LP Tank Overfilled

[jdanbowman]

I recently had my LP gas filled. The person filled the tank without opening the 80% fill valve. The gadge shows way past the full mark and I am smelling LP gas outside my unit.

Does anyone have a safe way to release some of the gas to get it back to the 80% mark.

I considered burning it off with the furnace and the stove top but thought that might not be safe.

Any Help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan Bowman
2003 Journey

[Route 66]

Quote:

I considered burning it off with the furnace and the stove top but thought that might not be safe.

I agree.

If liquid reached the burner, you would have quite a fire.

I would bleed if off with the 80% valve and hopefully there would be a good breeze to dissipate the vapor.

[Chuck 1935]

And make sure EVERYTHING is off !

[Jackm]

LP tanks operated for years without overfill protection devices. Unless you're staying in a very warm place (where fuel expansion could pose a problem), I wouldn't be too concerned about your tank. In no time at all, you'll be well below the 80% level. You could bleed it off but it would be a waste of perfectly good fuel.

Jack

[NLOVNIT]

Although not Winnebago related, we did have the same situation happen with a portable LP tank. We had to bleed off the excess because when hooked up to either our grill or our campfire-in-a-can, liquid propane (instead of propane vapor) was getting fed through, freezing up both the regulator & the first part of the line coming from the tank & eventually choking out the flame. We unhooked it, made sure we took the tank far away from any sources of ignition & bled enough off to get just vapors coming through the regulator & line for our hooked on appliances to work.

Just thought I'd throw that out, FWIW.

Lori-

[TandW]

Keep it out of the sunlight and away from all other heat sources. DO NOT TRANSPORT!! Bleed off, SLOWLY, until only vapor exits. Now your good to go. Good luck!!

[tderonne]

Lots of confusion here.

The horizontal, permanently mounted, tank in your Journey (and most motorhomes) does NOT have and Overfill Protection Device (OPD). It is a style tank called an "ASME" tank.

Opening the bleeder when filling does two things. First, it lets vapor escape to make room for the incoming liquid. Second it indicates the tank is full when liquid comes out.

What exactly happened to you depends on the temperatures and pressures of your tank and the incoming liquid. Your observation that the liquid gauge indicates it's overfilled, and smelling propane (probably venting via the pressure relief) definitely sounds like you have a problem.

I think I would call my local fire department. They are trained to deal with leaking propane tanks. They can probably come out and take care of it for you.

[MutinyGuy]

This is pretty confusing to me...I have a 2010 Winnebago View with a 13 gallon propane tank. When I received the MH from Lichtsinn it had a full propane tank. After driving the MH back to Whidbey Island, about 2,000 miles, I went to my local propane dealer and had them fill it. Well the "bleeder" valve did not work. If you unscrewed it nothing came out! When I went to the local Winnebago dealer for some warranty work they discovered the "bleeder" valve had not been opened on the main tank. The bleeder valve that is presented on the side of the MH is a "remote" valve. Anyway...they opened the main "bleeder or relief" valve and all is good. So my questions...how did Licthtsinn fill the tank without operating the bleeder valve?

Jim

[TandW]

Propane exists as a vapor and as a gas. Thus it has a vapor pressure. for the layman this is roughly two times in psig whatever the ambient temperature is. So if it is an outside tank and the outside temp is 75 degrees then the tank pressure is roughly 150 psig. The delivery pump operates at up to 275 psig. So, liquid enters the tank and the pressure increases slightly but because the temperature of the tank is lower than the formula describes the gas within the tank condenses to liquid, thus making room for even more liquid propane. The reverse of this process is easily observed when on a humid day you can see sweat on your portable propane bottle when you have the barby going full blast. Now then, the bottles are filled to 80% because the liquid level of propane will rise with an increase in temperature. So this ensures room for expansion if needed. Hope this helps!!

[Ray,IN]

I would phone a local LPG retailer/dealer and explain your concerns. They can pump out any excess, or completely empty your MH tank if necessary, then make any repairs or adjustments. That is the safest and most logical action IMO.

[Hikerdogs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tderonne Lots of confusion here. The horizontal, permanently mounted, tank in your Journey (and most motorhomes) does NOT have and Overfill Protection Device (OPD). It is a style tank called an "ASME" tank. Opening the bleeder when filling does two things. First, it lets vapor escape to make room for the incoming liquid. Second it indicates the tank is full when liquid comes out.

According to the Winnebago this LP tank does have an overfill protection device.

Here's a quote from the 2003 Journey brochure:

"Capacities shown are tank manufacturers listed water capacity (WC). Actual filled LP capacity is 80% of listing due to overfilling prevention capacity device in the tank" .

