Propane Tank - What to do

[ultrarunner]

My guess is the reason ultrarunner was using so much gas is because there is a leak somewhere. If there is a small leak in the line, turning each individual appliance off isn't going to help as the line still has pressure in it. I run into this issue with my holiday trailer. If I leave the line pressurized the bottle is soon empty. There is no smell of propane anywhere. If I turn the gas off at the bottle there is still gas next spring.

I.m pretty sure the letter from the dealer was just a scare/money making thing.

The furnace has a very strong standing pilot to combat the Sierra Winds and was set at 40F to prevent freezing... the stove has 5 pilots... each burner plus the oven and then the water heater was kept on pilot all winter... amazing just how much heat a pilot light can heat 30 gallons of water in the dead of winter...

The $800 is based on propane at nearly $3 a gallon when all was said in done.

My grandmother always used a match to light the burners... then the propane company was required to upgrade a valve for snow to all subscribers... the tech came in and said he could not leave on the stove unless it was in proper working order with all pilots lit and performance verified...

The sister in laws are already skittish cooking on gas... they all grew up with electric...

 

[Gary Fowler]

Gary, I'm talking about the liquid withdrawal port...not the relief valve. That's the only port on the tank for liquid. And I say again DON'T mess with this.Your talking about connecting to the fill port which is a vapor port.

Not talking about hooking to vapor port to use for filling a tank. I am saying that you hook up to the Liquid discharge port. You can hook to the vapor port to run your BBQ if you want.

Your propane distributor might supply the parts and hook up the fill hose and valves if you ask them. You might have to lie a bit and say that you are buying a propane tractor and need to refill its tank.

 

[Threepoint]

Ultrarunner, thanks for filling us in on the dealer...and the bears!

For several years my son lived in a back-country area in a make-shift cabin, about a mile from a small Colorado ski town. He had heavy Visqueen covering windows and part of the door. To co-exist with the black bears, he had to leave his door unlatched when he was away, so they could come and go if they wanted to. Otherwise they'd get frustrated and just push through the door. Like people in one respect, I guess. They want what they're told they can't have. :laughing:

 

[Oldoak]

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Your propane distributor might supply the parts and hook up the fill hose and valves if you ask them. You might have to lie a bit and say that you are buying a propane tractor and need to refill its tank.

I rather doubt that and reputable propane dealer would do that due to liability concerns. And I would not recommend "lying" to get what you may want.

 

[jaxs]

And I would not recommend "lying" to get what you may want.

I don't see why he shouldn't,our leaders in DC do it all the time.

 

[Oldoak]

I don't see why he shouldn't,our leaders in DC do it all the time.

You get what you vote for............

Just look at the disgusting behavior of the newly elected politicians. Unfortunately, another example of how low our politicians can stoop and far our country has fallen.

 

[aczlan]

Not talking about hooking to vapor port to use for filling a tank. I am saying that you hook up to the Liquid discharge port. You can hook to the vapor port to run your BBQ if you want.
Your propane distributor might supply the parts and hook up the fill hose and valves if you ask them. You might have to lie a bit and say that you are buying a propane tractor and need to refill its tank.

Generally, a residential tank isn't setup with a liquid port unless you paid for it when you got it. Otherwise it will just have a port with a plug in it that the tank has to be drained to remove.


Aaron Z

 

[Jack Murdock]

Shutting off the tank is OK... it is turning on the tank that it a problem and per the Dealer requires a Mandated inspection of all propane appliances onsite for a fee of course.

The reason I shut the tank off at the tank is to prevent a repeat of the bear incident... the bear actually damaged the piping twice... one time the tank was fill and the line was snapped.

The second time the tank was off and the bear broke the line again... I have seen the bear in the yard... also tore siding off the cabin.

As long as the bears are protected and homeowners are limited too defensive measures such as plate steel enclosures and electric fences... I don't see the problem improving as the population increases.

Can you imagine if I had an electric fence with 400+ gallons of propane vapor?

The letter came after the supplier came by to top off the tank as we have auto fill... tech noted the main valve closed and tank at 81%... it was the main valve being closed that generated the letter.

The propane dealer is required by code ( NFPA 58 ) to perform a leak check after every interruption in service. Even the homeowner shutting the service valve is an interruption in service.

 

[L120]

Here's a drawing showing the tank in an F'd up place for my new fence.

 

[ultrarunner]

The propane dealer is required by code ( NFPA 58 ) to perform a leak check after every interruption in service. Even the homeowner shutting the service valve is an interruption in service.

Help me understand...

I always do my own leak check and have many time had to pressurize (Pump Up) the system after alteration/replacement or new work to satisfy city inspectors...

Part of my daily work responsibilities is medical gas in Hospital environments... leak testing is automatic every time cylinders are exchanged.

When you think about it... a lot of the cabins have small tanks that the owners have filled and even propane forklifts, tractors and BBQ interrupt service.

The local Mom and Pop supplier we bought the tank from back in 1962 never had an issue... now that the company was sold to a large entity... they are difficult to deal with, prices much higher and "Free" services for contract customers no longer exist.

We even had a dispute as the take over company billed us tank rental for the tank we own... lucky I had all the original paperwork from 1962 to prove ownership!

I also work a lot with PGE... if the system is off and PGE is asked to turn on gas service a leak check is done by PGE at no cost...

If the system is on at the time of arrival no leak test required.... field service simply notes it in the service log... in fact the public utility NEVER charges a customer to leak check... as was the policy of the Mom and Pop family owned Propane Dealer for decades.