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Old 08-04-2021, 12:28 PM   #1
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Propane leak … again

I reported earlier this year that I had a gas leak underneath the camper where the rubber propane line ties up to the copper tubing. It was not coupled properly during construction.

Now, I have a leak at the propane regulator. The sniffer found a leak on one of the tank hoses. There was no tape or sealant on that connection to regulator. Again, not coupled properly during construction.

I recommend everybody check all the connections on all the gas connections to make sure they’re properly connected.

We just finished at 9,112 mile 64 day 14 state trip sleeping on top of that gas leak in our camper. Thanks ETI.
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Old 08-04-2021, 01:16 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ritacasita View Post
I recommend everybody check all the connections on all the gas connections to make sure they’re properly connected.
According to Dustin at Escape owners are also supposed to check every nut/bolt at least once a year. That way their cooktop shouldn't explode. Pretty soon there will be no time for camping. Once you get done checking all the nuts, bolts, rivets, screws and pipe fittings you'll have to start over.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post388198
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Old 08-04-2021, 01:18 PM   #3
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After 9000 miles I would start to leak also...........
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Old 08-04-2021, 01:42 PM   #4
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I think it's called maintenance. My Toyota goes in for service every 8,000 kilometres.
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Old 08-04-2021, 01:49 PM   #5
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Long time trailer towing folks often develop good habits. Not exactly Germaine to this incident but as an example Tire wear and inspection. It doesn’t take long to check the pressure, tread depth, tread condition on 5 tires and wheels. It takes a little longer to check lug nuts for proper torque. Same goes for bearing tightness, brakes, and yes the propane “system”. I’ve related
Several times that while I try to trust everyone who works on my equipment, i have seen deficiencies in my day and I set aside a little time every week to look something over closely. Like a lot of folks in this forum I have more rolling stock than I need or probably should have With that comes a natural “due diligence” to make sure things are ready to go. I had a propane tank filled yesterday. Put it back in the rack. At the same time got out my bubbly soap and dauber and checked the connections, the bolts on the pan, the bungee cord that holds the tank cover from blowing off, and weighed my other two tanks. Had my Ross root feeder watering up a apple tree, Finished the propane check and then moved the feeder to the next tree. Sometimes you have to drive stakes to see me move but I keep at it and end up with plenty of time for camping.
When I catch what could have been a problem, I am thankful it wasn’t, catalog the experience and promise myself that it won’t happen again.So far so good.
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Old 08-04-2021, 02:11 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
After 9000 miles I would start to leak also...........
No, you don’t get it. There was no no sealant or tape on that one hose. It was leaking since the day we got it.
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Old 08-04-2021, 02:14 PM   #7
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A few years back we were having a ton of water leaks on our products. After standing on the production floor with our manufacturing team telling me for the 100th time that the "Customer" is using our equipment improperly I quickly grabbed a piece of scrap out of the scrap bin, quickly pop riveted it in place right in front of our CEO that prevented the problem permanently and saved thousands of dollars per year.

The CEO had a nice conversation with the manufacturing team after I left.

If a gas product designed for the RV Industry can't survive where an RV is used then it could be said that the product was not designed for the RV industry.
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Old 08-04-2021, 02:19 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by ritacasita View Post
No, you don’t get it. There was no no sealant or tape on that one hose. It was leaking since the day we got it.
What type of fitting? Some, such as flare & compression should not be taped.
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Old 08-04-2021, 02:59 PM   #9
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The pigtails connect to the regulator using a fitting with a 1/4" inverted flare on one side and a 1/4" NPT on the regulator side. I know this only because I replaced the factory pigtails with higher quality ones from Marshall Excelsior, when I also replaced the factory regulator. There are regulators that don't use such a fitting and allow the pigtails to connect directly, but both my factory regulator and the replacement used the same connections.

Tape is never used of course on the flare side, but it should always be used on the threaded pipe side. In my case the factory regulator and pigtails did have tape, but it was the incorrect kind. They used the white tape instead of the yellow for gas fittings.

