Propane problems

[Stuckinreno2008]

I just did my first night in my new hawk flatbed, and I’m having propane issues. There’s a leak and it keeps triggering the propane detector. When I passed out then woke up again, I went outside and heard a faint leak that got worse when I manipulated the hose. Does anything look amiss from these basic photos? Is the fitting supposed to have a gasket?

 

[Starbrightsteve]

When you experience a problem like this again, you might consider turning off the propane at the tank. If you don’t, the thing that wakes you up next might be an explosion.

 

[Offgrid Sparky]

I thought it was supposed to have a black gasket inside the green fitting, but I just looked at mine & it doesn't so evidently it doesn't need a gasket inside the green fitting. I would reconnect, make sure camper well ventilated e.g. propane door open, top popped, windows & door open, fans on & try spraying the connection points with soapy water combined with wiggling the hose to see if you can determine where there might be a leak.

 

[AWG_Pics]

I just did my first night in my new hawk flatbed, and I’m having propane issues. There’s a leak and it keeps triggering the propane detector. When I passed out then woke up again, I went outside and heard a faint leak that got worse when I manipulated the hose. Does anything look amiss from these basic photos? Is the fitting supposed to have a gasket?

My habit is to turn off the propane bottle, at the bottle, unless in immediate use. However that does not work when using the furnace. Another thing to check is the tightness of the green knob -- I found it has to be really tight for a proper connection. When you are in a very quiet place try connecting the propane, then turning all appliances off and then open the bottle to fill the hose and try and hear the sound of the leak. By turns check how each appliance operates, stovetop, furnace, water heater if you have it, and if you have a three-way fridge, then check the pilot light on it.

Do you smell propane?

My OEM propane detector went off every time the battery box door was closed under moist conditions. After replacing it with a new version of the same make & model, testing to make sure it worked, I have not had an issue with it going off for a few years now. You will see that the detectors have an expiration date on the back plate. My OEM detector was still supposed to be good, but who knows why they go bad.

Good luck. Let us know how you solved the issue.

 

[Stuckinreno2008]

Thank you everyone for the ideas and suggestions. Turns out, none of the threaded connections were tape sealed from the factory. Go figure. FWC did offer to pay for a mobile mechanic because I’m out of state, which I do appreciate. Now the Truma hot water heater is only putting water out at a trickle. It never rains….apparently we have to do tear downs on our walk around inspections too. Quality control seems to be a bit of an issue.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

This may or may not apply, but it’s worth sharing. We have a Truma AquaGo water heater in our 2018 Oliver travel trailer. When we dewinterized this spring, it was only putting out warm water. The Truma tech asked when it was last decalcified, and because we are the second owners, I didn’t know if it had ever been done, and the unit did not have the original filter element. It had an upgrade that keeps the unit heated by electricity when driving, and it will not accept the decalc tablets.

I ordered and received the base filter & tablets, and ran the process. Much improved, but not at the expected temp. Searching the Oliver forum, I found a comment from another person who had a similar problem. It turned out to be the outside shower valves had been left on after winterization. Same for us. Valves off, we now have hot water

As I said, it may or may not apply to your camper, but it’s worth checking.