Should I smell propane outside?
We are planning to take out our motor home this weekend so we had the propane filled. We took it to a place that has filled it before but this time the guy had a hard time getting the connector on. He...
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Be very careful. I would disconnect the tank if it's currently connected to your rig. Place the tank in the closest open area around your location. It would be good if that area is secure and you can monitor who passes by, hopefully no one.
Here's the deal: there is an overfill release valve on every tank, even the old ones. If the emergency pressure relief valve fully opens, there may be a big, sudden release of both gaseous and liquid propane. Call whoever filled the tank and have them deal with it.
I had a 20lb cylinder that was overfilled inside my work van. When the relief valve released, I couldn't see my hands on the wheel. Luckily, I was able to turn the key off and glide to a stop onto the shoulder of the road while holding my breath and looking out of the open driver's side window.
Not to get too worried, though. If the tank is in an open area where the propane can't accumulate, all will be good. As someone mentioned, wear gloves. FWIW, I have a Federal License to handle LPG and in my seafaring days we used to cool our beer by placing it under a 3/4" pipe fitting and releasing enough propane to form an iceberg over the beer cases. In 5 minutes the beer was cold and the propane ice was gone.
Edit: reread your initial post and see you have a MH so the tanks are fixed, right? Here's what I would do: call the outfit that filled it, tell them to roll a guy to your location with the necessary connections and tank to bleed yours off.
If you have any spark producing devices, make sure they are off. This means, if you're connected to shore power, turn the power off at your pedesatal or inside the load center at your house. DO NOT attempt to remove the cord from your coach. If you have a battery disconnect switch, turn it off to all banks. Wait for the cavalry and stand back from the coach. If you can open a door or window to the coach without creating a spark, you might try. It might be better to just keep away.
If the outfit that refilled your tank won't come to the rescue, call the Fire Dept..
Here's the deal: there is an overfill release valve on every tank, even the old ones. If the emergency pressure relief valve fully opens, there may be a big, sudden release of both gaseous and liquid propane. Call whoever filled the tank and have them deal with it.
I had a 20lb cylinder that was overfilled inside my work van. When the relief valve released, I couldn't see my hands on the wheel. Luckily, I was able to turn the key off and glide to a stop onto the shoulder of the road while holding my breath and looking out of the open driver's side window.
Not to get too worried, though. If the tank is in an open area where the propane can't accumulate, all will be good. As someone mentioned, wear gloves. FWIW, I have a Federal License to handle LPG and in my seafaring days we used to cool our beer by placing it under a 3/4" pipe fitting and releasing enough propane to form an iceberg over the beer cases. In 5 minutes the beer was cold and the propane ice was gone.
Edit: reread your initial post and see you have a MH so the tanks are fixed, right? Here's what I would do: call the outfit that filled it, tell them to roll a guy to your location with the necessary connections and tank to bleed yours off.
If you have any spark producing devices, make sure they are off. This means, if you're connected to shore power, turn the power off at your pedesatal or inside the load center at your house. DO NOT attempt to remove the cord from your coach. If you have a battery disconnect switch, turn it off to all banks. Wait for the cavalry and stand back from the coach. If you can open a door or window to the coach without creating a spark, you might try. It might be better to just keep away.
If the outfit that refilled your tank won't come to the rescue, call the Fire Dept..
