Community Forums

firedoc · 01-20-2013, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoafan

Not sure I understand

I think (a mistake generally) that propane must be under pressure to be a liquid. If it is at atmospheric pressure it is a vapor. Since the drops were liquid they could not have been propane but rather condensation that had picked up some of the propane odor (which is added for safety purposes) and was cold because it came from a cooled fitting (?) that had propane in it. IMHO.

Zoafan · 01-20-2013, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firedoc

I think (a mistake generally) that propane must be under pressure to be a liquid. If it is at atmospheric pressure it is a vapor. Since the drops were liquid they could not have been propane but rather condensation that had picked up some of the propane odor (which is added for safety purposes) and was cold because it came from a cooled fitting (?) that had propane in it. IMHO.

Gotcha. Thanks for that lesson. I was freaking out a little but I'm starting to think nothing is wrong.

Dennis_K · 01-20-2013, 11:05 AM

Propane boils at about -44F so it vaporizes as soon as it is released to the atmosphere. Unless is was really cold outside it is unlikely you would see liquid propane drips. But drips from condensation during filling are very likely.

autofish · 01-20-2013, 11:07 AM

Firedoc---propane can be a liquid at atm psi if it is cold. Just has to be at the boiling point then the liquid will remain till all liquid has boiled off just like anyother liquified gas N2, O2, etc

Zoafan · 01-20-2013, 11:08 AM

It was about 70* outside. Thanks for all the info, the reaction of the guy filling it was what freaked me out the most.

rvjimmy · 01-20-2013, 07:07 PM

When a person opens the bleeder you smell a little propane until it sprays full then you can really smell it.

Jim

wa8yxm · 01-20-2013, 08:20 PM

First off, the vapor temp of Liquid propane at 1 atmosphere is like -40 so if you saw liquid, on the ground it was most likely NOT propane.

Second, Leaks (in a manner of speaking ) Do sometimes fix themselves.. On portable tanks there is an overpressure relief valve, if the tank is overfilled and then gets hot it will vent (gas however)

In theory it is impossible to overfill any tank made in this century.

KIX · 01-20-2013, 08:40 PM

RE read post #10. He is correct about the check valve. Your setup on the tank with the remote fill is a common setup. Particularly on propane powered vehicles with a remote mounted tank.
And, even a 70* you can have drops of liquid propane on the ground that will rapidly vaporize....but they can be liquid for a few seconds. I really doubt that what you saw was moisture. The fill connections use a very coarse ACME thread with a square cut sealing washer. It's very possible that either the fill fitting was not tight or the washer inside the fill fitting is in need of renewal.

wa8yxm · 01-21-2013, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennis_K

Propane boils at about -44F so it vaporizes as soon as it is released to the atmosphere. Unless is was really cold outside it is unlikely you would see liquid propane drips. But drips from condensation during filling are very likely.

Gee... I said that.

If those were drops of liquid on the ground at normal atmospheric pressure... IT WAS NOT PROPANE. For exactly the reasons you cite. I rounded to -40, but hey, at those temps, no difference.

KIX · 01-21-2013, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Gee... I said that.

If those were drops of liquid on the ground at normal atmospheric pressure... IT WAS NOT PROPANE. For exactly the reasons you cite. I rounded to -40, but hey, at those temps, no difference.

++

That is simply not what can happen. Prior to retirement I was in the propane business (from the ground up) for over 20 years. I've seen it happen many times. Any person that has delivered propane can tell you that propane liquid can drip should a fill connection not be tight.

Jim_HiTek · 01-21-2013, 08:19 PM

Had the same experience recently with a fill up of my remote propane tank. The young filler freaked out because she could smell propane and saw vapor wafting out from under the RV. The vapor was because the hose had frost on it, and the smell was coming from the escape/fill bypass valve.

I agree with wa8yxm.