Propane Question - Should I be Worried?

[zeehag]

kids toy bubble stuff is best tool any one using propane can have. is cheap and easy. put the solution on each of the connections and look for bubbles. when you find em tighten the connection. if tightening doesnot fix itl, replace parts until no more leaking happens. you donot wish yet to wear wings.
before leaving boat shut all tanks and electricity off so no liability issues. donot
forget to unplug shore power as well.
close to out of propane there is a propane odor and flame does not stay lighted. also is more orange than blue.

[Suijin]

I pressure test my system once a week with the gauge, pressurizing the line and then shutting off the valve on the tank, with the solenoid energized. If after an hour the pressure has held, I consider the test successful.

Dockhead, for the Alde tester, do you have to sit there holding down the red button for 1-8 minutes to perform the test, or do you just push it once and observe over time?

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

OK, that's what we use a bubbler for. I think I would prefer the bubbler -- which is what I have been planning to install -- as it will show an extremely tiny leak, and will show it instantly, without waiting for the whole tank pressure to change measurably.

Alde Gas Leak Detectors - Alde UK

A lot more expensive than a gauge, but looks to me like worth it.

Never seen one before. I kinda like it and am going to look into it further. Thanks.

[a64pilot]

So a bubbler is the soapy water test?
You do this at the back of the stove too? How often?
Thing about The Gauge is you run a test every time you go to turn the gas on. If you it’s zero, you have a leak.
If you have a leak, then that is when you break out the soapy water. I used to do leak checks all the time on aircraft O2 systems, an eye dropper works better than a brush cause a brush can sometimes make tiny little bubbles, but an eyedropper you can put pure liquid on the joint that you suspect.
Gauge is just too inexpensive and requires nothing at all to use. The soapy water test requires of course soapy water, and likely there are pipe fittings that are difficult to access so you don’t often check them, or most wont anyway.
By the way, there are believe it or not special fluids just for this, supposedly soap is corrosive and not the best thing to use, or it could be just marketing hype
https://www.swagelok.com/en/product/...-Leak-Detector

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by TreblePlink

OK, so without a pressure gauge (which can be used for leak testing) how do you know when you're close to being out of propane?

A pressure gauge will not tell you you are low on propane and while flame colour can be an indicator, a dirty burner can cause the same effect so not completely reliable
.
Try these temperature sensitive label indicators

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I pressure test my system once a week with the gauge, pressurizing the line and then shutting off the valve on the tank, with the solenoid energized. If after an hour the pressure has held, I consider the test successful.

Dockhead, for the Alde tester, do you have to sit there holding down the red button for 1-8 minutes to perform the test, or do you just push it once and observe over time?

I don't have one, but as I understand, all you have to do is press it while your gas appliances are off. No need to shut off the gas at the bottle or anything. No need to observe over time -- tou instantaneously see if even microscopic amounts of gas are still going through, i.e., leaking somewhere. Takes 10 seconds I guess.

They are strongly recommended by the BSS, which was adopted after my boat was built in 2001. I'm going to add one this winter.

[CascadeThumper]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Good for you

If it were me, I'd probably go straight to the radical option. The regulators, hoses, and fittings aren't expensive, and you get a fresh start. Can be done in an hour or two once you've sourced all the parts. Approximately 2-beer job.

Can't be too careful with that stuff, but you seem to know that. My next boat will have all electric cooking.

Re: Electric cooking. Agreed propane has danger potential but controls are darn good these days. At most beautiful anchorages and State Park docks in the NW, running a generator to cook mama a nice breakfast is considered unneighborly or worse. Mama is happy, but there is ice on the dock and perhaps colorful language. I went from electric to gas because of this. (And electric is slow to heat up.) Used a Dickinson stove and they make a small propane "fireplace" for my winter cruising. But that would be another project.

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Rather than looking for a leak, you might consider a more radical approach, as an alternative: Just take it all out and reinstall it with new hose, grommets, seals, regulator, and fittings. It's not that expensive, and that stuff should be renewed from time to time anyway.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Yes, yes !! Go with radical -- in any case, get the gas tanks/bottles off the boat for the winter and until you've solved the matter.

Thankfully most folks haven't seen what can happen, but I've seen it twice and it isn't pretty... One was a careless installation on an older 50-ish footer, wooden double cabin and it completely separated the cabin from the hull with a sizeable explosio -- the other (this was actually gasoline) was result of a automatic switch arcing on a stored boat with a leaking tank and burned down the boat shed and several dozen trailer boats. If you even think you might have a leak, remove the source...

