Near Disaster Propane Refuel Experience

[adamis]

Getting ready for a business road trip up to Seattle I decided to top off the Propane tanks in Redding. I first stopped at a gas station that could refuel propane but the lady was too busy working the counter and couldn't assist. I ended up at a U-Haul location and of my own accord I proceeded to turn off the battery disconnect so the fridge was off.

The guy proceeded to top off the first tank without issues and then started on the second tank. When the tank was full, he attempted to release the line pressure so he could disconnect the hose however the tank valve was not sealing properly. Initially we didn't know this was the problem as he tried releasing what we thought was just residual pressure in the line not realizing it was the tank emptying.

What then happened was a bit scary as he figured out the problem and attempted to close everything off but the pressure drop must have frozen something in the valve because it refused to seal shut. At one point the system just started blowing off causing a freeze over and I had to yell at the guy to get his gloves on (he had taken them off for a second for some reason) so he didn't freeze his hands as he tried to get the valve shut. I was standing behind him helping to hold the heavy line up (the tanks are high on the camper making it cumbersome with the bulky lines). There was a period of 5 to 7 seconds where Propane was just venting out of the tank uncontrollably and the Darwin alarm in me started to sound that it was time to abandon camper and high tail it away from the rig. Just as I was getting set for my mad dash the guy was able to get bleeding to stop. We were left trying to figure out how to get his hose off of the tank without bleeding the entire tank empty. He played around with the valve a few times and thankfully was able to get it to finally seal properly and the crisis was over.

In spite of having filled the tank I had the guy replace it with a new one as I didn't want to risk the same problem reoccurring again. It was fortunate I turned off the power to the camper because the propane tanks and the fridge are on the same side next to each other and given the amount of propane cloud that escaped I think there is a good chance the flame from the fridge would have ignited the propane vapor that had escaped.

The lesson from my story is to never take something as routine as topping your tanks off for granted.

[covered_wagon]

My tanks are easily removed and are on a slide out tray. I would not want to risk my truck and camper with what they cost over 75,000 bucks sitting there. Not a lot to most you guys but it's worth much more to me since they are paid for even though fully insured.

Filling tanks while in the camper isn't right to me either.

[adamis]

The tanks are standard BBQ propane tanks mounted upright. I would venture to say that while optimal tank placement and accessibility is something we expect out of today's modern campers, there are many of us with older camper designs where such thoughts were not given as much attention. For those of us in this category, we deal with what we have. The tanks on my Bigfoot 2500 10.6 are at eye level as they are placed on the side of the camper and sit just above the truck bed rails. I'm rather short at 5'6" but I still have easy access to service the tanks and change-over regulator without an issue. There isn't a need to have two people to fill the tanks on-board either, I was helping to hold part of the hose to be friendly, not because it was asked. The tanks on-board was not what caused the problem but rather a faulty valve on the tank that didn't seal and prevented the hose from being depressurized for disconnecting. It turned out this was an older valve that also didn't have the auto-stop feature now mandated and technically should have been replaced anyway.

Doing some research it appears that tank removal may stem more from the past when the tanks were weighed to figure out how full they were (apparently still practiced in some parts based off of posts here) and not necessarily because of safety concerns. Considering that there are RVs with permanently mounted tanks and even back in the day propane fueled cars, fueling tanks while on-board can be done safely if proper precautions are taken. That being said, in hind-sight of my own experience I may just have to lean more towards removal of the tank. As someone previously stated, if Murphy Law comes to play again then at least the truck and camper are not at risk.

[Eric_Lisa]

Wait a second here.... Were these the normal horizontal truck camper tanks??? I know mine say specifically to 'pump horizontal and fill vertical'. If these tanks were not removed and they tried to refill them in the horizontal position, I can see how there would be a problem!!!

Yeah, remove the tanks every time. The only time propane tanks should be refilled in place is if they are a permanently mounted RV tanks (think Class-A).

[tmartin000]

I'm sorry, but what numb-nutt fills tanks onboard?

The more obstacles you place in front of a job, (extra height, difficult angles, something that requires two people vs one) the more chances there are to screw something up.

I guess I prefer my Lance that has a pull-out drawer with two 30lb bottles. (of course, mine are 5' off the ground)

[deltabravo]

smkettner wrote:
I thought it was required to remove portable cylinders.

On WC and AF Campers, there's so little room to work, you have to remove the tanks to fill them.

[Fisher_Bill]

We had an overfill and I ended up calling the fire department and they vented the tank until it would stop venting.

From now on I will take my tanks to the propane shop and have them certified and filled by the experts, yes it's a hassle to remove them but if they get old the fittings can start to fail, the tank I mentioned above is now hooked to the grill so when it's empty I expect to have the valve replaced.

Bill

[covered_wagon]

jimh425 wrote:
Sledge hammer to remodel doesn't sound good. 🙂

Just an expression of my frustration with rv manufacturers leaving a guy with the in ability to get the tanks out when required.

[adamis]

Thanks Ranger Tim for your insight. I'll have to see if I can find some narrower tanks to make removal much easier.

[Ranger_Tim]

Find a local place that has folks that are trained. I use our local Cal-Ranch. At less than $2 a gallon it's pretty good price too. They require tanks to be on the ground in a specific location by the meter. Filled by quantity not weight there. Flying J also does a good job, but are more expensive.

The tanks in my WC840 have to come out in a specific order, and must be rotated to tilt out. This does not pose a problem unless you are impatient. I would never fill them in place -- too dangerous for my taste. When I get so old I can't lift a tank I guess I'm going to have to tip the attendant!!

Have you noticed the size of tanks varies slightly? I am keeping my original tanks because they are a hair smaller than the typical Amerigas tanks I use with the grill. I think it is the handle part that is different.

[deltabravo]

I still don't like hanging out when a propane person is refilling my off-board tank(s). I always leave the area.

[jimh406]

Sledge hammer to remodel doesn't sound good. 🙂

[time2roll]

Park away from the filling station, remove tanks, carry them over for filling.
If you can not do it yourself slip the guy a few $$ to do it for you.

I thought it was required to remove portable cylinders.

[covered_wagon]

If I had to use a sledge hammer to remodel that propane tank compartment I'd do it. I would never have them filled up high in place like that.

Put in the right size compartment or your asking for trouble again my friend.

[ScottG]

Even when I get portable cylinders refilled, there isn't one place that goes by the weight of the cylinder. That just isn't reqd with todays modern tank valves.