We could have become a statistic

[NoTrespassing]

Hey All,

Luckily I'm able to send this message today. About two weeks ago we had a smell in the house that we thought was a dead mouse. It was coming from one of the furnace vents in the floor. We even got a second opinion and we all thought "dead mouse". Well, our propane tank was under 5% so I called to get it filled last Monday. The manager explained it was time for a service visit if I was available so I left work and met him at the house. As it turns out, the "dead mouse" smell was actually a propane leak and we were smelling the methyl mercaptan that's added to the gas to create a smell. They say it's stonger smelling towards the bottom of the tank. The leak was from 30 year old black pipe that has been in a damp environment. A very good friend of mine and I replaced all the black pipe in the "crawl space" under our manufactured house with copper over the next few days. That was not a fun job let me tell you. We also replaced all the old brass flex lines to each appliance and furnace. My friend said they were recalled for fatigue failure.

We had the system checked by the propane company and all is well now.

The moral of the story, if you think you have a dead mouse somewhere, make sure it's not a propane leak.

Tragedy Avoided,
Kevin

 

[oldballs]

Kevin..........glad that you and the family are OK. This must be a "head up" for propane users. I'm on natural gas, but it can have leaks too.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Steppenwolfe]

WOW... that wasn't good. Glad you figured that out. What is strange is my wife can smell the propane if it's low, but I can't.

 

[CobyRupert]

Wow.
Glad it worked out.
I’ve seen the remnants of what was left of a house that blew up once. There was nothing. Splinters. Rubble. Maybe some bedsheets in a tree 400’ away.

 

[turnkey4099]

Wow.
Glad it worked out.
I’ve seen the remnants of what was left of a house that blew up once. There was nothing. Splinters. Rubble. Maybe some bedsheets in a tree 400’ away.

Not a gas explosion but my original (several since) neighbor across the street installed an old wood cook stove in the basement. It had a 'water back' that was capped off. It blew with the first fire. Fortunately it was in the basement and all the shrapenel was contained there.

 

[CobyRupert]

This is how the newspaper described the remnants of the former house I saw once:

“The building was destroyed, with pieces of cinder block, insulation, wood and furniture strewn as far away as 100 yards from the site. A small garage on the property was still standing. Four vehicles also were damaged.

Personal effects belonging to the victims were strewn across the road and in a corn field across the street.”

Smell of gas is something to take very seriously.

Three die in house explosion in Salem | Local | poststar.com

 

[teejk]

My LP supplier forgot to fill the tank in my shop building. I'm on "keep fill" so never bothered to check. I walked into the shop one day. Didn't smell like a dead mouse to me! It was far worse (which I guess is a good thing).

 

[goeduck]

They make sensors to detect natural gas and propane. GET ONE. All natural gas and propane users should get one and a carbon monoxide sensor at the same time. Cheap insurance given the consequences. I am only alive today because I had a carbon monoxide sensor go into alarm at night. Serious stuff guys. They should be required by code or by your gas provider but they are not.

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Dete...r&qid=1561909966&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Dete...ropane+sensor&qid=1561910398&s=gateway&sr=8-4

 

[jmc]

Had a propane furnace installed in an unheated farm house and told the installer I could smell gas in the basement. Turns out it was a defective cast steel elbow right out of the box. Years later, I saw a cast elbow used on a TBNer's 2500 PSI hydraulic line....

 

[teejk]

Had a propane furnace installed in an unheated farm house and told the installer I could smell gas in the basement. Turns out it was a defective cast steel elbow right out of the box. Years later, I saw a cast elbow used on a TBNer's 2500 PSI hydraulic line....

Plumber friend says the number of defective cast fittings has increased dramatically in past 10 years or so. A lot of stuff coming from China I guess. Important to do those leak checks.