Leaking propane?

[Mike Leary]

Someone here in our campground is leaking, and with the winds, no one can be sure who's coach it is. I had heard of a "sniffer" that will detect leaks, anyone have one, or know where to get one?

[Gene]

Mike, try a HVAC outfit to see if they have one. It may cost to have them come out.

Or, try Lowe's or Home Depot (call first) and somewhere with plumbing and heating supplies.

Or, have everyone turn off their propane at the tanks and see it if stops, then turn each on, one by one and use your nose and then soapy water.

It could be the campground propane station or natural gas lines in the area—they use the same odorant.

Gene

[Mike Leary]

Thanks, Gene. Are you on the road heading for the "green & grey"?

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

Are you on the road heading for the "green & grey"?

I guess you mean the northwest. We leave Friday. We'll be on infamous I-5 in Washington from Vancouver to Tacoma—hope we don't have the crazy time you had.

Gene

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I guess you mean the northwest. We leave Friday. We'll be on infamous I-5 in Washington from Vancouver to Tacoma—hope we don't have the crazy time you had.

Gene

I hope no one has our experience! Are you doing I-84 to Portland? If you're going to do the "loop", why not cut off at Olympia and go up Hood Canal on 101? Best oysters in the world. Happy trails, keep in touch.

[Gene]

Did you find the propane leak yet?

Gene

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Did you find the propane leak yet?

Gene

I'm going for a stroll with a lit cigarette to see what blows up. It is such a on-off smell, that it's impossible to track right now. The office knows about it, but what can they do? We've got 100 coaches here tonight.

[Protagonist]

The mercaptans added to propane and natural gas to provide the sufurous "rotten egg" or "rotten cabbage" smell aren't necessarily the only source of the odor. Stagnant water— especially stagnant black water— can sometimes give off the same miasma.

If the campground sewer hookups or dump station discharge into a vented septic system rather than into a municipal sewer line, you could be smelling the septic tank vent.

[perryg114]

Yeah it could be sewer gas if it is hot out especially. Burnt propane smells as well. That smell does not go away just because it went through a flame. An advantage of having a real float gage on your tanks is you can tell if you are loosing a lot of propane. I found a leak at home that way. Nothing was running but the tank level kept dropping. Soap and water works well for detecting leaks.

Perry