If there was no tape on one of those threaded fittings, it was indeed installed improperly at the factory.Click image for larger version

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Old 08-05-2021, 01:42 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I think it's called maintenance. My Toyota goes in for service every 8,000 kilometres.
If a pipe thread fitting was installed without thread sealant, that's fixing a defect, not maintenance. I don't think anyone finds another thing the Toyota factory did wrong every 8,000 km, and no one even checks all the fluid connections on the Toyota at those service visits.
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Old 08-05-2021, 01:58 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
The pigtails connect to the regulator using a fitting with a 1/4" inverted flare on one side and a 1/4" NPT on the regulator side.
...

Tape is never used of course on the flare side, but it should always be used on the threaded pipe side.
...

If there was no tape on one of those threaded [pipe] fittings, it was indeed installed improperly at the factory.Attachment 57467
This is an important distinction. Pipe thread connection sealant doesn't need to be in the form of tape, and in a factory setting tape is rarely used; however, if there is no sealant at all on a pipe thread connection, someone made a serious error.


Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
There are regulators that don't use such a fitting and allow the pigtails to connect directly, but both my factory regulator and the replacement used the same connections.
I don't think that's really a difference in the regulators. Every one I've seen has an aluminum body with tapered pipe thread ports - it's just that sometimes adapters to inverted flare are used (the adapters may even be factory-installed), and sometimes the hoses have pipe thread end fittings. You can safely use either method with any regulator, but replacing the hoses is certainly easier (and likely more reliable) with the adapters (which are left in the regulator).
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Old 08-05-2021, 09:27 AM   #12
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Mine has the white tape.
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Old 08-05-2021, 03:45 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
In my case the factory regulator and pigtails did have tape, but it was the incorrect kind. They used the white tape instead of the yellow for gas fittings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gimli View Post
Mine has the white tape.
I wouldn't be too worried about that - there are a few valid options for sealant, and the only difference between the white and yellow tapes is thickness, so they could just use more wraps of the white tape. I'm sure there are lot of people who make gas fitting connections professionally would would dismiss any use of tape as amateur nonsense (they use paste dope). I would be more concerned about the tape being used improperly (such as wrapped the wrong direction, or too close to the end of the fitting leaving fragments in the propane line, or too thin, or too many layers...), or the fitting not being engaged properly, rather than which tape is used.

By the way, there is also pink tape, for larger fittings. The tape thickness (indicated by colour) is actually related to the fitting size, not whether it is for water or gas.
Wikipedia: Thread seal tape

But yes, I use the yellow tape for 1/4" and 3/8" NPT propane fittings, although for the smaller ones white with sufficient density would probably be the correct choice.
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Old 08-09-2021, 09:49 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
I wouldn't be too worried about that - there are a few valid options for sealant, and the only difference between the white and yellow tapes is thickness, so they could just use more wraps of the white tape. I'm sure there are lot of people who make gas fitting connections professionally would would dismiss any use of tape as amateur nonsense (they use paste dope). I would be more concerned about the tape being used improperly (such as wrapped the wrong direction, or too close to the end of the fitting leaving fragments in the propane line, or too thin, or too many layers...), or the fitting not being engaged properly, rather than which tape is used.

By the way, there is also pink tape, for larger fittings. The tape thickness (indicated by colour) is actually related to the fitting size, not whether it is for water or gas.
Wikipedia: Thread seal tape

But yes, I use the yellow tape for 1/4" and 3/8" NPT propane fittings, although for the smaller ones white with sufficient density would probably be the correct choice.
Generally speaking the white tape is also not listed for use with natural gas or propane, where most yellow and orange tapes are. In Canadian gas code thread sealant on pipe systems must be of a type rated for natural gas,.
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Old 08-09-2021, 11:10 PM   #15
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Is Escape now running rubber hose inside to the gas stoves?
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Old 08-10-2021, 08:16 AM   #16
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Taped tight!!!

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Originally Posted by Wunfiddy View Post
Generally speaking the white tape is also not listed for use with natural gas or propane, where most yellow and orange tapes are. In Canadian gas code thread sealant on pipe systems must be of a type rated for natural gas,.
Hi: Wunfiddy... Can you use that "Thread sealant tape" on hot air or do you need "Duck tape"? Alf
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