Gas...

[Chuck]

No Dot! Not that gas!!!

My Truma gas room heater in the van was not working & - as we thought the pressure was a little low - decided to change the gas regulator at the bottles.

Fairly simple task... remove the old one which turned out to have some gunk in it... & hook up the new one. Then check for leaks. Yep can smell gas, so out with the squirt bottle full of soapy water & found a couple of the connections leaking.

Gas turned off then disconnect the leaking culprits, add a bit of plumbers tape & reconnect.

All good..... but, can still smell gas - but no evidence of leaks via the soapy water.

Considering replacing the flexible hoses from the bottles to the regulator in case one of them might be the culprit ... apart from that I'm out of ideas.

Suggestions?

[BruceS]

Chuck that stink of gas can hang around for some time.
Bit late today but open up everything & give it a good airing out. Might just be retaining the smell. (as does Dot's little place!!)
Times like this make you wonder if one of those 'gas sniffers' is a worthwhile investment.
On a similar note........ I wonder what caused the caravan fire at Pt Pirie this morning? Diesel heater? Gas heater? Stove turned on? Heated argument? mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

[T1 Terry]

Chuck, if you hang the old regulator up so the gas bottle side is facing down, there is a good chance the rubbish will drain back out over time. As far as the gas leak, do you have a LPG alarm in the van? If you think the leak is i the cuboard where the heater lives, put the alarm in there, if it doesn't go off you know the gas has dispersed, turn the gas on at the bottle and see if it goes off then. the lip in the bottom of the cupboard will trap LPG fumes for quite some time. Better to force air in there to disperse it rather than the vacuum cleaner to suck it out, unless you want to see after burner flames from the vacuum cleaner and putting a new vacuum cleaner on the shoping list

[pet-els]

Did you just get the bottle refilled ?
If so it might be slightly overfilled, as the bottle warms up the safety will sometimes purge a little gas out and the smell stays around.
So use some of the gas to reduce the overfill.

PeterH

[Wilbor]

After a good job of blowing out the compartment with a fan, hereafter called a blow job, and all the connections passed the soapy water test & I still had the smell of gas I would suspect the gas lines could be the culprit. Are they braided type or rubber hose? I would also remove all the connections and replace the plumbers tape with gas tape. Gas tape is yellow

[Chuck]

Thanks for the responses.

To clarify things... the smell is definitely coming from the vicinity of the new regulator/braided gas lines & not from the heater inside.

Bottles not recently filled.

No LPG alarm & no vacuum cleaner... but could possibly achieve that same flame with a match & a not so subtle rapid air release from the nether regions.

The tape I used was plumbers/pink tape so shall definitely get some gas/yellow tape & if I can find somewhere to get a couple of new braided lines will do so... maybe the hardware stores?

Just a thought, could there be a problem with tightening the connections - I did them up as tight as I possibly could?

[Wilbor]

Could be over tight but the soapy water test should see if that is where it is coming from. I have had problems with braided lines in the past, they look good but the rubber internal hose was buggered (technical term). This may have been the problem all along with a faulty gas hose causing the low preaure symptom in the heater. Can you put your soapy water in a spray bottle and spray the gas lines liberally, it should bubble somewhere along the line. After that I would also check the braided lines by disconecting them and see if you can blow through them. They should be easy to blow through, if not, replace them would be my suggestion

[BruceS]

Hey! Some clarification needed.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
It is in a caravan?
The gas cylinders are in an external opening compartment?
The braided lines are in that compartment?
All the other lines to 'gadgets' is solid copper pipes?
The smell is inside the van? Or ???
If the smell is inside the gas storage compartment check to ensure the 'o' ring is still on the fitting before you insert it into the cylinder & nip it up. Not too tight...... it is a rubber O-ring. Very old ones never had the o-ring.
Chuck?

[Chuck]

Continuing...

No braided gas lines available in this locality... nearest is Mt Barker.

Obtained some yellow gas tape from the local hardware & the location of the gas mob in Mt Barker if needed.

Correct Bruce, this is on the van... 2 bottles sitting on the draw bar with braided hoses to the top of the regulator where there is the option to select either bottle by switching the lever to that particular side. Copper hose from the base of the regulator to the fittings inside the van where the heater is located at floor level just inside the door & under the oven.

Removed the regulator & cleaned off the plumbers tape then brushed the threads of all connections & also cleaned out the female parts on the regulator before applying the yellow gas tape to the male threads & refitting. Secured the regulator to the top of the vertical bar fitted to the frame holding the gas bottles then re-fitted the braided cables & the copper tube.

Crossed my fingers & turned the gas on... a slight smell initially - then none. Soaked all connections with the soapy water spray bottle & then liberally covered the hoses as well.

No indications of bubbles or leakage.

Financial Coordinator currently on a walk around the area so will wait for her return & she will then do the nose twitching bit followed by a thumbs up or down...

[generdawg]

....there is the option to select either bottle by switching the lever to that particular side.

And there may be the fault as the seal is prone to fail under heat. I know because I cooked mine and had to replace it.
Next time I'm going to bypass the switch valve and use a single hose to the bottle instead.

regulator valve bottle selector.jpg

dawg