Propane detector

[pittendrigh]

Last week I had a leaky sink faucet. I had to replace it. There was a cracked gasket.

Last night on the road, the propane detector came on three separate times even though the gas was shut off at the tank.

At 2:30 am I clipped the wires. I'll deal with a solution when I arrive at my destination.

I'm not worried about no detectorr when the gas is OFF.

What could cause this?

[Oldtimer]

How old is the detector over 4/5 yrs old needs to be replaced

David

[Donna D.]

Propane detector at end of life. Replace at five years. The detector face plate needs to be vacuumed too. Stinky shoes, hair spray and dog farts will set it off.


So... could be a number of things. I'm betting... end of life since you've got a 2015 trailer.

[pittendrigh]

21 foot Escape two years old. I'm cruising Wyoming now, headed for the Gulf Coast.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by pittendrigh

21 foot Escape two years old. I'm cruising Wyoming now, headed for the Gulf Coast.

Please change the information in your profile. Help us, help you.

[pittendrigh]

ah profile obsolete. Yes I upgraded a 19 to a 21. I'll edit profile tonight. Hitting the road now. Gas off.

[fudge_brownie]

Having an Escape 21 with the batteries under the dinette is problematic. For several years Escape installed the propane detector just outside the battery box. My experience was similar with sporadic alarms. The battery box is vented outside but there is an issue with slope of the vent hose and the fact it is venting out the side of the box, not the top. Messing with the seal on the box was futile.

Check if this applies to you? The alarm only goes off when connected to shore power. The alarm goes off when charging from solar panels. If this is the case you are facing an uphill battle. The solution for me was to install AGM batteries, there is no off gassing. The off gassing occurs while charging; shore power or solar.

If this does not apply, remove the propane detector. In the process thank the installer for providing the extra wire making the process easier. Examine the detector, it will have a date stamp.

Even with a recent date they do fail. Replacement is an easy process. Don't forget to thank the installer one more time.

Edit: I see you have added a different trailer than originally posted. This may not apply.

[DT6]

We had this happen once when I added the blue stuff to the black tank after finishing up a dump station stop. We stopped overnight at a WalMart after the dump station and I recharged the black tank with the blue liquid stuff (I have lots of technical terms!). The fumes from the blue liquid were enough to set off the propane alarm and it took a few hours to figure it out and then clear out the air enough to get it to reset. As Donna said, there are a number of nuisance odors that can set the thing off and you do have to keep it clear/clean.

[Vermilye]

Speaking of propane detectors, mine has developed an interesting quirk. If I run the water in the sink for a long time, it goes off. The first two times I was doing a large load of dishes, and even though the water heater was on electric, I thought that somehow the water heater caused it. The last time I was just running cold water, although I was flushing the water heater so it was cold water going through the hot water tank running into the sink.

The detector is a 3 year old replacement that gets vacuumed every couple of months. No notable smell, nothing running on propane, no farts, dog or human, no sprays, or anything I can think of that would set it off. Anyone have any ideas?

[dfandrews]

Jon,
If you were in our area (Ventura County, CA) I would suggest that the local water supply may be a cause. There are portions of our county on (primarily) well or aquifer water that has lots of sulfides. Sometimes you can smell it, sometimes not. A prime location is CA-150 between Santa Paula and Ojai, where some of the first oil wells in CA were drilled. (Santa Paula is the home of Union Oil, in 1890.)

[pittendrigh]

I ran a 3/4 ton truck on propane for over a decade, back when propane was cheaper than gas. I doubt I'll reconnect the alarm. I'm still thinking about it.

[bonitaraders]

Has anyone changed their propane protectors out? If so, what have u went with and is it less sensitive? The water smell makes sense to me but not sure with mine why it goes off. I do have two dogs and maybe they r farting:!)

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by bonitaraders

Has anyone changed their propane protectors out? If so, what have u went with and is it less sensitive? The water smell makes sense to me but not sure with mine why it goes off. I do have two dogs and maybe they r farting:!)

We just replaced ours, after 6 years, with another identical unit, but in white plastic instead of the yucky brown. It even had the same undulations/imperfections as the original, so they came from the same mold!

[alanmalk]

I'm expecting Amazon to deliver my new "yucky brown" replacement any minute now. The old one was over 6 years old and never beeped - even when I accidentally bumped the stove and turned on a burner to full. My nose detected the propane luckily. Can't say that I have any faith in these gadgets.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

I'm expecting Amazon to deliver my new "yucky brown" replacement any minute now. The old one was over 6 years old and never beeped - even when I accidentally bumped the stove and turned on a burner to full. My nose detected the propane luckily. Can't say that I have any faith in these gadgets.

I just replaced mine Alan - also 6 years old and started beeping one day. Same yucky brown one too. Didn't care for how Escape wired it - butt connectors with no service loop/slack whatsoever. I decided to add a little wire and solder/heat shrink the new one.

[Donna D.]

I kinda like the yucky brown detector. Blends in well with its surrounding. Seriously is any safety detector a focal point? I replaced it last year with the same one. Down low. BIG difference is I used butt connectors. Pull those suckers if it starts YOWLING. And replace at 5 years.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

BIG difference is I used butt connectors. Pull those suckers if it starts YOWLING. And replace at 5 years.

If you can pull them apart you probably mean spade connectors.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

If you can pull them apart you probably mean spade connectors.

Yeah, yeah. You got it! Spades... too much hot buttered rum tonight

[alanmalk]

Our detector replacement will have to wait.

This morning we parked at a near by trailhead prior to a planned hike. About 90 seconds after we pulled in a wind gust vortex of dirt and rocks hit the car and broke the driver's side rear door window. Official wx service reports said 110-115 mph winds were in the area at that time of the morning. A few hours later a major wildfire broke out in the south Boulder area. The trailer is now in the pre-evacuation area and our house is 2 miles just outside that zone. Fingers crossed...

Tomorrow has a major snowstorm scheduled. Lets just say the propane detector has a lower priority right now.

[gbaglo]

Take care. Best you can.