new v'er wrote:
Just got back from our first outing of the season. Things are running fine and just about everything is replaced or covered with a monogrammed one thing or another. I'm getting a faint but nagging propane smell. I've checked the connections with a match (just kidding)really I used the soapy water method and all of the connections appear leak free.
I have two suspicions. 1. There are a number of copper line/frame contact points without any hint of padding. 2. The outer surface of the original tank is very pitted.
Do these tanks begin to leak? How long will four burners stay lit after the main valve is shut tight with approximately 12 feet of 3/8 line?
Thanks in advance.
Most propane dealers won't fill a tank if there's any doubt about it. Plus, the tank walls are fairly thick so it's take deep rust to create a leak. The tank valves will sometimes develop a slight leak.
Take the tank to a reputable propane dealer and have them check it. I'm talking about a propane wholesaler or large dealer, not the places with a fill-em-up sideline.
BTW - if you pick up a used tank that has weird, usually blue-ish colored, corrosion around the valve, get rid of it...the corrosion might mean the tank was used by a meth lab to hold anhydous ammonia...which is
very corrosive and has probably weakened the tank...most dealers have been alerted to keep an eye out for the tanks but not all pay as much attention as they should...(Oh, yeah, if it did hold anhydrous ammonia, the police would probably be interested in it...and where you got it.)
The same propane dealers can do a leak test on your propane system. My dealer did a test on my home system when they installed my big tank.
With those propane lines, your burners will keep going several minutes (5? 10?) after you turn off the main valve.
Does your stove (or other appliance) have a standing pilot light? Do you have to use a match to light the stove burners? If yes to both these questions, then you may have a partially plugged pilot light orifice...enough to keep the pilot light from staying lit but not enough to close off the gas.
Do-it-yourself leak test: Close main valve and wait at least six hours. Without opening the main valve, try lighting a stove burner. If the burner lights and initially burns as strong as when the main valve's open, you're probably okay. (I'd still get the system professionally checked at least every other year.) If the burner doesn't light or burns weakly, you've got a leak somewhere.
I know this is long...hope it helps.
