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Propane sniffers

Roc Doc

2A SNBI
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
580
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Way out West.
I converted our Speedqueen dryer from NG to Propane when we moved into the house 4.5 years ago, it's just a nozzle swap, super easy and don't see how it could be related, but anyway my wife seems to think we have propane leak in our laundry room, it must be small as I can only kinda smell it, but my sense of smell is pretty bad. I see there are portable gas detectors for sale on Amazon, most about $30, and $100 and up for a Klein, Fluke, BW, etc.. Any reason I shouldn't just get the cheap one to verify we actually have a leak. It only smells while the dryer is running and it doesn't seem to be stronger closer to the floor, (pane is heavier than air, right?).
 
I know that's a thing. What's the process? Just hold the flame to the connections, (which are all tight and have good yellow teflon tape)?

Dude, seriously - fuck that. Use soap bubbles.

It's possible to use ignition to diagnose gas leaks, but . . . dude, NO
 
Dude, seriously - fuck that. Use soap bubbles.

It's possible to use ignition to diagnose gas leaks, but . . . dude, NO

:laughing:

Did the soap trick all good from the wall to the dryer. Have a sniffer coming tomorrow and will just shut off the gas till then.
 
Calgon makes a special leak detection fluid that's blue. Nu calgon is the name iirc. Soap flows away from the fittings and this stuff hangs around. I use it exclusively for leak checks. It's also NSF rated so it's safer for pets.

if you are super cheap just use some shaving cream.
 
I bought a cheap one from Menards and it worked fine for a few years. I don;t remember what it cost but I thought it was a good value for what I paid. I think I got around 5 years out of it before it died.
 
When I changed my oven and furnace over to NG from propane (opposite direction), it was larger orifices, but also had to mess with the pressure regulation on both appliances. I think in the furnace I had to change the spring in the regulator and the oven had a reversible spring that I had to flip. Might be worth checking if your dryer has a similar thing that needs to be changed.

(for the furnace I actually had to watch the gas meter over 1 minute and calculate the flow rate, and fine-adjust the regulator to get it in spec)
 
Cool starry bra:

When I bought my warehouse (7300 square feet and 16 feet hight) I could smell ethyl mercaptine (the stinky stuff they put in gas).

What I found was a laughably tiny leak at my ceiling mount furnace. It would make a tiny bubble every few seconds.

So....if you can kinda almost smell a smell then the leak is so tiny that there is absolutely no actual danger. A leak big enough to be actually dangerous would be so stinky you probably couldn't even breath. Leaks need to accumulate to a point where they have the proper mix of gas to oxygen to be able to burn/explode.

The soap test has never failed me.
 
Have you changed the type of dryer sheet you are using or anything like that? When my wife uses a certain type of dryer sheet in our gas dryer it smells like a faint propane leak. I'm assuming its something to do with the fragrance getting to the burners.
 
Have you changed the type of dryer sheet you are using or anything like that? When my wife uses a certain type of dryer sheet in our gas dryer it smells like a faint propane leak. I'm assuming its something to do with the fragrance getting to the burners.

Dollar-Store Lilac & Asparagus Piss ® dryer sheets have a noticeable mercaptan odor (no, that's not a real thing) :laughing:
 
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So....if you can kinda almost smell a smell then the leak is so tiny that there is absolutely no actual danger. A leak big enough to be actually dangerous would be so stinky you probably couldn't even breath. Leaks need to accumulate to a point where they have the proper mix of gas to oxygen to be able to burn/explode.

The soap test has never failed me.

That's all fine and dandy until the gas company over-pressures your neighborhood or your proane regulator fucks off and over-pressures your house and then whatever bit of tape or goo was holding on for dear life blows out and you've got a big leak.

You're probably fine but fixing a blown up building is enough of a pain in the ass that I wouldn't risk it.
 
That's all fine and dandy until the gas company over-pressures your neighborhood or your proane regulator fucks off and over-pressures your house and then whatever bit of tape or goo was holding on for dear life blows out and you've got a big leak.

You're probably fine but fixing a blown up building is enough of a pain in the ass that I wouldn't risk it.

Does that actually happen?

I can't find much for propane or natural gas explosions on google.
 
Does that actually happen?

I can't find much for propane or natural gas explosions on google.

It's pretty fuckin rare. Mostly happens with ancient infrastructure. The utility blew up a bunch of Masshole's houses a couple years back. Kinda hard to feel sorry for Massholes though.
 
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