Check For Leaks!

Fuel Sources & Storage. Matches, lighters, safety ... you'll find it here.
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Readymom
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Check For Leaks!

Post by Readymom »

From Pandemic Flu Information:

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Hat Tip to 'Strider'
:arrow: http://www.singtomeohmuse.com/viewtopic ... start=3735
Any time that you switch tanks, make sure to check for gas leaks. You don't want to be one of those things that goes "boom" in the night. It scares the BeeGee's (or is it GeeBee's?) out of the other campers.

Checking is VERY simple and quick. Get a squirt gun (kinda hard in the winter) and add water with some dish soap in it or, if you are fancy, use the stuff for blowing bubbles. Spray the fittings well. If it bubbles, you have a leak. DON'T hang a wrench on the fitting and twist with all your might, first make sure that you haven't cross-treaded the fitting (the male and female threads aren't aligned.) If they are ok, crank it down a little more. If they ARE cross-treaded and the threads of the screws are damaged, you will need to go to a trailer repair and have them put on new brass fittings. DON'T use steel fittings, this is one area where you don't want sparks! Then test it again. No bubbles, no gas leak. Once a year, especially if you have been hauling the trailer around on bumpy roads, spray and test ALL of the fittings, any bends in the tubing, and where the tubing goes through grommets (little black rubber fittings that protect against wear) into the cabin from under the trailer.

Don't freak if you see one or two TINY bubbles when you spray it on, as long as they are stationary and not "bubbling" the air bubbles were probably from air trapped when you first sprayed it. Wipe it down, and spray gently again on the same spot. If you STILL have bubbles, tighten the fittings a wee bit.

The fittings for propane and other flammable gases are made from brass, which is not nearly as strong as a steel fitting. Don't over-tighten with all your force unless you LIKE going back for new brass fittings. And always use a wrench that exactly fits the fitting, brass "rounds off" the lands (flat area) of the fittings very easily if over-tightened.

Strider
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