Propane Leak

Post project writeups, ideas, DIY mods and off the shelf modifications and improvements. Also "Known Issues" and their resolutions.
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Blue~Go
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Blue~Go »

Glad that part of the saga is successfully concluded! I have not heard back from the parts place ("24-48 hours"). Hmph. Well, I'll give them a call just to see. I'm still not sure whether or not I need a valve, but at least now we have a part number and know they exist.
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Blue~Go
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Blue~Go »

Well I'm on hold with the parts place. Came to the thread to look up when I first talked to them (February 8, so their definition of "24-48" hours appears to be from some alternative time zone). Manitou, I'm wondering if the reason the propane fill cost more is that once a tank is open to the atmosphere (which it would be during a valve replacement) it needs to be purged. This is more involved than a simple fill (and a typical simple fill place won't often even purge tanks). If it does turn out I need the valve replaced, then I will also need the tank purged (locally there is a "real" propane place and they do purge tanks). I'm sure there will be an extra charge for it.

Back to the valve and my call to the parts place: of course they called the supplier and no-one did anything, so they AGAIN have to call Manchester (just to officially get the info I already gave them from my call to Manchester), and again it will take 24-48 hours to get the info into the supplier's system, at which point they will call the parts place who will contact me. Geez. Anyway, if I ever hear back, I'll post the data. Reason I think it would be handy is that this is a big/national parts place where you can easily order things online. So it would be a handy resource. Good thing my tank isn't leaking while I wait!
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Manitou
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Manitou »

Is that what they open when filling my tank? Some sort of purge valve? Some places do it, some don't. Asked about it once since it seems like a waste of propane, but I forget the gibberish the guy said.
Skillet
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Skillet »

Yup, they had to purge the tank before they would work on it. They forgot to tell me that so I was waiting around the dealer a lot longer than expected. But they have parts and other fun rv stuff so I kept myself busy. Propane there is $3.50gal but they don't sell to the public unless you are having work done. Next door is Tractor Supply selling for $2.50. I could have gone there, but I wanted to make sure the tank was full and not leaking. I will chance it with Tractor Supply one more time when I need propane. If it breaks again there, I'll definitely know who to blame. Outside of those 2 businesses there are only 2 places that sell propane for rv's (that's close to get to) and they want $5 gallon...

Blue: Good luck on them getting back to you. My dealer got the run-around for almost 2 weeks before they responded with a price and putting it in the mail. I really don't know why, you would think it's a simple matter of "yes we have it, here's the price, and where can we send it?"...
'02 Concourse where there's always a project going on...
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Blue~Go
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Blue~Go »

Manitou wrote:Is that what they open when filling my tank? Some sort of purge valve? Some places do it, some don't. Asked about it once since it seems like a waste of propane, but I forget the gibberish the guy said.
When they fill the tank (normally, not after a repair) the tank is not exposed to "raw air." The other little "valve" they open is the fixed liquid level gauge. That's the little square nubbin to the right. When liquid propane comes out the fixed liquid level gauge the tank is 80% full and they should stop filling (only a tiny tiny bit comes out, so it's not like you are throwing away $$). As a (less reliable) backup to this there is the little "float" on the fill valve (which is what may be malfunctioning on my tank). But they should always open the fixed liquid level gauge and use that to decide when to stop filling. If they don't do that, and prefer to let the "float" take care of it, I'd go somewhere else. The proper way is to open the fixed liquid level gauge and use that to determine fullness level. The fixed liquid level gauge is a fixed "pipe" so is more reliable than a float.

So, you don't need to purge each time, or even regularly; but only on a brand new tank, or one that has been opened to the atmosphere (not by routine filling, but due to repair or etc.). Replacing the valve falls under the latter category, so Skillet should have had his tank purged [edited to add: I see he did]. I obviously can't explain it as well as a propane expert, but I don't think it's nonsense. Here is more if you are interested:

http://home.earthlink.net/~derekgore/rv ... /id45.html

Skillet: Isn't it nuts about the propane valve? I mean we have a part number, the manufacturer has the part in stock.... the rest should be easy. I mean, here we sit with MONEY to give them, for Pete's sake.
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Blue~Go
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Blue~Go »

Just thought I would follow up on my propane tank activities.

First of all, no word back (AGAIN) from the large RV parts place that just needed "24-48 hours" for their supplier to get the valve part number into their system, so they could order the valve that Manchester has in stock ready to send out. Hmmph.

