everything back together the old solenoid continued to hold pressure for as long as I prolonged the test, about an hour before I gave it my blessing. However I still feel uncomfortable with that old solenoid in line. So will call Dinosaur Monday and ask if the board will handle 750 ma draw. If it does I will swap them out and keep the old as a spare, if not then back to looking for a suitable alternative.

Roland

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