Our 01 Adventurer has an OPD device in the tank and has worked properly every time the tank has been filled. If the OPD device truely did not operate properly and the tank is overfilled I would definately take it to a propane dealer to thave it pumped out and repaired.

There are a couple other scenarios that may explain your problems.

1. The tank may not be overfull even though the gauge indicates that it is. Be sure to look at the tank mounted gauge rather than the indicator on the OnePlace panel. If a wire to the indicator on the panel breaks the gauge will always read full. We've had this happen a couple times. The wires will corrode at the junction where they're plugged into the leads comming from the tank mounted gauge. They break just by being brushed by your hand when you either turn on or off the supply to the coach. The last time the rubber insulation stayed intact but the internal wires broke. When I touched the connection the broken wire popped off. It was a simple matter of replacing the connectors to get the gauge working properly.


2. The vent may not have been closed tight enough to prevent vapor from leaking out. Generally hand tight is all that's necessary. However if some debris got caught in the port you may have to open and close it a couple times to clear it out.

3. The tank, connector, or line may have developed a leak. To find a leak it's best to spray the entire tank and surrounding lines with a soap water solution. If you do find a leak the soap water will bubble. Be sure to spray the underside of the tank. There is a thin steel blow out plug welded in the bottom of the tank. It's designed to rupture if the tank is dangerously over pressure. This prevents the tank from exploding and sending steel flying all over the place. The plug in our original tank was not welded in properly. It had a pin hole in the weld that allowed gas to escape. The tank had to be replaced.

The good news is if the tank does need to be replaced they have a 10 year manufacturers warranty. There should be a tag welded to the side of the tank giving all the necessary information, including the date of manufacture.

Good luck, hope this helps.

[jdanbowman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN I would phone a local LPG retailer/dealer and explain your concerns. They can pump out any excess, or completely empty your MH tank if necessary, then make any repairs or adjustments. That is the safest and most logical action IMO.

Ray,
I tried that with the truck that delivers LP to RV''s in the RV Resort that I am staying in Az. He would not even look at it. He told me I needed to contact an RV Specialist that had the equipment to evacuate the tank. He said it would be approximately $75 service plus a minimum of 2 hours of labor at $85 per hour.

Seemed to me to be a little extreme, so I resorted to the forums for assistance.

Thanks,
Dan Bowman

[wa8yxm]

One of the things I tend to laugh at is the line that opening the spitter valve "lets the vapor escape to make room for the liquid that's coming in"... right. that little valve is going to let 20 gallons of highly explosive vapor escape as fast as that high pressure pump puts liquid in the tank.. I don't think so.. 1 gallon perhaps. 20 no way.

It's to let you know when the tank is full.

Now.. that said.. The first time I filled my tank (Well re-filled) I had propane smell in the compartment for the longest time.. Tried and tried to find a leak, could not

The tech was very messy it seemed and the odor just got on stuff and hung around... It finally dissapated and I've not noticed any since.

But a controlled burn is the best option.. Furnace is the fastest burner. Just make sure the two clouds of gas never meet or.. Well...

Been nice knowing you.

[jdanbowman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TandW Propane exists as a vapor and as a gas. Thus it has a vapor pressure. for the layman this is roughly two times in psig whatever the ambient temperature is. So if it is an outside tank and the outside temp is 75 degrees then the tank pressure is roughly 150 psig. The delivery pump operates at up to 275 psig. So, liquid enters the tank and the pressure increases slightly but because the temperature of the tank is lower than the formula describes the gas within the tank condenses to liquid, thus making room for even more liquid propane. The reverse of this process is easily observed when on a humid day you can see sweat on your portable propane bottle when you have the barby going full blast. Now then, the bottles are filled to 80% because the liquid level of propane will rise with an increase in temperature. So this ensures room for expansion if needed. Hope this helps!!

This may be part of my problem. My tank had less than 1/3 in it when I had it filled. The temperature was around 34 degrees outside. Would filling the tank at 34 degrees create this problem?

When I open the bleed valve, there appears to be only vapor/gas there at first. If I let it bleed a minute or so, a drop of liquid does come out (maybe the gas is just condensing) but it certainly is not spewing out liquid. If it is vapor at the bleed valve, does this mean it will remain vapor at the furnace or stove top?

I have been bleeding it off but this looks like it is going to take a while in the campground. I don't feel that I can release very much without disturbing the other campers.

PS: I am currently in Az where the nights are low 40s and the days are high 60s or low 70s.

Dan Bowman