Waxy contaminant in propane line

[Scoutman]

Sounds like the biggest variable to eliminate at this point is a flashlight shot looking inside that tank with the valve taken out

That's my plan. I haven't dug back into this lately as it hasn't been a huge priority but I would still like to have that confirmation of what this was. The last few outings I've ran the stove I've just used 1# cylinders and one will keep us going for lots of cooking all weekend long. I was planning to take the tank to the propane place to check out. Covid has changed how the local propane place handle refills, tank recertification, and exchanges. Long story short I'm not sure I have a local place that will do this anymore, at least until covid is no longer a 'thing'. The typical refill station (u-haul, tractor supply, etc.) won't do any other services than refill.

Just change hoses or cob up a filter setup like Mr. Buddy does.

I did change hoses around post #47. I looked into a filter but have not concluded that one was needed.

 

[Mdmeltdown]

Yea, you need a propane service place. I've got several around me. They do what's called a "re-certification." I bought one of those 10lb small tall cylinders in like 1999. I didn't use it for years and when I did, no one would fill it. It had one of the older flower shaped valve handles. Long story short, a propane service place (not Uhaul) is in the business of changing out those tank valves all day, COVID or not. They have to order it as the valves have a float arm that goes down in the tank. The size is based on the height of the tank. They have an expiration and have to be re-certified after so many years

 

[Scoutman]

Yea, you need a propane service place. I've got several around me. They do what's called a "re-certification." I bought one of those 10lb small tall cylinders in like 1999. I didn't use it for years and when I did, no one would fill it. It had one of the older flower shaped valve handles. Long story short, a propane service place (not Uhaul) is in the business of changing out those tank valves all day, COVID or not. They have to order it as the valves have a float arm that goes down in the tank. The size is based on the height of the tank. They have an expiration and have to be re-certified after so many years

Yep, that's the one. In our area it's AmeriGas. It's who I purchased the cylinder through some years ago. Due to Covid they are not taking walk-ins for refills or any other services. The office is closed and there's no way to make payment since the people who process payment are all teleworking. I'll let this all settle down and try again.

 

[Mdmeltdown]

That sucks, you must be in California or somewhere similar

 

[Scoutman]

That sucks, you must be in California or somewhere similar

Alabama, about as opposite as you can get.

 

[TwinStick]

I had an issue of no gas on a brand new camper. I took it back & they replaced the flexible hose from tank to hard line. They said they had a lot of defective hose & regulators at that time (around 2014-2015) . They said the mfg used non compliant liner inside the hose. anyways, no issues since. It had junk that looked like some of the pictures on here but flawless operation since. Maybe I got lucky it didn't plug the lines ?

 

[Scoutman]

Ok, here's the moment I've been waiting for to make a final conclusion to this issue. This is how I did it and I'm not saying this is the best way or that anyone else should do it this way. When in doubt, take it to someone who can service your tank.

This past week I burned the last of the propane out of the tank, opened the air bleed off screw to ensure no pressure remained, let the tank rest for a while, and then removed the valve assembly. What I found was nothing. No goop in the tank, nothing more than a little bit of dirty residue from the tank itself. I clipped a swab to the end of a long handled pair of hemostats to see what was on the bottom of the tank and it was just oily steel.

So given the parts I've replaced, the things I've cleaned out, things observed, and now the final inspection of the tank I would have to say the 'stuff' I was experiencing was just in the propane itself.

I'm planning to get the tank refilled and keep an eye out for any issues in the future. Hopefully the next batch will be cleaner.

 

[NatersXJ6]

If you buy a new hose, it would be interesting to cut the old one and see what it looks like inside.

It won’t be any consolation, but everyone deals with stuff like this. I’m on the tail end of a 6 week saga dealing with contaminated propane in our 120,000 gallon storage system at my work. Ours is metallic corrosion caused most likely by a combination of water and anaerobic bacteria. As I had the specialist tank guy out investigating with me, he was blaming the horrible low quality propane we get, and the time in storage without recirculating through filtration. I said, “Don’t we have an exclusive supply contract with your company?” It was like dropping a tranny on the freeway, he hit reverse so hard on that argument! All of a sudden it was “We can only bring what the refinery supplies at the rack...”
End result, almost $3 million in combined costs, 6 weeks of work, lots of sleepless nights, and... still not 100% certain what was wrong or if it is solved... but I/we learned a lot!
And it’s nice not to have to worry about having any pesky profits this year.

 

[john61ct]

Hose liner decomposing

My understanding is, the proper ones are Teflon

 

[Superduty]

Be aware with the Mr Buddy hoses that not all of them are the non-leaching type. I believe only the 10-ft hose is made not to leach. It makes no sense but that's what I have read.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Scoutman]

A number of posts back I purchased a new hose and inspected it with a borescope. It was in good condition and I had no serious concerns that was the root of the issue. I didn't see any reason to cut open a perfectly good hose and have kept it as a spare. It has a proprietary Partner fitting on one end so if I were to cut it up I'd have a hose shop put a 1/4" MNPT fitting on the other end to make a short adapter hose.

The hose that Partner Steel uses are made in the USA by Gates for LPG vapor. They are not cheap, stiff, made in China garbage hoses. Picture a few pages back but here's another.