How do i find a VERY slow propane leak?

[Mouse]

The gas in the system will escape when the valve is closed!?!

Well then, that is what is happening AND it is an expected occurrence.

So this is a nonissue.

Happy Days!

I am off on a shake down trip over the hill to Half Moon Bay! It is cold for us - mid-50s in the day and high-30s at night. I'll test my new heater and be cooking all my meals. As well as biking and hiking along our beautiful coastline! Maybe tea at the Ritz!

[Carol H]

If I had everything turned off inside the trailer and the tank turned off and saw the gauge of the tank move as yours has I would not light a match anywhere near that trailer until I figured out why....

I have the same gas gauge on my 20lb tank and have found it takes a fair bit of usage of propane in order to see any amount of movement on the gauge. Under normal camping conditions using the 3 burner stove, hot water tank, furnace and running the fridge off the propane on a daily bases the amount of movement as seen on your gauge would take place over several days or more. Can actually go for a couple of months without refilling the tank if only camping on week-ends.

IMHO you should at least take the tank off the trailer and weigh it to determine if it is in fact leaked gas or if you just have a faulty gauge. If its actually loosing gas, others have given good suggestions as to checking the state of your regulator & tank shut off valve.

[Bob Miller]

RE: LP Gauges
I believe that those level gauges are only "Pressure" indicators, meaning that when the tank is full there will be less air space and more pressure. That gauge dropping to "0" when the tank is turned off, only indicates a loss of pressure, and not, perhaps, insignificant volume loss. For that matter, that much pressure could be bleeding off inside the gauge itself. Has anyone actually seem these gauges hold pressure for 24 hours after the tank was turned OFF?
There is a regular "Test Gauge" that Winnebago used to install on their refrigerators some years back to check for leaks with the system OFF. Try capping off the line at the gauge and then run your test again.

[Lyndon Laney]

It won't leak when gas is turned on fully against the top packing . If your tank has a gland nut on the valve stem you may try to snug it up some .DONT WORRY ABOUT IT!!the amount of gas you lose when turned off won't even burn.

[mary and bob]

I like Bob Millers' question "Has anyone actually seen these gauges hold pressure for 24 hours after the tank was turned off?" Is it a normal situation that is causing needless concern? I would soap test everything I could get at, and then not worry about it. Remember, propane is heavier than air, so any that leaks will go down. Bob

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Mouse

I have a small tank:
Attachment 44174
20 pounds I believe.

I think that's a 10 pound tank.

I have 2 of the 20 pound tanks on my Fiber Stream.

[Darwin Maring]

Have a gas man attach his check gauge to the system then pressurize the system with all valves off then close the tank valve and have him come back the next day to see if the system leaked.

The gauges on the tank are not good enough to do this. It takes a Very Special, Very Sensitive gauge to do this.

[Darwin Maring]

Do you watch the program Barely Legal? She had a very small leak in her propane system on her boat last week. She no longer has a boat.

[Carol H]

Bob you raise a really **good** point!! You are correct these types of gauges are pressure indicators. Come to think of it mine drops down to nothing when the tank is shut off. When the tank is turned back on the gauge should go back to the same fill position it was in prior to shut off..... if it does then its a good bet he doesn't have a leak. why didnt I think of that prior!!! lol

[Darwin Maring]

Listen to Greybeard.

It's to dangerous to ignore, The lines must be pressure tested for a 24 hour period.

How it is done: A meter is installed and The lines are pressurized then the gas supply is turned off and a meter reading is taken then 24 hours later the meter is read again and if the reading is the same, the lines are OK. The following site will show what the meter looks like. You may have to install an additional valve between the tank and your line in order to get a positive turn off. I strongly suggest you have a gas man do your testing for you. Contact your local Propane Gas dealer.

Gas LPG Propane Manifold Pressure Gauge Manometer HVAC | eBay

[Bryan L.]

I'm sorry, but can someone explain to me why these are designed to leak when closed? That makes absolutely no sense to me. So, I'm supposed to have my trailer sitting in my garage with the valve wide open and hope that my kids never turn the stove knobs to on? I'm totally confused here.

[Carol H]

Bryan they are not designed to leak when the tank valve is closed. But if you leave the tank valve open while you have it parked in your garage and let your kids go in and turn the knobs on the stove then yes you will have propane leaking big time!

[greendragon]

how old is the regulator on the trailer. I changed mine solved my problum

[john warren]

i don;t think you have a problem, but to be sure have it checked by a propane or rv dealer.

[Greybeard]

I also don't think you have a problem.
If the residual pressure is leaking out very slowly after the tank is turned off, it may be due to a leak or maybe not.
Here is a video that may help you determine what's happening.
RV Videos - Mobile RV Repairs, Maintenance and Services
Dosen't go into a lot of detail and implies that a leak, such as you describe, is nothing to be concerned about.
Easy for him to say :-)
Richard

[SilverGhost]

I have a 20lb bottle with that gauge - we always purge the lines of gas when we finish BBQ'ing and the gauge never drops. Only time it reads in the red is when the tank is empty.

If that gauge is after the shut off valve and it drops - where is the gas going? While I understand the reason behind a self purging system, in the wrong situation that could be dangerous.

How old is the trailer? Older hoses or pipes could have been cracked or nicked when the new device was installed. I remember fixing air leaks on old semis that still have copper air lines. When you tighten one leak, a fitting 10 feet away got jarred and started leaking or cracked and had to be replaced. Newer synflex hoses helped but only as much as the quality of the installer.

Sorry to ramble, but I would track down where that gas is going.

Jason

[artspe]

There is no reason for the gas system to lose pressure weather the tank valve is on or off. The only two things that will lower pressure is 1. a leak 2. a temp drop (pressure reading will be lower but not gone). Many times the stove burner valves may leak, the water heater or furnace gas control may have a leak on the knob. If this is the leak, the control must be replaced (expecially in such small trailers. The purpose of the hole in a regulator is to allow the diaphram to move back and forth to regulate pressure, this also should not leas gas and soaping the hole may cause the regulator to malfunction. You can have the system checked with a manometer and it will tell you if you have a leak, but you still will not know where the leak is.

hope this helps,

Art

[Mouse]

Looks like a non issue.

After two nights and three days of camping: cooking cooking all my meals and heating all night with propane I used less than a pound of propane.