Waxy contaminant in propane line

[Scoutman]

My cook partner stove has not been running at full capacity lately. I started digging into the issue the other day and found a waxy/greasy yellowish substance in the stove end fitting on the line to the stove. I removed the schrader valve and cleaned things up with q-tips but it keeps coming back. Has anyone else run into contaminants in their propane lines and if so what was the cause? Would an inline propane filter collect such blockages or is it something I just need to add to the periodic maintenance of the stove?

I just got back from my local propane supplier who I bought the tank from, who fills my tanks, and who supplies my home tank. The guy there was blaming it on the stove saying there's a grease they use on the valves that could cause that. I'm not sure I buy that but I plan to take the valve assembly apart to verify.

Anyway, I just wanted to see if anyone here had run across this and if so what was done to correct.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

It's not the tank or the stoves. LPG does leach petroleum products out of flexible hoses. Especially if you turn off stove before the tank. The proper way to shut down a propane device supplied by a flexible hose to to shut tank off let device run until not enough propane to sustain. Then shut off device.

Replace your hose and clean up stove. Hoses that have stiffer than they use to be are a sign this leaching has occurred and should be replaced.

 

[shade]

It's not the tank or the stoves. LPG does leach petroleum products out of flexible hoses. Especially if you turn off stove before the tank. The proper way to shut down a propane device supplied by a flexible hose to to shut tank off let device run until not enough propane to sustain. Then shut off device.

Replace your hose and clean up stove. Hoses that have stiffer than they use to be are a sign this leaching has occurred and should be replaced.

Makes sense.

 

[Scoutman]

I guess that means ordering a new hose from Partner.

 

[shade]

I guess that means ordering a new hose from Partner.

You might ask them about it first. If it's not very old, they may warranty it.

They may also have some advice about prolonging the life of the hose. How old is yours, and how much use has it seen?

 

[Superduty]

Mr. Heater, the maker of the various Buddy Heaters, sells a "special" hose for use with their heaters (or any bbq) which they claim doesn't leach. On Amazon.

 

[Scoutman]

I'll talk to them. Those Mr. Heater hoses won't work because of the special fitting on the stove end of the hose. I say 'special' cause I've not seen others out there but it may just be a fitting I'm not familiar with.

If I don't run the stove out of fuel then I typically press the schrader to release the pressure inside the hose before storage. I've had the stove probably 4 years and it may have 10 hrs of run time on it total.

 

[Scoutman]

Well Partner had not encountered this issue before and I spoke with a few folks there. A new hose and regulator assembly is ~$68 and just the hose is ~$33. I'm going to give it another go this weekend and see if I have any more issues before going any further.

 

[Riptide]

Funny you mention this. I was talking with Magma, who make **************' marine grills, who stated that regular 20# propane tank use will eventually gum up the regulator, and cannot be repaired...

I then saw that Mr Heater makes a propane filter, which I ended up buying, since I have a couple of refillable 1# bottles that I use.

 

[Willard27]

Learned the hard way about not having a filter on the Mr. Buddy, and my inability to reassemble things I take apart to "fix" I now run one of these filters as well. $10 might be cheap insurance for you.

Mr. Heater Filter

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

The Mr Heater filter is great for stopping debris but does nothing to stop the petroleum leaching.

 

[robert]

Well Partner had not encountered this issue before and I spoke with a few folks there. A new hose and regulator assembly is ~$68 and just the hose is ~$33. I'm going to give it another go this weekend and see if I have any more issues before going any further.

Your local propane place (or maybe one other than the one you've been using) ought to be able to replace the hose and clean the regulator or replace both if needed. When I was into VWs my local shop used to inspect my propane tanks, replace regulators, build me replacement lines, etc.

 

[perterra]

It's coming out of the gas, try another supplier and see if the problem persists. I have seen it in heavy scrap cutting torches.

 

[Scoutman]

I used the stove a bit on a trip this weekend. It started off fine as I had just cleaned out every part I could prior to this trip. At some point mid weekend the burners started spitting and sputtering so I knew it was trouble all over again. Looking in the fitting it had that same stuff in there and when I went to release the pressure on the hose I had a handful of greasy crap spurt everywhere. I pulled the schrader and the burner assembly and the stuff was everywhere. At this point I just packed up the kit and went to using my Jetboil so I could properly clean and replace parts as needed at home. BTW, I did not find any stuff in the tank fitting and when I disconnected the hose from the regulator I didn't find any stuff in the regulator either which supports Hillbilly's suggestions above. I'll be contacting Partner again today for options.

Here's some pictures from this weekend.

Also for those who say just get another hose or run the Mr Buddy stiffer hose, it's not that easy. The hose that Partner Steel provides with their stoves has this fitting on the end. It's not the same as all the stoves that take disposable 1# cylinders. My local folks had not seen it before and I'm not aware of where to source such a fitting. It is crimped to the hose by Partner Steel and to replace means having them make me a new one. For those suggesting to use the Mr Heater filter, that won't work either because the fittings on it are intended for the 1# disposable cylinders (1" threads I believe). The filter I posted initially is intended to go inline with this regulator (either before or after) since all of these fittings are 1/4" NPT. Note that the hose is a Made in the USA and I think the brand is Gates.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[WOODY2]

That fitting has to be available commercially and with the clear pic you have finding it will just be some google ****. I'm surprised that being a customer oriented as Partner is they won't sell you one but then perhaps they buy them from a supplier?