testing a propane tank for leaks

[cmayna]

We rarely use our westy's propane tank, thus I expected it would be pretty full since the last fill up. This past week I decided to use it this weekend to keep the dometic cold during this past weekend camping trip. It fired up and kept the fridge nice and cold.

Suddenly we heard a click, click, click sound while we were resting at our campsite. I looked and the light on the fridge was flashing, telling me the flame in the dometic was no longer lit.

Tried and tried to ignite it....no luck.

Decided to attempt to light the stove....no luck.

So I think we ran out of gas,,,,leaky tank. How does one test their tank for leaks?
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'90 Westy / automatic.
If I'm not working on the camper or my '50 Chebbie truck, I'm either fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.


Craig

[Angus II]

Hello,
Dish soap and water in a squirt bottle. Stray on all connections and valves looking for bubbles.. there's the leak..
Or, some propane service dealers will put the sniffer to it.

[candyman]

You can buy a cheapish sniffer on amazon. I got one and use it regularly. Good tool to have with you when camping IMHO

[bubba]

Lighter! Haha J/k..
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[kamzcab86]

[davideric9]

Is there a way to test an empty tank for leaks. Seems the dish soap method will only show you where the leak is if there's pressure in the tank, is that true? I installed a new fill valve and would like to test the fitting before I fill it with propane. How do I do that?
This is the new hardware...

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1987 Syncro Westfalia, stock (bought 1994)
1986 Syncro Westfalia SVX, 3 knob (bought 2008)
1987 Westfalia (bought 2010)
1988 Wolfsburg GL (bought 2012)

[MsTaboo]

You're gonna have to have some kind of pressure in the tank.
If you can figure out the right fittings you could just use compressed air, otherwise find a propane dealer who's willing to just squirt in a few ounces.
(figure on tipping some $ to keep good will)

I ended up wasting most of a tank of propane when mine developed a leak at the main turn on valve. I was unwilling to have propane leaking every time I used the cooker or the Propex so I dismounted the tank, took it to my local dealer and he used the tank to heat his shop for a week (no way to recover the gas directly) I then picked up the tank, repaired the valve stem seal, he then added just a little bit to check. All good - refilled all the way.
As a side note, the pro advised me to open the valve all the way every time I use, said opening just a turn or two causes more wear to the seal by exposing it to the flow (which I had always done thinking one turn was enough and easier to shut off in a hurry).
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Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[Sodo]

If you fill a propane tank with air, do you have to evacuate it before putting propane in it?
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
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[jimf909]

[Sodo]

[E1]

I’ll add to be extremely gentle on opening and closing the valve and the bleed valve to barely fully open, and barely fully closed. If tightening it “tight,” it’s too tight and hard on the valves whether at full-open or full-closed.

And of course never, *ever* put more than 2.6 gallons of propane in if totally empty. The check valve should stop it around 2.5, but I always tell the filler to watch it and manually stop at 2.5 max. It customarily shuts off at 2.4 to almost 2.6, the variables possibly being altitude and/or temperature.

A young kid in Grand Jct., CO overfilled to 3.3 gallons once, valve didn’t stop it only this one time in about 130 fills, and he freaked out when it immediately started leaking — no noise, just smell and could see vapor waves. It was like Day 2 of his summer job, he was maybe 15 and not trained, tank was 32 years old and not great on that 300,000-mile van, and no way was I gonna blame him and risk his job.

I told him he should have been trained, we’d love a new tank anyway, and I’d not say a thing. Ordered a new tank to be delivered to our propane vendor in Denver, all good a week later.

Moral of Story is to *never* let anyone fill it unattended!!!

Dead serious on this.

We prefer to time fills accordingly, and if close, let it run out, use our backpack stove a day to a few, and use our cast iron anyway by building a rock circle to rest the cookware on.


For reference, all we do with propane is cook, but do two full meals a day like we would at home, probably about 50 per month total — and 2.5 gallons lasts exactly 30 days, +/- 10% tops.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
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