Propane lines

[starleen2]

Steve;

Last time I mentioned using a flame to check for leaks, I got put down. A week Later on 'Modern Marvels' they showed manufacture of quick-recovery gas water heaters. How do you suppose they check for leaks in manufacturing?

Long nosed butane lighter

There is a guy who goes skydiving for the first time.
After he jumps out of the plane, he counts to ten, pulls the ripcord, but nothing happens.
A little worried, he pulls the cord for the auxiliary parachute, but the chute still does not appear.
As he is plummeting down, he sees a RV tech rushing up the other way.
He shouts to the tech "Do you know anything about parachutes?"
"No", the Tech says, "Do you know anything about gas stoves?"

[eamarquardt]

having owned several Travel Trailers over the years they all had the propane lines ran in black pipe along the frame from the tank up through the floor with a short pipe nipple capped off with a shutoff valve then copper tubing to the furnace and stove.

I would NOT run any of the lines inside any type of covering be it pvc or garden hose if for some reason you got a leak the fumes would stay in the covering and possibly if conditions were right go BOOM!

Or you can let it chafe, leak and go boom a different way. It doesn't have to be a sealed high volume tube providing enough volume of gas to to make a significant boom if the air/propane mixture gets just right and you happen to have a source of ignition right next to a propane line. Just provide some additonal chafe protection. A you'd have to slit the tubing or hose it to get it over gas line, the gas would be able to dissapate if there were a leak. I'd rather have a protected flexible line than a long, rigid iron pipe on a trailer that is bouncing on our fine California highways that rival the dirt roads of the Baja 1000! But we can each do it our own ways!

Cheers,

Gus

[eamarquardt]

having owned several Travel Trailers over the years they all had the propane lines ran in black pipe along the frame from the tank up through the floor with a short pipe nipple capped off with a shutoff valve then copper tubing to the furnace and stove.

I would NOT run any of the lines inside any type of covering be it pvc or garden hose if for some reason you got a leak the fumes would stay in the covering and possibly if conditions were right go BOOM!

I'd never use copper tubing with flare fittings in a bouncing vehicle. Seen em fail due to the vibration. As far as enough gas building up in the added protective sheath the amount would be minimal, I'd slit the sheath to get it over the tubing allowing any gas that found its way out of a protected tube a way to escape, and having an ignition source under the trailer near the propane line is a rather remote possibility. Better a protected flexible resiliant line than a long iron pipe subject to fatigue with the vibrations of a moving vehicle (especially at the fittings where the pipe is threaded and the lines of stress are concentrated), rust, and rocks. Our fine California roads can cause enough vibration/jolting to cause a fatigue/fracture in a wet noodle. Cruising sailors are using these lines on boats with no escape route for any gas that has leaked (as the hull of the boat is hopefully air/water tight), they are sometimes a thousand miles from shore with no hope of rescue should there be a failure/exposion, and doing well with them. I'll put my money on the hoses with some additonal chafe protection versus iron pipe.

Cheers,

Gus

[pete42]

Gus not to say there is only one way to do the gas lines.
In my mind installing any gas line inside of another pipe be what it be, is something I would not do.

If say the leak caused by your poor california roads was close to the tank inside the enclosed pipe and the gas leaked into the main cabin where it mixes with air now you have a dangerous condition just waiting for some spark to set it off.

What I'm not saying is the gas inside the pipe would cause a big explosion by it's self,
but a small leak over time could fill the cabin with enought fumes when mixed with air would be a bomb waiting to happen.

Now if you are talking about using chafe protection in the holes that the gas line pass through then I agree with that.

I would venture to say 99.9% of the travel trailers, 5th wheels, motor homes in california use black pipe to carry the propane close to the end usage.

I too never use flare fittings only collet type fittings I also say Boats are a lot different than trailers and I do not remember what my 30 foot sailboat
used for propane lines that went to the water heater and stove/oven.

I hope I haven't strayed to far from the OP's question and I hope he can get his lines ran no-matter what he decides to do.

[eamarquardt]

Not to quibble, bicker, or other wise continue a pendantic depate (I loved it when Moderator Paul considered my "attention to detail" (a behavior instilled in all US Marines and considered essential to the survival of all) pendantic, ha) but I don't like iron pipe or steel tubing. A lot of industry standards are determined by cost, not the best material for the application. I'm not talking about a big hose over the propane line, just spilt wire loom or split hose for additional chafe protection epecially where it goes through a hole or is secured to a fixed point. Gas entrapment would be minimal and IMHO represent no additonal risk. Probably overkill but "cheap insurance". My motto is "overkill in moderation"!

Propane lines, again IMHO, should not be routed into/through a closed compartment except were absolutely required such as for connection to an appliance. There should be a BIG vent in the bottom of said compartment to allow any gas that leaks to escape (propane is heavier than air and will settle down and drift away/disapate) and sources of ignition should be minimized/closely monitored to the extent possible.

I survived ten years using propane on our sloop while crusing the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura/Santa Barbara Counties w/o a single incident. Propane is a great fuel and safe if proper precautions are adhered to. It, as we've both pointed out, can go BOOM just like white gas or any other volitile fuels if handled carelessly.

I don't think we've strayed from the original post much (but for an extreme conservative I'm a bit more liberal in my judgement on this issue) and I think folks are getting exposed to different thoughts on how to accomplish the same task which I believe to be the entire point of the forum.

Cheers,

Gus

[pete42]

We might as well go a little farther off course.
While I was in the Navy I was attached to the ships marines when they went ashore on Maneuvers I went along I was the forward fire control spotter for our ship.
from the Jungles of the Philippines to that always very dangerous Catalina Island they went I went.
Lucky for me the only thing that happened while I was in was the Bay-of-pigs Invasion that went very wrong.
I also served 3 months with the marines doing permanent shore patrol duty way to many nights were spent in the patty wagon.
I also ran the Brig during the Marines Birthday so that they could enjoy a day of Celebration.
On the surface we were rought and tought but really just a bunch of young kids doing our duty.