It Smells Different!

carringb wrote:
Occasionally a non-standard odorizer is added, and these may smell different when burned. Propane itself does not smell.

LP-Gas Odorization Information wrote:
Know the Odor: In order to detect if presence and prevent an explosion from a buildup of propane gas, odorant (almost always ethyl mercaptan) is added to liquid LP-Gas. Ethyl mercaptan has a distinctive order and has a high odor impact. To familiarize yourself with this type of odor you can request “Scratch and Sniff” leaflets from the National Propane Gas Association, 1600 Eisenhower Lane, Suite 100, Lisle, IL 60532, (708) 515-0600; your local propane supplier or from Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, 10001 Six Pines Drive., The Woodlands, TX 77380 (ATTN: Specialty Chemicals).

Propane is occasionally odorized with something other than ethyl mercaptan and it may smell different. Users should acquaint themselves with the odor of the odorized propane that they are using and should frequently make sniff tests to confirm the presence of odor in their LP-Gas. If there is ever any suspicion as to the adequate presence of the expected odor, the user should immediately evacuate the area, shut off the propane tank supply valve, if possible, and call their LP-Gas dealer, or supplier, from a place of safety. If there is a suspected leak, the user should follow this same procedure and also call the fire department from a place of safety.

Yup that's what we are all taught.

Only thing is "as I found out in my situation which could have been deadly for me'....is I found out the hard way that as RV'ers it would be very difficult to "familiarize" ourselves with the smell that is added in EACH STATE! Unless that is we order a 'scratch and sniff' pad from each state before we hit the road! :B

Gotta tell ya over 50 here and up until that day I thought ALL propane smelled the same which of course I now know it does NOT.:(

And to the post about RV stove knobs hard to turn on?
In my case my next destination was a day away so I choose to put 2 plastic tubs inside the RV instead of in the bays. I stacked them and put them up against the oven. They were not against the knobs but the movement of the RV traveling down the road is what bumped one on. So here tell you they can be moved into the one position easily.

Have you thought about contacting the place in question and ask them what odorant is in their Propane. I personally wouldn't mind a different scent.

j-d wrote:
We accidently turned our Attwood/Wedgewood on by bumping it. The easiest, cheapest fix I've heard of is to get a paint stirring stick from the paint store. Cut notches partway across, corresponding to the knob shafts. Drop in place behind the knobs. Will prevent them from being pressed past their detent so they can't turn.

That sounds like a pretty good idea. :)

We accidently turned our Attwood/Wedgewood on by bumping it. The easiest, cheapest fix I've heard of is to get a paint stirring stick from the paint store. Cut notches partway across, corresponding to the knob shafts. Drop in place behind the knobs. Will prevent them from being pressed past their detent so they can't turn.

Hmm--I don't see how these stove knobs can be bumped so easily to on position.
On mine you have to push in a fairly strong spring to unlock and turn the knob.
Magic Chef brand.

Those stove and oven controls on the front edge of the stove can easily be turned on inadvertently without knowing.

I'm surprised some appliance company hasn't come up with a flip-down safety cover, to help prevent bumping the knobs when walking by, or positioning them into a recessed panel, so they're less likely to be bumped.

I have woke up in the morning after sleeping all night to propane smell in the camper. A friend was sleeping on the dinette bed. I did not smell it in the night because I was up high in the over cab bed. I smelled it once I got out of bed and climbed down to the main part of the camper. The stove was right across from the dinette bed. I and my friend are both very lucky he did not suffocate to death in his sleep!!! :e

Another time, I had a mountain bike inside the camper that I had leaning against the counter cabinets in the center aisle. The bike must have moved some when I moved the truck and bumped the stove knob. I had left the camper and when I came back, I opened the door and immediately smelled propane. Fortunately, I am not a smoker and didn't have a lit cigarette in my mouth when I opened the camper door! I could have blown the whole thing up, and myself too!

I think in my next camper, I will re-route the propane hose going to the stove, so I can install a ball shut-off valve in the stove line only, in a place that is convenient to operate the valve. This way, I can safely leave the propane on, to run the fridge, furnace and water heater, and shut off the propane going to the stove, so I have no worries that the stove/oven is leaking propane into the camper from having bumped the controls without knowing it.

LPG has different formulas in different areas. Butane is only one of the potential gasses that may be present.

Strange that two people are reporting a different smell... hmm.

This just happened to me a couple of days ago. I smelled what I thought was sauerkraut. When the gas alarm went off I shut the tanks off first and found a burner on the stove had been bumped on. It was a different scent than I had ever had before also.

All I can tell you is 'a different smell' almost killed me in the MH.

I have only smelled propane from Wisconsin. 'Assumed' all propane smells the same.

Was overpowered by smell in MH. Smelled like a dirty gray tank.
RV mobile Repair confirmed it was gray tank smell and ordered a service call/repair vent. He stuck his face by the kitchen sink drain and said yup the gray tank.

REAL long story short it was PROPANE! The stove knob had been knocked to the on position and the propane found its way into the sink.

That is why the detector in the rear of the coach never went off it found it's low point into the sink next to the stove.

I had just filled up with propane in Kentucky. I'm here to tell you it did NOT smell like any propane I had ever been around.

Research on line per gov, showed it is allowed that they can put any type of odor smell they want into propane. There are no restrictions that ALL propane smell be the same.

Soooo, just saying be aware of this. I sure wasn't and I just thank GOD that I had all the windows open and it was windy that day I sat in that MH waiting for a gray tank vent the whole time my MH filling up with propane. :R