LPG tanks and propane

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto...

 

The "push down" type of type of bottles have a tendency to leak at the seal inside the fitting in the tank. I have had two leak and both times the supplier did not want to believe me. I finally convinced both, that in each case, it was a small but noticeable leak that could be smelled and also seen if the fitting is submerged in water. Soap would show that the 1st one leaked but not the second one as it was too slow.

Both did not want to "eat" the gas already used, which was minimal, but finally did after my insistence; talking to the manager; and showing them how to find out that their bottle leaks.

This is why I prefer the old style screw in fitting. They take longer to connect and disconnect but rarely leak at the tank to fitting connection.

As a side note, the pressure coming out of the regulator should always be the same until the tank is almost completely empty. Any variations in the performance of a gas appliance can almost always be blamed on the regulator or a kinked hose. A good quality LPG regulator in the U.S. is adjustable because over time the gas pressure coming out of it drops due to internal degradation of the regulator. Gas pressure should be 10-12” of water column for LPG and 4-6” for LNG and is measured with a manometer. Once the pressure drops below this you will begin to get a yellow and erratic flame along with poor performance. Too bad the ones here are not adjustable or at least I have never seen one that is.