Cleaning out a Propane Tank

[slo-ryde]

Can propane tanks be cleaned out? I've just discovered that a roach was blown into one of my tanks during filling. He (the roach) is coming out one body part at a time and is causing my appliances to behave strange. The pigtail that attaches to the tank is plugged up and will have to be replaced since it doesn't appear to be serviceable.



Or would it be cheaper to just get another tank? I can pick up a new one at CW for just under $50. Is this something that a propane supplier would do?

 

[Dkevdog]

I would contact your local Suburban Propane dealer and see what they say, but I'm guessing it could be cleaned out. I don't see why you couldn't release all of the gas and remove the valve and clean it out that way. My only concern would be if you would be compromising the integrity (and stamped sea) of the tank in doing so. How the heck did a bug get in there in the first place??



Kev

 

[slo-ryde]

I'm pretty sure it happened at the dealership where I bought the trailer. It took awhile to discover the bug in the first place. My appliances were wigging out for months. I always seemed to be out of propane, even when the bottles felt like they still had plenty of fuel left in them. The stove would be hard to light, the water heater would have trouble getting started, the burner in the furnace would go out and the igniter would go crazy trying to relight it.



Some places still fill up the non-OPD bottles. That means they have to keep two different styles of adapters at the pump. If they leave the adapters off there's a hole in the end of the hose that's probably 1/2" inside diameter, plenty big enough for a roach to crawl in.



I took delivery of the trailer in the south. As I was bringing it back to California I found 3 or 4 big ones running around inside. Nevada is too cold this time of the year so I know this had to happen in a warmer climate. All my problems started when I ran the first tank until empty and switched to the second one.



I was trying to figure out a way to bypass the safety features of the valve body and let the propane in the tank blow all the little pieces out. The new valve body won't allow fuel to escape unless it's attached to one of the new QCC1 pigtails. Since my original pigtail is bad maybe I can whack off the hose and fool the tank into thinking the pigtail is attached?

 

[Loren]

slo-ryde,



Are you absolutely sure that the bug is in the tank. It seems to me that it's much more likely that a bug got into the propane line at some time when it was not connected to the tank. Naturally, this would be much more likely if the dealer (or anyone else) left the tank disconnected for an extended period.



Your scenario about the adaptor makes sense too, though.



I have left my own lines disconnected for hours while I take a tank for refilling. It was even more time when I had them off to change over to the new valves. It never occurred to me that a bug might get in the lines. I'll also be a lot more careful and ask questions when the propane guy hooks everything up to fill the bottles.



If the bug parts are in the propane system already, you may have to bleed the system from each appliance.



Just my thoughts on your problem.



Good luck.



Loren

 

[bighammer]

Careful, he might be REALLY angry when he comes out.

 

[Peter Campbell]

That roach may "flame" you if you are not carefull when bleeding off the propane.

 

[B.G. Smith]

As Loren stated above, I doubt that the bugs are in the tank, might have been in the valve opening. The propane leaves the tank as a vapor and the outlet from the tank is above the liquid level in the tank so if there is trash in the tank, it would be almost impossible to blow out into the lines. The plugged pigtail is suspicous though. There is usually some hard piping on most trailers, that could also be the source of the bugs. If you can drain the tank(I think I would hook it up and use the contents)most RV places have the tool to remove the valve from the tank, I made one and replaced four valves on some tqanks I have. bg

 

[Prairie Dog]

Check out Home Depot. They have the same brand of tanks as CW but their price is less than half usually.

 

[slo-ryde]

Have to disagree, the roach is definitely in the tank and little pieces come out from time to time as I try to use the tank. The QCC1 pigtail that connects to the tank has a very small orifice in it where it mates with the tank. The orifice is roughly the same diameter as the wire in a small paperclip. I've fished out one of the back legs of the roach in one piece, it was very definitely coming from the valve body on the tank. The orifice in the pigtail just isn't big enough for pieces that size to be coming through it.



As mentioned earlier, my theory is the bug was in the hose at the filling station and was blown in to the tank when it was filled the first time.

 

[KBennett]

Try a match!

That should get it all cleaned out.

 

[Loren]

slo-ryde,



Another way to let the gas out of the tank is to open the small, screwdriver-type valve that is sometimes used when they fill the tank. This won't clean your tank out, but it will get the gas out so you can remove the valve safely.



There are obvious safety issues here, that I shouldn't need to point out. Also some environmental considerations, but I (personally) don't worry too much about a small tank's worth of gas. You will probably want to be discrete about this, so some do-gooder doesn't have the authorities on you.



I have been able to remove valves from these tanks with a large adjustable (Crescent) wrench, but it ususally depends on the design of the protective surrounding metal. I finally welded up a wrench to do the job, but it doesn't work very well.



If it were me, I think I'd just buy a new tank.



Good luck,

Loren

 

[slo-ryde]

Originally posted by Loren

slo-ryde,



If it were me, I think I'd just buy a new tank.



Good luck,

Loren

I'm thinking the same thing. Why take a chance on plugging up the pressure regulator or appliances. Once I replace the tank I can always experiment with the old one...

 

[thejeepdude]

You don't even need to buy a new tank... go to one of those grocey store 'refill' stations where they just take your tank and give you a full one in exchange. It's more expensive than filling your tank at a real filling station, but it's cheaper than buying a new tank, and it comes FULL instead of empty! hehe