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05-09-2014, 06:59 PM
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#1
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1 Rivet Member
2002 19' Bambi
asheville
, North Carolina
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 14
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help
My airstream has been sitting for about a year.... I currently live in Asheville moved from colorado. I smelled propane outside my camper about a month ago and checked the tanks one was open so I shut it off. I am assuming it had been open since last May but have been in and out of the camper and didn't smell anything. Today I went into the camper and it REAKED of propane? I don't understand because both of the tanks have been shut off for over a month. Can anyone give me any suggestions as to what to do or what the problem could be. Help please!
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05-09-2014, 07:00 PM
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#2
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Retired.
Currently Looking...
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, At Large
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,276
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Are you sure it is the fragrance from the LP, and not possibly a dead animal?
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Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
Terry
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05-09-2014, 07:02 PM
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#3
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1 Rivet Member
2002 19' Bambi
asheville
, North Carolina
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 14
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humm i am pretty sure. I am very sensitive to the smell of propane. I can still smell a slight smell coming from the tanks outside too.
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05-09-2014, 07:36 PM
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#4
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Retired.
Currently Looking...
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, At Large
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,276
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If you are sure it is LP, you will smell it a lot more when the tanks are almost empty. Has the LP detector sounded an alarm?
__________________
Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
Terry
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05-09-2014, 08:16 PM
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#5
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Rivet Master
1977 Argosy 24
Currently Looking...
Milltown
, Wisconsin
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,087
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If it smells like ammonia your fridge just bit the dust. Is the pilot light not lit on the stove and leaking gas?
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05-10-2014, 06:27 AM
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#6
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1 Rivet Member
2002 19' Bambi
asheville
, North Carolina
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 14
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My fridge went out a couple years ago so I know what ammonia smells like. I haven't checked the tanks to see if they are empty? The smell is so strong i keep going back to a leak. Since the tanks have been shut off there is no pilot light lit and the detector never went off, I am assuming, because there is not power to the camper right now? I am going to try the spray bottles and see if there is a leak. I guess I am just confused because the tanks have been shut off so can they still make the inside of the camper smell so bad?
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05-10-2014, 08:28 AM
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#7
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Rivet Master
2006 25' Safari FB SE
Spokane
, Washington
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,848
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I would remove the tanks, air out the trailer and then check all the fittings. After about 5 years, I noticed a propane smell when I opened up the tank cover on the tongue of our 2006. I had a loose fitting on one of the hoses.
Reinstall the tanks and open the valves then start checking things with the soapy solution. There are many reasons why you could have a leak. Shutting off the valves at the tanks should eliminate everything. I am confused by your situation. You could have bad valves on the tanks but having both of them bad is highly unlikely. You could have a leak in the line somewhere, a bad pilot light in the oven, a bad valve in the fridge, but you removed that, a bad valve in the water heater or some combination of all of these. Please keep us posted when you find the problem.
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05-10-2014, 08:53 AM
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#8
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4 Rivet Member
1987 25' Sovereign
Oregon
, Ohio
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 491
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It is also possible that one or both of the tank valves are leaking through and not out to the atmosphere. During 38 years with the local natural gas company I have replaced hundreds of valves because they were leaking through. In any case find the leak before you turn on any lights or light any gas appliance. Propane is heavier than air and will collect in low spots. You might want to have the tanks pressure tested just to make sure that the tanks themselves are not leaking.
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05-10-2014, 02:46 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master
Currently Looking...
Mantua
, Ohio
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,062
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Maybe you are smelling a dying battery. Are you plugged in? I find a dead battery under charge smells a lot like LPG. Jim
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05-10-2014, 03:16 PM
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#10
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Rivet Master
2006 25' Safari
St. Augustine
, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,670
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I would check the fridge LP fitting then the stove (and burners) and furnace. You said it was closed but perhaps the residual pressure slowly released it into the camper
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WBCCI 8653/AIR 60240
2022 Ford F150 PowerBoost Platinum w/7.2KW
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05-10-2014, 04:15 PM
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#11
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Rivet Master
2004 25' Classic
Prescott
, Arizona
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 623
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi
Maybe you are smelling a dying battery. Are you plugged in? I find a dead battery under charge smells a lot like LPG. Jim
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That is what happened to us on our last trip. We kept getting a wiff of something foul like sewage or a gas leak. Checked the tanks and they where closed, looked all around the trailer for some kind of sewage leak but found none. Then it hit me a sulfur smell like from a battery. Sure enough, opened the battery door and wow, it was cooking! Could not keep my hand on the one side it was so hot. Disconnected the fried battery and all was good, no more smell. Taught me another good lessen, even though the battery monitor showed the batteries being good, take them out every few months to top off the water.
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Julia & Bob
W/ Deedee & Boo
AIR #30685
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