Mr Heater Maxx possible leak?!

[tarbellb]

Ok, so here is a link to my original install http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175084

I think everything is plumbed correctly, anybody who owns a
Mr.Heater Maxx....

do you notice a very slight smell of gas when you first enter your heated area?

All my joints are tight, and everything operates as it should. But when I enter my shop, which is just feet from my heater location I smell very faint propane?

Suggestions?

 

[ForceFed70]

How tight is your garage? You may want to find a way to add combusion air.

For the heater to vent properly it needs to draw air from the room. If the room is very tight, it won't be able to vent properly.

 

[Chetter]

Ok, so here is a link to my original install http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175084

I think everything is plumbed correctly, anybody who owns a
Mr.Heater Maxx....

do you notice a very slight smell of gas when you first enter your heated area?

All my joints are tight, and everything operates as it should. But when I enter my shop, which is just feet from my heater location I smell very faint propane?

Suggestions?

I have never smelled any propane inside of my garage and my garage is very well insulated and pretty tight.

 

[sarman47]

Hi Tarbellb

I installed a new Mr Heater Maxx last fall. When I started it up this fall I could smell natural gas in the garage when I walked in.

I soap tested my piping and found a small leak. Removed fitting cleaned and re piped doped and reattached. Soap tested again and all was fine. No more smell.

It's a good practice to soap test at the start of each season.

 

[dave67fd]

You shouldn't smell it at all, Not even faintly (no pun intended)

 

[HoosierBuddy]

If you're smelling gas inside a building, you have a big problem.

You might call your propane supplier and see if they can help you find the leak. If you have natural gas, you can for sure call the gas company.

FWIW...the odorant level in natural gas is (by code) required to be detectable by a person with "normal smell" at a concentration of 20% of the Lower Explosive Limit of gas to air (about 1% gas to 99% air). Once you get to 4.5% natural gas to air (propane would be different), you have an explosive mixture and all it needs is a spark.

You've got a leak somewhere.

Phil

 

[tarbellb]

Thank you all very much for the informative info. I will do a soap test.

 

[Jake76]

I just installed a Mr. Heater in my garage and ran into a similiar problem. Turns out the union in my gas line was leaking very slightly. I used Windex to find the leak in my gas line.

 

[regguy1]

Don't mess around, find and fix the leak.

 

[tarbellb]

I gotta drop $75 to refill my 100lb tank before I can find my leak. Does anybody have a suggestion for finding the leak with my air compressor hooked up?

Is there a conversion for that?

Will keep you posted.......

 

[ForceFed70]

I gotta drop $75 to refill my 100lb tank before I can find my leak. Does anybody have a suggestion for finding the leak with my air compressor hooked up?

Is there a conversion for that?

Will keep you posted.......

Easy. Use an air tool quick disconnect fitting. They are typically 3/8ths pipe fitting. Be very careful with the pressure tho or you'll damage your appliances.

 

[Kevin54]

I gotta drop $75 to refill my 100lb tank before I can find my leak. Does anybody have a suggestion for finding the leak with my air compressor hooked up?

Is there a conversion for that?

Will keep you posted.......

Unless I'm missing something, what does an air compressor have to do with a gas leak? If you think you have a gas leak, you want to soap every joint and look for bubbles. A couple of drops of Dawn in a glass, and a small brush will show you where the leak is at. If I'm thinking what you may be thinking, don't use an air compressor to check for leaks. Just get the tank filled and soap the joints. If you find you have to disconnect the line completely, shut the gas off at the tank.

 

[philjafo]

Lp is run at about 1 psi of pressure, if you do connect compressed air be sure to disconnect your heater or you will break the gas valve.

 

[ForceFed70]

Unless I'm missing something, what does an air compressor have to do with a gas leak? If you think you have a gas leak, you want to soap every joint and look for bubbles. A couple of drops of Dawn in a glass, and a small brush will show you where the leak is at. If I'm thinking what you may be thinking, don't use an air compressor to check for leaks. Just get the tank filled and soap the joints. If you find you have to disconnect the line completely, shut the gas off at the tank.

What you are missing is that he doesn't want to spend $75 right now to fill the bottle but still wants to chase down the leak.

Any pressurized gas will work for a soap test.

 

[Highbeam]

If you add pressure on the tank side of the regulator, the lines will only see the regulated pressure and that won't hurt the appliance. I wouldn't futz around with air pressure, go get your tank or a smaller tank filled or partially filled. Even one gallon of propane is enough to get full pressure. Then windex until you find your leak.

If you don't want to buy gas then you won't be using your heater anyway so wait until you can afford gas to find your leak.

 

[Kevin54]

What you are missing is that he doesn't want to spend $75 right now to fill the bottle but still wants to chase down the leak.

Any pressurized gas will work for a soap test.

So he's hooking air to the gas line to test it? I get it. I just wouldn't want to do it that way though