Just the other day the wife noticed a smell of propane outside. I didn't smell it but today I noticed it under a Gazebo I built. It's intermittent.

I'm worried that when I was digging the footings for my gazebo I may have hit the line. I have to say that I hand dug, and while I did use a pointed chisel to loosen soil and rocks I did not come across the propane line. Whenever I hit anything hard I checked it out. The most suspect footing is one that had a drainage pipe going across it. I could not get my footing tube in it so I just filled it with concrete and went over the drainage tube. Only about 1/4 of the drainage tube really. But it was in my way.

Anyhow I just shut off the propane to the heater and I'm calling the propane company to either come look or tell me who to call. I'm just thinking if I hit the yellow flexible line it would not be a small leak. Hard to tell based on propane usage. It was filled a few months ago and is at 65% full now. With the pool heater that's not hard to believe without a big leak.

I poured soapy water around the footing to see if there are any bubbles. Nothing, but I'm sure the leak could disperse quickly in the gravel.

What do you think, did I puncture the line or maybe I have a leak elsewhere. Maybe where the flexible line connects to the iron pipe. I'm grasping at straws and hoping this doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: frayedends,

Could be a dead animal (small rodent), they can smell like that.

But better safe than sorry, having someone come out with a sniff tester is a good call.

even large amounts of propane in the ground doesn't generate a predictable above ground experience. But you've done what can be done, shut off the tank and have it investigated.

How full is your tank? As propane tanks get low you'll often smell the concentrated mercaptan.

Frayedends, makes perfect sense! Good luck troubleshooting.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Could be a dead animal (small rodent), they can smell like that.

But better safe than sorry, having someone come out with a sniff tester is a good call.

Tank is at 65% and is underground in front of the house. I have been poisoning moles, voles, and mice recently. Even tossed a dead chipmunk over my fence (he drowned in the pool). I will investigate further in the morning.

Since I shut off the line to the pool from inside the house the smell will be gone in the morning if it’s propane.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Could be a dead animal (small rodent), they can smell like that.

But better safe than sorry, having someone come out with a sniff tester is a good call.

Tank is at 65% and is underground in front of the house. I have been poisoning moles, voles, and mice recently. Even tossed a dead chipmunk over my fence (he drowned in the pool). I will investigate further in the morning.

Since I shut off the line to the pool from inside the house the smell will be gone in the morning if it’s propane.

Since you can isolate the line to the pool heater, I would add a gauge on that line. Put system pressure on the line and then block it back in. Monitor over a 24 hour period. It shouldn’t lose any pressure.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
I poured soapy water around the footing to see if there are any bubbles. Nothing, but I'm sure the leak could disperse quickly in the gravel.

Aw hell. Man up and check it the old fashioned way with a book of matches.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Aw hell. Man up and check it the old fashioned way with a book of matches.

Naw, man... Safety first. So do it the safe way: Stand back a little ways and fire bottle rockets or roman candles at it.

Dead, decaying mice smell like propane.

 
I get that smell sometimes, when the wind is right and a neighbor is having the septic tank pumped out.

I was hopeful it was a mouse. Lifted a deck box and found nest material. Also had the propane off all night and still got a faint whiff of the smell in a few spots.

But no, I lost the scent then turned on the propane and immediately smelled it again. But then lost the scent. It's perplexing for sure. So easy to lose the smell with just a touch of wind, it could still be a dead animal but I'm thinking it's propane. If I'm lucky we can find the spot and I can dig up the line and let them fix it.

Calling in about 45 minutes when they open.

When I had my back patio area built our yellow natural gas line leading to our pool was punctured.

There was a local store that sold connectors designed to join 2 lines together. I don’t remember what they were called other than they were the “bite” type that you better make sure you get put all the way on because once it grabs you can’t get it back off. They were pretty pricey, this was around 15 years ago, around $80.

Perhaps if you can find the break you can self repair too?

You have done the right thing having the Propane company in. They should do a "pressure test" on the line/system.
It's easy to nick a line or similar when doing a project like you described. Best to error on the side of caution when it comes to propane.
Worked for an insurer of propane suppliers. Sat in on numerous claims similar to your situation. One was a guy who nicked his line putting in a fence. Some time later his home was launched into low earth orbit with huge personal damage as well.
Propane is heavier that air so it will fill up a space like water filling a pool until it gets to an ignition source. If the air/fuel ratio is in the right range the results can be catastrophic.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
You have done the right thing having the Propane company in. They should do a "pressure test" on the line/system.
It's easy to nick a line or similar when doing a project like you described. Best to error on the side of caution when it comes to propane.
Worked for an insurer of propane suppliers. Sat in on numerous claims similar to your situation. One was a guy who nicked his line putting in a fence. Some time later his home was launched into low earth orbit with huge personal damage as well.
Propane is heavier that air so it will fill up a space like water filling a pool until it gets to an ignition source. If the air/fuel ratio is in the right range the results can be catastrophic.

I was just getting ready to post this about propane being heavier than air. I was a Firefighter in man area with a lot of propane use, one of the first things we learned.

I’m really curious where the leak is. I smell it at about head level (6 feet). I sniffed around the ground, especially near my footings and don’t smell it. I feel it is getting trapped in the gazebo but the smell is so intermittent it’s hard to pinpoint. Anyhow service guy should be here today. There is a T after the shutoff in the house so he could easily pressure test just that section.

ETA: the gazebo is my grill station. I’ve literally had a charcoal chimney on the ground burning in the exact spot I’d suspect a leak. I’m assuming the leak is small enough that the mixture isn’t rich enough to ignite.

quote:

I smell it at about head level (6 feet). I sniffed around the ground, especia

^^^^^^^^^^
Post some video. Watching you sniff the ground would be interesting. BTW look out for dog poop.

My mother was smelling natural gas in and around her house which would also come and go. She called me, I had her call the gas company, and they had somebody there within an hour. He's catching a whiff of it too, but his sniffer isn't catching much of anything inside.

He goes outside towards her meter and his machine starts picking it up. Gets closer and his meter goes up. Walks past it and the meter continues to climb. Keeps on walking.....

Coming from the neighbor's house about 300 feet behind her.

Propane and natural gas are relatively low PSI on the house side of the equation. A small nick in the line won't always be noticeable by anything other than smell or a device designed to detect it. A pressure check will catch it as they will pump it up and then let it sit to see if it drops off.

OK, so not to be that guy, but even the plumbers I know, use "gas guys."

Had a slight smell of LP for a while, it would come and go, never lasted long, just a wiff and gone.

Contacted the LP tank people, they determined that a valve on the tank was leaking and replaced it, LP use has dropped quite a bit, figure it must have been leaking for a bit and you couldn't always smell it.

Good call on getting the supplier out.