Gas Smell

[250bob]

I notice that from by the side of the fridge, about an hour or two before I finally run out of gas, there is a feint smell of gas in the cupboard next to the fridge. The fridge is still lit and working.

When it eventually runs out of gas altogether, I change to a new full bottle....the gas smell disappears.

Any thoughts.......on reflection I think this has happened previously too.

Bob.

 

[ProfJohnL]

No hesitation, get you caravan checked by a competent gas fitter. Any smell of gas is bad news.

 

[Coops]

Agree absolutely with the advice given. However, I also have a static caravan besides my tourer, and strangely enough, on the 47kg bottles I use with the static, there is always a pungent smell when the bottle is about to run out. I spoke with my supplier and said that I was thinking of getting a new cooker, and he told me that there was no need as this was a phenomena common when bottles were about to run out - something about failing pressure or something. Took his word and sure enough, the only time the smell occurs is at that particular time. This 'fault' was detected about 4 or 5 years ago and is the regular pattern.

Again strangely enough, nothing similar seems to occur with my tourer.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Leslie,

Contrary to the advice you have been given by your supplier, there should be no way that the content of the gas bottle should be smelt outside the bottle.

I can only assume there is some issue with seals that must leak more when less internal pressure is exerted on them, or a problem with the regulator. my advice is as above - get it checked out by a COMPETENT fitter.

 

[SteveP]

Prof, i have noticed the smell of "mercaptans", the odour added to gas, so you can smell it when my bottle is ready to run out, it eminates from whichever appliance is burning gas at the time. I have a gas/carbon dioxide detector in the van, this has never alerted when i have noticed the smell.Possibly not enough energy in the gas to burn off the "mercaptans"

 

[SteveP]

Prof, i have noticed the smell of "mercaptans", the odour added to gas, so you can smell it when my bottle is ready to run out, it eminates from whichever appliance is burning gas at the time. I have a gas/carbon dioxide detector in the van, this has never alerted when i have noticed the smell.Possibly not enough energy in the gas to burn off the "mercaptans"

Sorry Prof, was answering Bob, not contradicting you!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Steve,

Yes you are correct about the stenching agents, and they will emanate from the burner, but you should not detect the in the vicinity of the bottle or regulator assuming they are outside and the burner is inside.

So my advice still stands, if you detect a smell of gas by a gas bottle or regulator get it checked out.

 

[250bob]

Thanks guys...its maybe time for the van to be given a service, with some extra emphasis on the gas smell.

Cheers................Bob.

 

[Garfield]

Get the smell checked out but it is possible that mercaptans do get concentrated in the last dregs of the gas, we had a strong smell in our house when the gas cooker was litso we rang the 111999 number and got told to immediately turn off at the mains, an engineer appeared within the hour, as soon as he smelt the smell he asked if we had been painting recently - yes we had. Even though the initial paint smell had gone, small traces of solvent in the air were reacting in the gas flame

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thanks for that Garfield,

I'v not heard of that one previously. The fumes from the paint would have to be very concentrated (>5%of the air )to radically affect an LPG flame. In this case I think its unlikely to be the cause as the fridge flame draws it combustion air from outside the caravan.

250Bob

I'v just re-read your initial post, and realised that you weren't referring to the gas bottles, sorry for that. However you may have an issue with the fridge.

All the installation instructions I have seen for the Eletrolux fridges (Now Dometic) require the fitter to produce a 'room-seal' around the sides of the fridge. This is to limit the transmission of flue products from the burner to the inside of the caravan. If the seal were adequate, then you should not get any smell from the burner inside the caravan.

Don't get the idea that you have a dangerous situation, in reality the size of the flame in a fridge is very small, not much bigger than a pilot light and much smaller than the open flame on your cooker hob or oven, so the amount of fumes they can produce is quite limited. It would only be a problem if the caravan were completely sealed, with no ventilation. However the fridge should be better sealed than it is.

The smell of the mercaptans (the stenching agent, would normally be burnt off in the flame, but as the pressure in the gas bottle drops the mercaptans can become slightly more volatile and emerge in a grater proportion than normal.

Incidentally in case you didn't know, LPG (liquefied Petroleum gas) in the common butane and propane forms actually has no smell, so to make it noticeable the companies dose it with a stenching agent.

I still think a service may be a good idea.