propane gas cylinders

[garyc]

Hi all
Whats the best way to ensure gas tight fitting at the bottle? I just connected mine up and there is a very small leak from the adapter threads and its in as far as i can get it. Never had problems with butane cylinders but they have sealing washer. Is there a sealent like plumbers mate or a ptfe tape that would be suitable? Thanks in advance.
Gary

 

[Clive-Cardiff]

Gas should not pass the cone spigot that fits into the bottle.
Check that this is clean and not damaged in any way, similarly with the joint face on the bottle.
Make sure that the cone is seated correctly in the bottle before tightening, wriggle and rotate it to make sure.
The thread is not supposed to seal the connection. Don't use any sort of sealing compound on the thread.

 

[Damian]

If you have a gas leak at the cylinder then it could be one of several things.
1. Dirt on the cone or in the cylinder receptacle not allowing a tight fit.
2. Damage to either the cone or the cylinder receptacle, look for score marks.
3. You have not done the nut up tight enough.

There is available a propane pigtail with a rubber seal built into the docking cone and is operated by a built in handwheel which saves trying to find the gas spanner and only requires hand thightness to achieve a gas tight seal.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I concur with all the previous postings, but fundamentally when ever you have or suspect a gas leak you should if possible turn of the gas supply and refer the problem to a competent fitter.

Also whilst I agree with Damian's third comment there is a danger with over tightening a propane fitting. The traditional propane fitting is a brass cone, and I have seen the brass connection thread split, almost certainly due to someone over tightening the fitting.

 

[garyc]

Hi all

Thank you for your advice. I have just spent over an hour trying to obtain a gas tight fit with no success. Its a new hose with no visable damage and the bottle seems ok. The connection is tight It is a very small leak detected using a leak detection fluid and only very small bubbles are visable however a leak is a leak and with gas I take no chances. I will be using an adapter with the rubber seal and handwheel fitting. I wonder tho how many people just assume the fitting is ok but actually have a leaking bottle in the front of their van.

gary

 

[Damian]

If the pigtail you used was new, and there was still a leak, I would return the cylinder to the place where you bought it and ask for a replacement and make it known that there is a problem with the cylinder valve or fitting.

 

[Bluebird1]

I recently changed from blue gas to red gas and had a leak. I didn't appreciate that I needed to tighten the adaptor with a spanner as I had always tightened the blue adapter by hand. Cost for spanner approx £2 and solved leak immeadiately

Andy

 

[waffler]

I had this with a new pigtail. Turned out the pigtail was well cut as was the cylinder. No amount of tightening would solve it. Recently had a similar problem but due to not tightening enough. My spanner was thin and and i couldn't get enough purchase on it. Bought a new one three times thicker from Go Outdoors for £4. Did the job.