New Propane Tank and a Propane Story
We discovered a small propane leak in one of our 40 Lb propane tanks. The propane tanks that came with our rig were Manchester Tanks with an integrated liquid level gauge; really nice tanks. We priced a replacement and the best price we found was at $200, and many places asked up to $400! The leak we discovered was in the tank threads where the valve is installed. There was a bluish sealant material that we could see at the threads. We heard the propane dealers call this the "weld". This helped us decide that it wasn't a repair we wanted to attept ourselves.
We contacted Manchester in Indiana and they did us a solid. Our rig was just a bit over 2 years old, but the manufacture date stamped on the tank was just over 3 years. We learned the limit of warranty on the tank is 3 years, nevertheless Manchester decided they would replace our tank at no charge to us!
Our two 40 Lb tanks pulled out on the slide tray for easy access
Close up on the tank, pressure regulator and auto tank switch valve
Leaky tank removed
Close up. Blue tape points to leak location. Liquid level gauge at right
There is a little more to this story, so if you are still reading I will add that here for your sense of RV adventures. We first noticed a propane smell when we would open the propane bay door, starting about 18 months ago. We didn't smell propane everytime we opened that door, so we were certain that it was a very small amount of propane when we did catch a whiff. For a time I convinced myself that the regulator was venting a bit now and again. While we were in South Dakota last summer and had plenty of time and space, we put some soapy water in a spray bottle and went to work. Immediately we found a very small leak at a hose fitting going into the auto switch valve. There was insufficient teflon tape on that fitting and a very small leak had resulted over time. We turned off all the gas, disconnected the offending line, cleaned up the fitting, replaced an appropriate amount of teflon tape for gas, and reconnected the fitting. After turning the gas back on we repeated the soapy water test. No bubbles. We considered this a closed case, but later determined - not so fast!
When we arrived in Arizona and were preparing to heat again, we again noticed a faint smell of propane in the tank bay. I was determined to find out if there was another leak, or if our first repair had failed. We went back to the soapy spray bottle routine. This time we soaked the entire propane supply system. After hunting around for a bit, we discovered the tinyest of leak at the base of the valve in one of the tanks. We would have never expected that. These are high quality tanks, and the fitting appeared excellent, but sure enough there was a pin head sized bubble emerging from the base of the valve fitting about one bubble per second.
Being a retired engineer, I wanted to know more about the character of the leak. I set about estimating the radius of a leak bubble sphere, then calculating a bubble's volume. I then converted the resulting calculated volume of a leak bubble sphere into cubic feet so I could determine how long it would take to empty a full tank of propane.
A gallon of propane contains about 36 cubic feet of gas, of course the temperature changes that but it's a good estimate for this purpose. Our 40 Lb tanks will hold just over 9 gallons of propane. Because the volume of our leak bubble is so small the error of my estimate turns out to be an order of magnitude. We figured it would take somewhere between 8 to 80 years to empty the tank. Point is, it was a really, really small leak. I doubt you could get a flame/flare if trying to light it. Plus propane being heavier than the air around it, the propane will sink. The propane bay is open at the bottom and empties out at the bottom of the trailer right at the side of the rig. There is no place for the gas to become trapped or accumulate.
Here's the interesting part, although I do understand the political correctness of the answer, it was still ridiculous and did not help us one bit. Once we decided that we wanted a gas professional to perform the repair on the tank, we started calling around. We called one Nationally known propane dealer and explained our situation. That we had this 40 Lb tank, nearly new, with the tinest leak, and that we were looking for someone to reseat the valve for us. I explained that the bubbles were the size of a pin head, the sharp end, and were emerging about one bubble per second. We never did find out if they could or would repair the tank, but were quickly transferred to their safety department and we were advised to immediately get away from the trailer, call 911, and not to go back to the trailer until the leak had been stopped.
Remember we have had some small leak in this propane bay for close to 2 years and all I asked is could they repair the defect I was describing. Now they certainly prevented any liability on their part by telling us to take the most extreme precaution in a super low risk situation, but they did not get our business either. I just think our country has lost most of our common sense and much of our understanding of the physical world around us. Anyway this story had a happy ending, provided by Manchester Tank Co. Thank you Manchester, goodbye National Propane Dealer.
UPDATE of Propane Story
I decided to add a little bit more to this post about our propane industy experience here in Yuma, because we can't make this stuff up. Manchester Tank wanted to verify that we had destroyed the leaky tank prior to them shipping a replacement out. I suppose it was their way of making sure we were not scamming them for a free tank and it also released them from any future liability associated with the offending tank. The way Manchester did this was sent us a one page Authorization to Field Destroy a Tank form. It was very simple. Manchester told us we could take the old tank to any propane dealer and they would dispose of it probably for free since they salvage the metal and get scrap payback. We called the two propane dealers here which were both 10 miles from our camp and two doors down from each other. The first place wanted $10 to dispose of the tank. The second place said no charge. I explained to both places that this was a warranty replacement deal and that we had a one page form that wanted their verification that they received our old tank. No problem, or so we thought.
We loaded up the old tank and rode down to the free place. I carried the empty tank into the store with the form, and identifed myself as having just called and that I had the form that needed their business name, person accepting the tank, phone number and representation that they were either destroying the tank or refurbishing it and were taking future responsibility for wherever the tank went. There were also propane industry identification stampings on the tank that needed to go on the form and I told them I needed help with that. You would think I came in and pointed a loaded gun at the clerk the way she reacted to the empty tank inside the store area. I put the tank outside the door and returned with the form. She was not able to assist with the form. I guess she had not learned her name or phone number yet. Geeze! So we waited patiently for someone else she had supposedly called that knew the phone number there... It was the poor young fella filling tanks out back. When he had a break he came in and had a brief discussion with the girl at the desk, and then she was ready to offer the phone number. We handed her the form. She filled out the phone number and handed it back. We looked at it and said it needs the name and handed it back to her. We literally had to repeat this for every blank field on the form. Then when it was finally complete to our satisfaction she announces that will be $20. Believe me when I tell you that I protested! I told her I could go next door for $10, but now she wanted to put white out all over our form to get her information off of it. I feared that could be a problem with Manchester so we paid the $20 and got our form back. We won't go back to that particular propane dealer unless it is the last place on earth with propane.
Just a word on the competence of that place; they not only ended up with our $20, but a nearly new tank worth every bit of $200. All they would have to do is reseat the valve fitting and it could be resold for a nice profit. I bet they aren't smart enough to do that, although they were smart enough to get our $20, but just once!
