Oil in propane line

[wally-eye]

Anyone ever had oil in a propane line? I was having issues getting my water heater to light on propane and took the gas line off and it had a bunch of oil in it plugging the line. Once I blew the line out the water heater started right up. Very strange but a simple fix once I figured it out.

[JaxDad]

old guy wrote:
are you sure it is oil? it might be liquid propane.

I know it gets cold in Minnesota, but it would have to be a really chilly day for that to happen.

[Camptime]

I keep having this issue of yellowish oil coming from my 30 lb. tank on my trailer, that I have attached an extend- flow type fitting and hose for my Q100. It just plugged up the regulator and was running out of the bottom of the burner tube. Q100 would not even operate on the 1 lb. bottle until I got it home and cleaned it out. Now it cranks the heat like normal on the little bottle.
Is there a way to get that oily junk out of the tanks? It can't be good for the appliances on the trailer either!

[IAMICHABOD]

IAMICHABOD wrote:

jferre9570 wrote:
Here's some more discussion on topic:Propane hose conditioningThis PDF document includes a photo of the oily residue accumulated from plasticizers leached from propane hoses.

That may explain the oil that has been dripping out of the regulator on my Weber 220. After I had been using the Weber extension hose when attached to my 20 lb bottle. After about 10 months the hose became very stiff then failed, leaking propane along its whole length. That was very exciting when trying to light the BBQ.

I have since contacted Weber on the subject and all they would say is that they had never had this problem but it has a 2 year warranty and if I would send them a copy of my receipt they would replace it.

I did that and they sent me a copy of the order and it would be sent by Fed Ex, that was 12 days ago and I am still waiting.........

I still have the old hose and after I get the replacement, If I do, I am going to cut it open and see if it looks like the ones in the article and see if I can see how it failed.

A little update on the hose failure. Weber finally sent me a replacement after I called again. The new one is very plyable and I hope it lasts longer than the last one.

I did cut the old one open and found that the inner hose was hard as a rock and it had failed in many spots. This hose was manufactured by M.B. Sturgis so if you have a Weber Extension Hose made by them I would keep a close eye on it, mine failed in 10 months.

The new hose that they sent me is MFG. by Accuflex of Canada, it seems a lot more flexable than the one that was Mfg by M. B. Sturgis when it was new.

[red31]

I have 12' between the cylinder and Weber Q, normally I turn the valve off and let the Q burn out. Summer or two ago I left the valve open, a few weeks later I fired up the Q, a yellowish oil dripped out of the air intake just downstream of the regulator. I estimate pressure went up to ~200 psi daily in the 110F weather.

Plasticizers Contaminate
Propane Fuel

[IAMICHABOD]

jferre9570 wrote:
Here's some more discussion on topic:Propane hose conditioningThis PDF document includes a photo of the oily residue accumulated from plasticizers leached from propane hoses.

That may explain the oil that has been dripping out of the regulator on my Weber 220. After I had been using the Weber extension hose when attached to my 20 lb bottle. After about 10 months the hose became very stiff then failed, leaking propane along its whole length. That was very exciting when trying to light the BBQ.

I have since contacted Weber on the subject and all they would say is that they had never had this problem but it has a 2 year warranty and if I would send them a copy of my receipt they would replace it.

I did that and they sent me a copy of the order and it would be sent by Fed Ex, that was 12 days ago and I am still waiting.........

I still have the old hose and after I get the replacement, If I do, I am going to cut it open and see if it looks like the ones in the article and see if I can see how it failed.

[RJsfishin]

john&bet wrote:
Situation normal. My propane lines in my home have drip nipples just for that reason. The oil is a by-product of the processing.

I'll buy that story, except it is not in all processing, in fact it is seldom in processing. Or at least I have not seen any sign of oil in any propane line, steel or rubber or plastic in the last 20 yrs.

[john_bet]

Situation normal. My propane lines in my home have drip nipples just for that reason. The oil is a by-product of the processing.

[jferre9570]

Here's some more discussion on topic:Propane hose conditioningThis PDF document includes a photo of the oily residue accumulated from plasticizers leached from propane hoses.

[Harvard]

wally-eye wrote:
Anyone ever had oil in a propane line? I was having issues getting my water heater to light on propane and took the gas line off and it had a bunch of oil in it plugging the line. Once I blew the line out the water heater started right up. Very strange but a simple fix once I figured it out.

Yes, I have had a personal experience with a fellow traveller in a 5th Wheel. We were both south bound and camping next to each other in Mesquite NV in October.

His symptoms were that the furnace would work during the day when the furnace was not needed but would not work at night when he needed the heat.

Long story short, oil had accumulated in a trap in the copper line to the furnace.

[RJsfishin]

I had it happen years ago while running a portable Coleman heater that was designed to run on 1 lb bottles, but I was running it on a genuine propane hose from a 16 gal(?) cylinder, and I was running it continuously. I don't remember it giving any trouble while burning, but when I changed the first bottle, I remember the mess of pitch black oil that came dripping out of the hose, and the heater. I remember cleaning it all out,.....only to have it happen all over again on the next tank. At that time, it was said that the oil comes out of the rubber hose, which I did not believe a word of. It would have been impossible for that much oil to come out of that hose,....never happened ! I believe it was in the propane.
But, I have NEVER had it happen again either. Ironically, I've never used "propane hose" (whatever that mite mean) since then either.

[azpete]

havent seen that problem in many years. its said by some to be grease forced out of the rubber material in the hoses. who knows.
the repair is to detach the lines, as needed for access, force a small wire thru the steel lines and attach some type of wiper on the end of the wire. this will wipe the lines clean. ive done it, and its a real pain. takes several times to get it clean. the rubber lines will also need to be cleaned.
as always, leak test when the pipes are reconnected and pressurized.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Oil residues plugging propane lines has been a topic of discussion for years. Even the big boy propane companies can't agree on exactly where they come from. Here's a link to one discussion on the subject if anyone's interested.

Most of that discussion has to do with other uses than in RV's, but there's one point made that's worth paying attention to.

IMPCO wrote:
During the process of vaporization some heavy ends will collect within the regulator over time. This can be reduced by mounting the regulator with the outlet pointed down

That's evidently one reason the regulators are meant to be installed pointing down, and checking for proper positioning is well worth doing.

[wolfe10]

Since your water heater is supplied via the regulator from the VAPOR port, the only way long hydrocarbon contaminants can get in those lines is if the tank is overfilled. If liquid reaches the regulator, sure, you can get contaminants.

This is also an issue for liquid LP appliances.

[old_guy]

are you sure it is oil? it might be liquid propane.