Can I tighten a pressure relief valve?

[Orrin]

If it were me, I would take it to repair facility to pump out the propane and have it repaired in a proper fashion. The fitting on the tank could be the problem. Just be done with it.

[dfuelman]

Originally Posted by twinboat

If its almost undetectable, there is no reason to have it fixed right now.

Propane is heavier the air and tiny amounts will not accumulate enough to explode.

You probably can't get that leak to light, it's to lean a mixture.

If you do break the fitting, do it in an open field away from ignition sources.

This is the correct way to do the repair. DO NOT USE a fan or other possible source of ignition.

I would simply wait until the tank is as empty as you can get it or run it out of propane if that is possible. The fitting in question is the 80% indicator used for filling the tank. If you open the square portion of the valve it will allow propane vapor to escape.

When I worked for Propane company, we would on occasion, have to service on site tanks, and this would require emptying them to remove some valves or fittings. Even after pumping them out, there is always some propane left. If the tank was located in an open yard with nothing close by to cause and issue, we would open the valve and let it vent until empty, do our thing and refill.

Toughest thing is, you will not know if you have the leak fixed until you refill the tank. Good luck.

[Old-Biscuit]

Propane compartment is ventilated.....open bottom so any propane leaking will flow down and out

Propane has a VERY narrow flammability range 2% TO 9.5%
Propane concentration below 2%....no ignition
Propane concentration above 10% ...no ignition

Propane is a VERY safe gas to use, work around, repair.

[KanzKran]

Originally Posted by dfuelman

Toughest thing is, you will not know if you have the leak fixed until you refill the tank. Good luck.

But at least they can put just a little in there, as internal pressure is not dependent on volume. Put a little in, check for leaks, then finish the fill.

I emptied mine once, when it was just about empty to start with, by burning my fire pit in the driveway, then letting the remainder escape via the fill indicator once the pressure was too low to support a flame. I wanted to know exactly how much would go in before it sputtered from the fill indicator, just for my own reference, and to get a sense of how accurate the gauge is. I shut off all electrics to the van, and pulled the shore cord, and just let it hiss until it stopped, but slowly of course.


Oh, and if the leak is truly tiny, like the OP didn't even know it was leaking and didn't smell anything, and the bubbles were tiny and infrequent, I would probably just leave it alone and get it repaired when it's convenient. But that's a judgement call.

[TandW]

What caused the OP to snoop for a gas leak after an inspection was done that he finds no fault with?
Hopefully the leaking gas will not collect anywhere and cause personal or property damage.

[jacwjames]

When you tried to tighten it did it move at all???


I was working on air leaks in my system and decided to replace components that could fail, my coach is ~20 years old. All the steel fittings/components came out pretty easy but when I tried to remove the brass relief valve it didn't budge. Put some Blaster on it overnight and when I put more force on it I snapped it off. No turning back then, tried everything to get the piece out and finally just hat to cut two slots in it and chisel it out. Then had to get a tap and chase the threads.

So word of warning, if this is a brass to steel fitting it may be seized and will take some effort to get it out.

[Mudfrog]

Country boy here,, I'd make sure there were no ignition sources nearby and go for trying to tighten the valve. I would not put too much pressure on the valve since I would not want it to break and then have to figure out how to get the rest of it out of the tank. If it did move, then I would check for leaks after just a small tightening. Still leaking, tighten a little more. If the leak got worse, then I'd move away and let it go til empty. Get a new valve, use the proper pipe dope, and install.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Propane compartment is ventilated.....open bottom so any propane leaking will flow down and out

Propane has a VERY narrow flammability range 2% TO 9.5%
Propane concentration below 2%....no ignition
Propane concentration above 10% ...no ignition

Propane is a VERY safe gas to use, work around, repair.

How many of us are carrying around an explosimeter and testing for LELs and UELs.
The hospitals treat upwards of twenty thousand Propane burns a year. Admittedly most are from gas grills. But the problem is most of the time the leak is not visible. And sometimes people just think something is rotten in Denmark.

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by TandW

How many of us are carrying around an explosimeter and testing for LELs and UELs.
The hospitals treat upwards of twenty thousand Propane burns a year. Admittedly most are from gas grills. But the problem is most of the time the leak is not visible. And sometimes people just think something is rotten in Denmark.

Refueling at service station is a more dangerous situation yet done 1000's of time a day all over the country

20K propane burns a year.....???

Fear tactics/gloom and doom/sky is falling--------hear the same excuses for incompetency all the time

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Refueling at service station is a more dangerous situation yet done 1000's of time a day all over the country

20K propane burns a year.....???

Fear tactics/gloom and doom/sky is falling--------hear the same excuses for incompetency all the time

Not a fair-minded response from you. We should be able to encourage safe operation and attention to safe repair practices on this forum. Any known leak of any combustible or oxygen displacing gas should be attended to by competent repair persons.

[wolfe10]

Operative issue here is HOW MUCH TORQUE!


Would I try hand tightening plus "snug" with snug being 10 degrees more than hand tight? Yes.


Would I go more with propane in the tank? NO.

[CRV2]

If slightly tightening it doesn't stop the leak, then loosen it a bit where it leaks faster to clear any crud out and then tighten again until the leak stops. If that doesn't take care of it then take it to a propane dealer who can empty the tank and replace the vent valve.

[Yillbs]

Originally Posted by TandW

Not a fair-minded response from you. We should be able to encourage safe operation and attention to safe repair practices on this forum. Any known leak of any combustible or oxygen displacing gas should be attended to by competent repair persons.

Perhaps you can explain what you mean? It's a valve that screws into the tank. My question is " is it safe to tighten this or not ". The general answer seems to be " yes, but a very small amount of tightening. ".

I think my concern is I know it CAN be tightened, it has threads, but i don't know if it can be tightened when it's fully pressurized / 15 or so gallons of propane inside.

When it comes to tightening it, I feel like you don't need to be an expert to tighten a bold? If anyone here IS an expert on propane, then I think the answer is yes, you can tighten that slightly, or no you can't tighten it because of XXX. Blanketly saying you can't tighten something because it's dealing with propane seems a bit dramatic no? It's a dangerous gas, I understand that 100%, but we're talking about this taking six months or longer to actually evacuate the tank completely, it's that small of a leak.

[RVtravelz]

Originally Posted by craigav

If slightly tightening it doesn't stop the leak, then loosen it a bit where it leaks faster to clear any crud out and then tighten again until the leak stops. If that doesn't take care of it then take it to a propane dealer who can empty the tank and replace the vent valve.

Best advice so far on this thread! A few nervous people here.