Gas leak where propane hose meets frame. How bad is there/is there a fix?


 
MatthewS

MatthewS

TVWBB Member
Here's another curbside freebie I got. I was fixing this up for my sister and brother in law but ran into a big issue. Where the propane hose meets the frame, propane leaks out. Probably a stupid idea but I held a lighter to this area and it did light up. It looks like the hose enters the threaded area at an angle..not sure if that's normal or if it was bent at some point.

How normal is this? Is it something you could fix with plumbers tape or something like that?
 

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I suggest putting some pipe dope that is rated for gas on the threads to see if it stops the leak. Not sure if you can use gas pipe tape.
 
Yah, the lighter idea definitely earns you a Darwin Award.

Anyway, from what I can see, the connection looks straight, but it is hard to tell from the photo. Is the leak in the area of 1, 2 or 3?

It looks like you have a 1/8" NPT to 3/8" flare connector on there that the hose connects to. If the leak is at "1", then it could be cross threaded, not tight or not have any pipe dope on it. If it is at "2" it is likely not tight. If it is at "3", it is a bad hose.

connection.jpg

By the way, in the future, to test for a gas leak, please fill a spray bottle half up with water, then put in about a table spoon of dish soap and spray that on the connection to test for leaks. If there is a leak, you will clearly see where the bubbles are coming from. Without risking a nuclear meltdown.
 
Message received. It might blow everyone's mind that I am a risk-averse person. Won't jump out of an airplane, won't ride a motorcycle (anymore), I wear sunscreen...but this, well...no excuse.

The problem is coming from zone 1. It's pretty old so I'll try out the pipe dope...and soap and water.
 
Matthew: Bruce has this on the money! Use correct size wrench and unscrew the fitting from the manifold. Inspect the fitting for cracks. Use pipe dope and re-screw the fitting into the manifold. Don't overtighten. If your hose and regulator are not connected to a LP cylinder, you can take it all out of the manifold as one unit. That would save you from messing with the flare fitting/hose. Good luck and congratulations on not winning the Wylie Coyote Acme Award.
 
I'm seeing wrench marks on the female hose fitting that I'm not seeing on the NPT to Male flare adapter, as if someone tried to tighten the hose fitting while not holding the adapter fitting and drove the whole assembly deeper into the manifold. It takes two (2) wrenches to tighten the hose fitting to the adapter to prevent that from happening. You may already know this, but somebody buried that fitting into the manifold, maybe trying to fix the leak.
 
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Judging by how mangled the fittings are it looks like someone may have replaced the regulator and since regulators with 1/8" male NPT end are very hard to find most likely someone at the hardware store sold them the 1/8" male NPT to 3/8" male flare adapter. I am wondering if the 1/8" part of the fitting is stripped as it is screwed in farther than I have ever seen one. I also see no evidence of pipe dope (always use dope on less than 1/2" NPT fittings btw not tape). So odds are the PO may have sensed the leak and tightened the living s&*t out of it trying to stop it. I would pull it all apart and see where it stands
 
I have the same thoughts as Larry. But, even if the adapter was tightened too much and likely stripped, the manifold itself might still be fine since the fitting is brass and the manifold is steel, it is more likely threads on the manifold will survive overtightening.
 
Agree with Larry, Bruce and Ed. If it was me I would replace the connection into the manifold Bruce or someone else will have a link. I'm also guessing it got stripped since they did not use 2 wrenches. Get a new connection use the product Ed linked and do it the right way.
 
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