Propane smell

[clan tabby]

I've checked the connections & lines & can't find any telltale bubbling. The tank is real close to empty, tho not enough so to affect the regulator pressure reading. From what I understand, that reading doesn't change anyway til the tank is last-gasp empty. Does anyone ever experience a propane whiff when the tank is really low? The only other thing I can think of is the air pressure. There was quite a bit of change in the air pressure over the last couple of days with the storm that went through. Today it isn't raining, but the air is heavy & dense & very humid; temps in the higher 60s; almost 70. Could that have anything to do with anything? I know there is often a slight smell of propane from the gas that escapes before clicking the sparker, & it can hang around if the air is really still, but I started smelling it after I'd been working for 1/2 hour or so.

I'll go get the other tank filled tomorrow & change them out & see if that helps, but I'm just wondering if there can be any other explanation for a slight smell of propane if there doesn't appear to be a leak.

Thanks for any input.

Nancie

[e. mort]

Originally Posted by clan tabby

I've checked the connections & lines & can't find any telltale bubbling. The tank is real close to empty, tho not enough so to affect the regulator pressure reading. From what I understand, that reading doesn't change anyway til the tank is last-gasp empty. Does anyone ever experience a propane whiff when the tank is really low? The only other thing I can think of is the air pressure. There was quite a bit of change in the air pressure over the last couple of days with the storm that went through. Today it isn't raining, but the air is heavy & dense & very humid; temps in the higher 60s; almost 70. Could that have anything to do with anything? I know there is often a slight smell of propane from the gas that escapes before clicking the sparker, & it can hang around if the air is really still, but I started smelling it after I'd been working for 1/2 hour or so.

I'll go get the other tank filled tomorrow & change them out & see if that helps, but I'm just wondering if there can be any other explanation for a slight smell of propane if there doesn't appear to be a leak.

Thanks for any input.

Nancie

I get the same thing when the tank is low. I use quick disconnects, and i wonder if there just isn't enough pressure to keep them as well sealed when the tank is low. Plus, maybe the additive that they add to propane to make it stinky starts coming up more. I would be interested to find out why this occurs as well.

[clan tabby]

Ah, I have quick disconnects too, & they're just below my table height. I hadn't thought that the stinky additive might get more concentrated at the bottom of the tank. Well, at least I feel less worried about the smell, knowing it happens to someone else. I'll hope it doesn't return tomorrow with a full tank. I guess, in a way, it can be a good thing - a low tank notice, so to speak. Better than just dying in the middle of a bead.

Thanks for your input, Eric.

[maren]

Mercaptan (sp? - the stinky stuff) is heavier than propane and settles at the bottom. Propane itself
doesn't smell. The only time you smell the mercaptan other than when the tank is almost empty is when it has recently been moved. So, you will probably smell something at the beginning as well until the (liquefied) gases have had time to settle (cooking on tanked propane here. Most people do - yes, with the tank outside).

[clan tabby]

Hmmm, mercaptan - another scrabble word!

Well I feel relieved to know that the stink is likely due to the low tank. I had just picked up the tank to test the weight before beginning to torch, so it had been moved a bit as well. Thanks for the info. about a new tank, Maren; I would've really come unglued if the smell was still there after changing tanks if you hadn't told me that. This will be the 1st time I switch tanks, so I'm a bit nervous anyway.

[clan tabby]

New tank & no smell - yay!