But second, apparently my propane tank is fine. Or at least it is fine now, and I'll see how it goes in future. To re-cap, the last couple of times I had it filled, it didn't seem to take as much propane as I thought it should, and the gauge only read just over half after the fill. Hmmm. Incidentally, all THREE places I tried had issues with the Chinook fill valve, because of how it sort of aims "down" somewhat. Their propane fill schnozzles were longer and not bendable, so they'd get stuck due to the angle/ground being close. I did sort of fix this at the third place by putting one layer of Lynx blocks on that side to give a bit more clearance.

So anyway, I then decided that to get to the bottom of it (so to speak), I'd run the propane tank completely dry, THEN go fill. At that point there would be no question about how much propane it should take. I also found a good propane place (other places were either gas stations or a propane place that seemed questionable as they said my tank would need to be re-certified at 20 years (um, no, that is for DOT cylinders and we have ASME tanks. Ours are good for life unless the propane filler has a specific reason to think there is something wrong (visible damage, etc.).

So, ran the tank dry (which of course takes forever when you are trying to!), then went in to the good propane place. The operator was a pro in his late 50's, so that gave me confidence. And, the best thing was that they had a flexible hose with just small fittings on the end that attached to their main hose (the one that has a long solid section and always has trouble fitting on the Chinook tank due to the angle). Went on and off like a dream!

Aaaand..... the tank filled just fine. 14.5 gallons (technically 80% would be 15 gallons, but that is close enough for me). And the gauge is showing full too. We were both watching and as it turns out, the fill valve float did shut the propane off before any came out the fixed liquid level gauge. I'm thinking that perhaps if there was no float, and the FLLG was the only thing involved (it's a fixed pipe not a float), the tank might take the last .5 gallon. But that's only a maybe. The operator did say that around 30% of RV tanks shut off from the fill float prior the the FLLG emitting propane, so it's not super unusual. And who knows, maybe the tank is not 100.00% level, or maybe the FLLG is not that precise anyway...? At any rate, I now have a full tank. And if the fill float does act up (again ... or ever or for the first time), at least we know we can get a new fill valve/float assembly (with some struggle, but we do have the golden part number!).

Oh, and propane was only $1.6x per gallon. Around $24 for that big fill. Color me happy!
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SMan
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by SMan »

On the propane filling issue I am fortunate to have a Cenex facility which is also who I get the propane from for my home. They will also fill my motorhome when they deliver propane to my home but I usually just go to their local store. All their employees have been excellent and really know what they are doing. I have found getting propane at a mini-mart/gas station can sometimes be a real adventure.
Steve aka SMan
2004 Premier V10
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Blue~Go
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Re: Propane Leak

Post by Blue~Go »

SMan wrote: I have found getting propane at a mini-mart/gas station can sometimes be a real adventure.
I'm always a bit leery when the propane filler is basically a convenience store counter clerk, who then runs out to the pump. I guess they have passed some sort of course, as often there are often only one or two employees who can do it, but I'm still not completely comfortable with it.

The funny thing on one of my fill tries is that I figured okay, I'm going to a gas company. Well, it was "XXX Oil" who do propane, heating oil, etc. But still, to me that counted as a real shop. Well geez, first the guy opened the fixed liquid level gauge with a big, grooved wrench (slight no-no), then he got the filler hose stuck on my propane valve and wanted to use aggressive means to get it off (um, no), and then he broke the keeper strap for the fill valve cover (sure, it was brittle, but it broke because he was doing something dumb). And THEN he informed me that pretty soon he'd no longer be able to fill my tank because it would be out of certification (No, that's DOT cylinders that need re-cert after 20 years, not our ASME tanks.) Geez. Might as well go to the corner store!

But the place I went yesterday (which I wasn't aware of the other times) is just a gas place (in the sense of propane, oxygen, etc.). I went in for reconnaissance run some time ago, and they had BINS of replacement parts (not our valve though :roll: ), multiple huge (clean) filler areas, and were filling forklift tanks, oxygen type tanks for medical vans, you name it. Actual pros. Knowing that soft filler hose extension exists is great. Heck, I'd carry one myself but I'm guessing places might not want to use unknown equipment. Sure made it a snap to fill the Chinook tank (although that said, it's pretty much fine if I put one set of Lynx blocks down on the passenger side, and I don't think that's enough of an angle to mess up any floats or anything).
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