Thankfully no fatalities, but several burns...

[TreblePlink]

So,

these "bubblers" have metric connections. How would I adapt them to US standard fittings?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CascadeThumper

Re: Electric cooking. Agreed propane has danger potential but controls are darn good these days. At most beautiful anchorages and State Park docks in the NW, running a generator to cook mama a nice breakfast is considered unneighborly or worse. Mama is happy, but there is ice on the dock and perhaps colorful language. I went from electric to gas because of this. (And electric is slow to heat up.) Used a Dickinson stove and they make a small propane "fireplace" for my winter cruising. But that would be another project.

This is a bit of thread drift, but I guess interesting enough.

I agree that starting a generator every time you need to cook would be worse than putting up with the risks and hassle of propane on board -- which is why I haven't changed my propane stove on my present boat.

My next boat, however, will have a large LiFePo battery bank which will have enough power for cooking meals on an induction stove. That's a whole different ballgame.

I actually cook some now with an induction hot plate, and my boat was originally built with a built-in microwave/grill which gets used more than the stove, so I'm already partially electric. The hot plate is fantastic -- uses surprisingly little power. I do run it off my inverter quite a bit, and on shore power it's a no-brainer.

[CascadeThumper]

Originally Posted by dcstrng

Yes, yes !! Go with radical -- in any case, get the gas tanks/bottles off the boat for the winter and until you've solved the matter.

Thankfully most folks haven't seen what can happen, but I've seen it twice and it isn't pretty... One was a careless installation on an older 50-ish footer, wooden double cabin and it completely separated the cabin from the hull with a sizeable explosio -- the other (this was actually gasoline) was result of a automatic switch arcing on a stored boat with a leaking tank and burned down the boat shed and several dozen trailer boats. If you even think you might have a leak, remove the source...

Thankfully no fatalities, but several burns...

I don't know of these particular instances, but a couple happen every year in my area, too. Couldn't they be solved by using good propane sniffer/alarm when onboard and simply shutting off the valve and disconnecting the hose when away? If away for an expended time. Remove the tank from the boat. And a proper install/inspection by a pro (licensed, bonded, insured) might be wise.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by TreblePlink

So,

these "bubblers" have metric connections. How would I adapt them to US standard fittings?

Surely someone makes them for the U.S. market.

[zeehag]

you make mountains of molehills and spend more money on idiotic gonna fail items. bubble stuff and human eyeballs have saved more boats than the gotta reinvent the wheel because i am too lazy to check my stuff each time bottle is changed and as needed between.
in case you donot know the ingredients of bubble stuff, it is soapy water with a bit of glycerine. already mixed comes to 2 or 3 for 1 usdollar. make it yourself and save money. no lag time between application and visibility of leakage.

[CascadeThumper]

Originally Posted by dcstrng

Yes, yes !! Go with radical -- in any case, get the gas tanks/bottles off the boat for the winter and until you've solved the matter.

Thankfully most folks haven't seen what can happen, but I've seen it twice and it isn't pretty... One was a careless installation on an older 50-ish footer, wooden double cabin and it completely separated the cabin from the hull with a sizeable explosio -- the other (this was actually gasoline) was result of a automatic switch arcing on a stored boat with a leaking tank and burned down the boat shed and several dozen trailer boats. If you even think you might have a leak, remove the source...

Thankfully no fatalities, but several burns...

I don't know of these particular instances, but a couple happen every year in my area, too. Couldn't they be solved by using good propane sniffer/alarm when onboard and simply shutting off the valve and disconnecting the hose when away? If away for an expended time. Remove the tank from the boat. And a proper install/inspection by a pro (licensed, bonded, insured) might be wise. Nice to show a proactive attitude should an insurance agent ask.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by zeehag

you make mountains of molehills and spend more money on idiotic gonna fail items. bubble stuff and human eyeballs have saved more boats than the gotta reinvent the wheel because i am too lazy to check my stuff each time bottle is changed and as needed between.
in case you donot know the ingredients of bubble stuff, it is soapy water with a bit of glycerine. already mixed comes to 2 or 3 for 1 usdollar. make it yourself and save money. no lag time between application and visibility of leakage.

You don't understand how the "bubble" leak detector device works. Read about it before you call it "idiotic".

It will detect leaks throughout the whole system, even where you can't visually inspect, like where the hoses runs through a chase.