Oil in Propane
Hey All, I'm trying to determine how to troubleshoot/correct my propane issue safely. This is on a 1998 Roadtrek 170 Popular on Dodge chassis. I was smelling propane and saw the hose from tank to ...
Forum Discussion
This article gives some insight into the oily residue in Liquid Propane Gas. Emphasis on Liquid.
LPG is a byproduct of oil refining. It is compressed and becomes a liquid therefore trapping impurities (the oily residue) in it. Part of it could very well be additional lubricants added to protect the equipment from wear when the gas is compressed. It is also difficult to analyze and remove the impurities as mentioned in the article.
After compressing into a liquid state LPG is then shipped with a minute amount of the impurities in it to distributors. It is then transfered again as a liquid into the distributors storage tanks, then transfered again either to dot cylinders, if the they do retail sales or again as a liquid into tanks on trucks to again be transfered as a liquid into tanks at homes, businesses and even retail sellers such as Tractor Supply, U-Haul, Southern States, etc.
So the whole time after the manufacturing process it is handled in a liquid state. The oil is suspended within that liquid state.
When your cylinder for your trailer or the tank on your motor home is filled that oil can coat the internal surfaces in the shutoff valve itself. As propane gas flows out of the tank or cylinder, oil captured on the internal valve surfaces can eventually over time build up in the regulators and hoses of your RV through multiple cycles of refilling the tanks and cylinders. This is not blackened oil coming from the hoses breaking down, but as I myself have noticed as having a yellowish consistency, so it is leaching out from the Liquid Propane itself even before the liquid reverts back to a gas.
LPG is a byproduct of oil refining. It is compressed and becomes a liquid therefore trapping impurities (the oily residue) in it. Part of it could very well be additional lubricants added to protect the equipment from wear when the gas is compressed. It is also difficult to analyze and remove the impurities as mentioned in the article.
After compressing into a liquid state LPG is then shipped with a minute amount of the impurities in it to distributors. It is then transfered again as a liquid into the distributors storage tanks, then transfered again either to dot cylinders, if the they do retail sales or again as a liquid into tanks on trucks to again be transfered as a liquid into tanks at homes, businesses and even retail sellers such as Tractor Supply, U-Haul, Southern States, etc.
So the whole time after the manufacturing process it is handled in a liquid state. The oil is suspended within that liquid state.
When your cylinder for your trailer or the tank on your motor home is filled that oil can coat the internal surfaces in the shutoff valve itself. As propane gas flows out of the tank or cylinder, oil captured on the internal valve surfaces can eventually over time build up in the regulators and hoses of your RV through multiple cycles of refilling the tanks and cylinders. This is not blackened oil coming from the hoses breaking down, but as I myself have noticed as having a yellowish consistency, so it is leaching out from the Liquid Propane itself even before the liquid reverts back to a gas.
