Small Fireball

[nddstl]

Has anyone had this happen to them?

I was driving back from KY to StL last night and about 50 miles from St. Louis I stopped to fill up with diesel. I had been traveling with the propane on to keep the fridge cold but decided to turn it off because I was so close to home. I get back on the road and about 20 minutes later (while traveling through East St. Louis) I see a flash/fireball in my rearview mirror and hear a pop.
Is it possible the fridge kept trying to ignite after the propane supply was cut off and during one of those ignitions caught a small pocket of propane and it caused a fireball?
When I looked around the trailer today I didn't see any black soot or obvious signs of anything being burnt.

Anybody have any insight?

[richard5933]

How did you turn it off?

Did you switch off the fridge? Shut the propane valve? Both?

[GCinSC2]

nddstl,

Just asking about conditions at the time. Propane tank was turned off, both tanks? And the fridge was still powered on?

Care to post a pic of the outside of the fridge compartment so folks can take a peek?

Gary

[nddstl]

Photos attached, I don't see anything out of the ordinary but let me know what you think.

I was using the drivers side tank to fuel the fridge, other tank was already shut off, I stopped at the gas station to fill up and closed the valve on the drivers side tank. I didn't shut off the fridge, just closed the valve and got back on the road. 5-10 minutes later is when I saw a flash and heard a pop.

[GCinSC2]

This is a bit of a SWAG but it's very doable w/o a lot of grief. A propane system pressure test with a leak down and leak UP test.

I'll let Darren show you and the part that might be interesting is the question of when the tank is turned off is it fully off. He demo's that later in this video.

If this fridge was still powered up it's still trying to relight the burner flame.

Gary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1qcH_hNYY

[aftermath]

nddstl, in your OP I believe you figured out what happened. If you want to turn off the gas, make sure you turn off the fridge too. Of course, when the fridge starts searching for something to ignite, it will only do this a few times before shutting down. It will not "click" forever.

[nddstl]

Thank you all for the advice.

Gary that was a very informative video.

This weekend I turned on the system and used soapy water to check all the connections and lines. The only leak I found was on the propane tank I wasn't using to power the fridge, the hose wasn't tightened fully.
I don't feel like I have a smoking gun but Ill keep checking and if I find anything else Ill update this post.

Thanks again for all the ideas and help.