I smell propane outside the rig

[Relee52]

cold weather has arrived so I tried the inside heater for the first time. All seems OK inside, but when I went out this AM I could smell propane. I turned the furnace off and the smell went away, which makes no sense to me as I hadn't  turn off the propane tank yet. I don't want to fool around with this but wondering if there is an easy way to check for leaks. Or does the furnace "vent" gas out side? that makes no sense either, but just asking.
TIA

 

[SeilerBird]

You should never smell propane. Hire a professional and have the leak found and repaired. Don't use propane again until you have it fixed.

 

[gwcowgill]

Agree with Tom on this but I would check to see if the pilot light is staying lit or if it has blown out. If you are not sure, call a RV tech in your area and have him look at it.

 

[Alfa38User]

Not likely to have any pilot light on this furnace, most, if not all today, have DSI ignition. I know with mine (Suburban 40K) I can smell propane from the exhaust outside if it does not light up on the first attempt (ie  before a second attempt is made by shutting off the heat demand at the thermostat and then turning it back on).

You might want to check the propane connection to the furnace using soapy water to be sure it is not leaking.... Depending on access, this could be 'fun'....

 

[gwcowgill]

Stu,  I was thinking of an old RV I used to have which had a pilot light.

 

[SeilerBird]

Stu,  I was thinking of an old RV I used to have which had a pilot light.

Was that the one that was pulled by a team of oxen ;D

 

[Frizlefrak]

You can test all the connections with soapy water.  When you see bubbles, you've found your leak.  Test it in short time intervals....turn it on for 5 minutes, test a few connections, then shut it off for a while so you don't get gas building up anywhere.  If it's outside the rig, it should be easy to narrow down....but fix it before using it.  And SHUT IT OFF at the tank(s) until the leak is located and repaired.

 

[gwcowgill]

Was that the one that was pulled by a team of oxen ;D

1960 Olds......We have come a long way since then.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The furnace shouldn't exhaust LP gas, but it does exhaust "exhaust", which has a rather similar smell.  However, you might get partially unburned LP gas if there is some sort of blockage in the air intake or exhaust tubes. Insect nests, mice, rust, etc. My firststep would be to clean the tubes to the outside thoroughly (a vacuum cleaner may do it, but sometimes you have to brush out spider webs or mud daubers).  Or you could have a leak after the gas valve in the furnace, so that gas leaks only when the furnace is actually burning. You can check that with soapy water once you remove the outer access door (but not all furnaces have that door).

A leak outside isn't actually all that dangerous, but a leak within the furnace enclosure could be because the gas can accumulate in a pocket and then explode when the burner lights or something else sparks.

 

[Relee52]

Thanks to all. I do have an access door and have turned off the propane so will be doing more checking. I do have an extended warranty so if I can't figure it out easily I'll take it to the local RV shop.

 

[ron707]

I also had a propane leak that you could sporadically smell near one of the tanks.  I soap tested and could not find it.  Eventually, we were awakened in the middle of the night to the gas alarm and smell of gas within the RV.  I shut the propane off and did a more thorough soap test the next morning and luckily found the leak.  It was the regulator that was leaking. 

Since the RV was still under warranty I had the dealer confirm and replace it.  Ironically, the regulator would not leak for him.  I called Forest River and told them what happened and they wanted the regulator replaced.  New regulator and no more gas smell.

 

[Relee52]

I, too, did the soap test and was able to find the leak at the outside bottle to line connection hose. Simple fix since the RV store is about 2 miles away.
Thanks again to all those who replied with suggestions.