Gas leaks at manifold and in gas locker

by mikebro Wed Jun 12, 2013 7:44 pm

We noticed a whiff of gas during the trip we have just returned from. We could smell it both at the 4 valve manifold in the cupboard under the sink, and also in the gas locker. We were touring on some very poor roads and probably the increased vibrastion had loosened things off. Anyway, today I used the soapy water test and found:-

One of the four outlets off the manifold had a loose connection between the manifold and the connector with the rubber O ring inside and was leaking gas.
Gas was leaking from between the cylinder and the regulator.

Whilst the leak at the manifold is maybe "one of those things", what really bothers me is that it was not possible to fix the laeak at the bottle/regulator connection by using a standard bottle spanner as sold by all the usual motorhome stores. I had to use a large adjustable spanner in order to tighten the joint sufficiently. Have others had the same thing?

Rgds

Mikebro.

by -mojo- Wed Jun 12, 2013 11:32 pm

I guess it depends whether you have Calor butane, Calor propane, Camping Gaz or something else, but I'd be checking to see whether your particular setup has a rubber seal ring between regulator and cylinder and, if so, whether it has any defects. I've never come across a cylinder connection that needed extreme force to make it gas tight.

by Flying High Thu Jun 13, 2013 12:23 am

Thanks for the information on the locker leak and the pipes in the cupboard, well worth a check with soapy water.

I run Butane this a Camping Gaz back up in the locker rear section, the Camping Gaz bottle has an adapter to Calor so I just screw on the other bottle if the Calor runs out, Probably not the cheapest option but it works well and cuts down on weight.

Best Regards, Mike ere were's the smileys gone??

by Dutto Thu Jun 13, 2013 12:40 am

mikebro wrote:

....................

Whilst the leak at the manifold is maybe "one of those things", what really bothers me is that it was not possible to fix the laeak at the bottle/regulator connection by using a standard bottle spanner as sold by all the usual motorhome stores. I had to use a large adjustable spanner in order to tighten the joint sufficiently. Have others had the same thing?

.............

Hi there,

Two comments:

1) If you are using Butane then there is a small rubber ring that provides the seal. What causes many leaks is over-tightening this seal which in turn compresses the seal to the point where is splits and leaks. In this case "finger tight and a tweak" should provide a seal and if it does't then it is time to renew the washer.

2) If you are using Propane then in the UK we use a metal to metal seal. The slightest bit of grit between the sealing surfaces will cause a leak and tightening the fitting may result in a gas tight seal but may also damage the sealing faces so that they will refuse to seal in the future. All Propane regulators should be cleaned before they are attached and again a "finger tight and a tweak" should be sufficient to provide a seal. If it doesn't then a slight smear of vaseline will sometimes produce a result.

Hope this helps. allthumbz

Best regards,
drinksallround

by Flying High Thu Jun 13, 2013 1:18 am

Thanks Dutto, all noted.

Best regards Mike courtesy

by ubuntu1 Thu Jun 13, 2013 8:33 am

I think that you should get an expert to check your gas system over. Gas hoses and regulators have a shelf life and should be replaced on a regular basis. I come across people who say "I haven't got any problems" when I start looking at the gas hoses they are starting to break up.

Don't take a chance with gas get it checked. Go to the approved workshop scheme web site and find someone close to you.

by mikebro Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:07 am

Thanks to all for responses. It's a propane system. I will check later today for any issues with the metal/metal seating faces (thanks Dutto) and report back.

Rgds

smile!

(for the other Mike!!)

Mikebro

by mikebro Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:07 pm

Had a look at the propane bottle/regulator joint today. Both faces look fine. Now that I can see it's a metal/metal joint, from my experience (I'm a retired instrumentation engineer) I'm not surprised these sometimes need a bit of persuasion to seal. Particularly since one of the faces is on the bottle and that could be several decades old. I agree that a smear of vaseline on the sealing surfaces is a good idea, but I will keep the large adjustable spanner in the van too.

Thanks everyone

Rgds

Mikebro smile!

by Pete Taylor Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:35 pm

Thanks for the "heads up" on the manifold seals.

Last "Summer"(!!!!!) I bought a Calor propane bottle for the barbecue at home; nipped it up with the spanner and turned on; there was a huge smell of gas. I tried several times to re-seat it but had to take it back to the dealer. He did not seem surprised and said that distorted metal to metal seals were not uncommon; something I had not been previously aware of.
I guess that a bit of a leak out in the garden is not really a problem but in an enclosed vehicle it could be very serious.

Cheers,
Pete.

by ubuntu1 Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:34 am

I favour the new type of hoses that have a hand wheel to tighten them - no spanner needed. They have a rubber seal and seem much more reliable to me.

by mikebro Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:05 am

Ubuntu - not sure how "hoses with handwheel" solve the propane regulator to propane bottle metal/metal seat issue? scratch head

I'm new to motorhoming and would welcome more detail.

Thanks in advance.

Rgds

Mikebro

by Paulmold Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:10 am

I have changed my spanner-required regulator to a thumb-wheel-to-tighten regulator, much easier but strangely when you turn on the gas at the bottle, you always get a small 'hiss' which stops immediately, but other than that no problem (and it came with a 5-year warranty).

by Harper22 Fri Jun 14, 2013 6:53 pm

Paulmold wrote:I have changed my spanner-required regulator to a thumb-wheel-to-tighten regulator, much easier but strangely when you turn on the gas at the bottle, you always get a small 'hiss' which stops immediately, but other than that no problem (and it came with a 5-year warranty).

ooer why am i stuck in the quote box?? anyways back to the question, Did you do this yourself paul? If so how easy/difficult was it to swap over?
I know my gas pipe is probably on its way out by now and I'm sick of faffing with the spanner. I had the hand tighten system on my caravan but now back to the dreaded spanner with the camper.

Cheers :-)

by Paulmold Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:09 pm

Yes, easy job but usually find you have to cut the old pipe off as it's too tight to get off the regulator. I renew the pipe every two years anyway as they tend to perish and start to show signs of splitting.

by Harper22 Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:24 pm

did you have to use the truma regulator (the new fixed one) as I have heard loads of issues with these getting blocked and had to have one replaced on the caravan and that was less than 2 years old

by Paulmold Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:07 pm

Sorry no, I think we are on the wrong track, I simply replaced one of these ..

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with one of these...

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as you can see, the thumb screw one has a rubber seal as opposed to metal to metal seal

by mikebro Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:34 pm

Brilliant Paul!!

That's what I am going to do. The rubber on the regulator connection will cope with more or less any imperfection on the bottle connection! Easy when you know how - eh? - which I didn't - do now - thanks! hugegrins

Rgds

Mikebro

by Harper22 Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:41 am

ahhh thats Brill Paul, I didnt even know they did such a thing, I thought you meant you had swapped it to the metal pigtail; style with the black hand tighten screw on :-) Most def the next job on the to do list allthumbz

Gas leaks at manifold and in gas locker

Gas leaks at manifold and in gas locker

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