Propane smell

[Stephen]

We recently bought a '93 class c. The guy I bought it from said that the valve on the propane tank leaked, but only when the valve was part way open. If it was closed it didn't leak and if it was open all the way it didn't leak. I had the valve replaced, but thought I could smell gas. I found the valve was not completely closed. I opened it all the way and tested it with soapy water. No bubbles. I soaped everything I could find and no bubbles. Any suggestions?

 

[TMG51]

Do you have a working propane leak detector inside? Replace it if it's old. Also check any other fittings in the line or at appliances using soapy water. If no bubbles, I wouldn't keep worrying.

 

[Gary68]

make sure everything is off,stove,oven,water heater and furnace

 

[[email protected]]

Stephen, Another thing to check is on the gas range check that the oven temperature is completely off most of them have a setting for the pilot light only just before everything is off. It doesn't take a large gas leak to make a lot of smell. Jeff B.

 

[SoulRaven]

Is this constant? I know if the wind is right, we can pick up a smell sometimes when an appliance starts up. Definitely check your lines for leaks and do not light any matches around it until you do it. Also, sometimes I bump into the range top and just barely move the knob and smell propane gas, not enough to even set off the detector and no one else smells it.

This video has a guy finding a leak at the tank in the connections and he says that is most often where you get a failure, in the pigtails that attach to the tanks.

 

[Phantom Blooper]

Check around the regulator crimps....with soapy H2O sometimes the regulator is bad.

 

[Stargazer]

There is such a thing called a pressure test that can be done on the entire propane system, from the bottle to the appliances themselves, including all the lines and fittings in between. I had it done in my fifth wheel by a mobile certified RVtech. Took less than 15 mins.

I had that smell in the compartment where the bottle is installed. Drove me crazy for several months trying to find a leak. That's when I had the pressure test done. Turns out that when someone removed the bottle, filled it, then reinstalled it some propane leaked out into the walls of the compartment. The smell finally dissipated after a few months; the pressure test assured me there was no leak.