Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 17:00:49 -0400
Reply-To: Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Subject: Re: Propane leak!
Dear Dr. Bob-
Boy do you have a lot of questions! I won't attempt to answer them
all...perhaps in the aggregate of the replies you will get all the answers.
As you can imagine, lots of systems on the van will bear tinkering without
safety concerns. The propane system *may* be one to leave to the experts,
if you are not completely confident in your understanding/abilities. If you
futzed a fix, then parked in someone's garage you could ruin their property
value and make their family photo album a prized possession with a leaky
propane system.
Be careful, 5 gallons of propane is a LOT of propane when mixed with air
and ignited.
That being said, by spraying soapy water, you will find the leak. A loose
fitting is not out of the question, but the system does not usually
"disassemble" itself or decayunless futzed with. I suspect a rock may have
nicked something, but the pipes are pretty thick, and well protected. It
will be interesting to hear what the problem is.
I wouldn't trust your local Midas/Exxon/NTW/Arco. An RV dealer, or a
natural gas/propane supplier would know how to fix it. In most places, I
think you have to be certified by God and 24 angels before you can even
think about working on a pressurized fuel-gas system. Find someone who is
certified.
Happy motoring,
G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett & Associates
www.bulley-hewlett.com
Cary, NC USA
888.468.4880 tollfree
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob MacLeod [SMTP:macleod@CVRTI.UTAH.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 1999 4:40 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Propane leak!
Folks,
Last weekend I happened to wander by our '86 Westy (only 70k original
miles) and heard the sound of gas hissing. I checked under the vehicle and
could smell gas so I turned off the main valve from the tank and the noise
stopped. There was no gas smell inside the bus, just underneath.
I am wondering how best to go about finding the problem and fixing it,
but also considering just letting someone do it for me.
If I take the first pathway, I would try slathering soap solution over the
pipes and see if I can locate the site of escape. Sound reasonable so far?
But I am not sure what to do if I find a hole in the system somewhere--how
hard is it to replace sections of the pipe or what is involved in this?
Are there specific parts for the Westy?
And if I choose to pay someone else to deal with it, can I go to my regular
mechanic or should I be heading to some sort of RV place? Who is likely to
know what they are doing to fix this sort of problem?
Finally, anyone got any suggestions/guesses/premonitions as to what
happened? I am guessing a rock from the road flew up and hit something but
what other sources of this type of injury might there be? Is it likely to
be just a loose joint? Anyone else had similar problems? Does this system
routinely age and fall apart over this sort of time span? It also suggests
that keeping the valve shut when the bus is not in use might be
advisable--although in that case I would have discovered the problem only
after we set out on another trip without the luxury of dealing with it in
peace.
Thanks,
Rob.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob MacLeod, Ph.D.
Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI)
University of Utah
95 South 2000 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-5000 ____ __o
Internet: macleod@cvrti.utah.edu ____ -\<,
Phonemail: (801)581-8183 ....0/ 0
Fax: (801)581-3128
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
