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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 5 Mar 2024 09:42am
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Wonder if that 'air/gas lock' in a long line could be relieved by having someone hold down the pilot while you slowly open the valve at the tank? Maybe only 20sec or so.....
Im thinking that the lp would push through faster.
Then try the normal relight procedure.
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2024 07:52am
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It's about a 20' run of pipe from the tanks to the heater. That's why sometimes it takes a minute to start it (when it starts).
I'll disconnect and reconnect everything and then try the "slow open" method. If that doesn't work, I'll try to bleed amount amounts of propane from the tanks using the bleeder valve, and re-try it. Saw a YouTuber recommend it, and based on the # of positive responses, it works.....
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2024 09:42am
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Typicaly the pilot lights are prety tiny so you have to get all that volume of 20' of pipe through that small hole. If you have something like a gas stove connected to the same line I would skip the pilot and go directly to a burner. It would allow gas to the appliance quicker because your useing more BTU.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2024 10:21am
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Quoting: Brettny f you have something like a gas stove connected to the same line I would skip the pilot and go directly to a burner. It would allow gas to the appliance quicker because your useing more BTU.
That's what I do. My LP comes in from outside 20', Ts off inside at the burner and heater. The burner lights right off and primes the pipe, then I light the heater pilot.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2024 04:25pm - Edited by: ICC
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Quoting: spencerin I'll disconnect and reconnect everything and then try the "slow open" method.
I am not sure there is anything to be gained by disconnecting and reconnecting everything, but if you do that I would suggest you buy a can of gas line pipe dope. I can not remember ever having a pipe joint that I used dope on leak in decades of work. IDope is messier so have rags or paper towels handy. Remove all traces of any Teflon tape from the disassembled joint and apply pipe dope to the externally threaded male end of each joint. Do not place any pipe dope inside the female end. As the male end is threaded in the dope is spread through the hreads. If dope is applied to the internal female threads some of the dope will be pushed ahead of the pipe being inserted and may cause problems in the future.
Note; Of course only use dope or tape on pipe thread fittings, never a compression or flared fitting/joint.
I can't remember if you said there were other propane appliances in this cabin system. As others have suggested, if there is a stove try that first. With cooktop burners there is only the control knob to open. No pilot light button that needs to be held down. A cooktop burner makes it much easier to purge air from the piping.
I have about 80 feet of pipe from propane tank to the first appliance, my cookstove. It can take a minute or more with the stove burners all set to high before air is pushed out and enough propane has reached the a burner and will burn and stay lit. That is starting from new air-filled piping.
Was a pressure test ever performed? That is usually performed with compressed air, not a fuel gas. Cap the far end, or turn off all valves. At the inlet a gauge and an inflator stem is fitted. Compressed air is used to fill the pipes. A pressure 3 times the operating pressure of the system is the minimum to use. The pressure should hold for at least 30 minutes. The working pressure in propane lines is actually very low. The 11" W.C is equal to about 0.3 PSI.
Another way to look at propane pressure; 27.7" WC is equal to 1 PSI. Natural gas pressure in the pipes within the home and to the appliances is even lower.
I test gas lines with 20 PSI just because if the piping will hold that it should have no problem with the 11" W.C. pressure. A drop of 1 or 2 PSI from a 20 PSI test pressure is normally considered okay after 30 minutes. However, a good installation can hold the test for hours; overnight even.
NOTE: If pressure testing with compressed air DO NOT run that high pressure into any pressure regulators. Stoves have a regulator of their own. Higher than normal propane pressures will likely break them and further complicate the troubleshooting.
Quoting: spencerin try the "slow open" method. If that doesn't work, I'll try to bleed amount amounts of propane from the tanks using the bleeder valve
If you disconnect/reconnect the pipes or if they have been left out of service for some time the red/green indicator on the changeover regulator should be red with no tanks connected. Then you would connect two propane cylinder hoses to the regulator with the propane valves closed. The indicator would still be red. If you then one one of the propane cylinder valves just a little, propane will flow slowly into the piping. Maybe you will hear it. Anyhow after a short time if propane is flowing the regulator indicator should switch to green. If it does not, open the valve a little more. If that indicator will not turn green that is telling us propane is not flowing. So there are two likely reasons; no propane coming out of the cylinder or a problem with the regulator.
At that point I would suggest disconnecting the cylinder and trying some other device on the cylinder. A BBQ grill, weed burner, turkey cooker, anything. If nothing will work, then......
propane lockout
resetting propane lockout
I find using a sniffer is better than using a soapy liquid searching for bubbles. They will detect leaks that may produce the tiniest of bubbles. I've found this one works and is less than $25
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2024 05:19pm
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Great info Izzy 
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2024 08:15pm
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I'm not disassembling, just disconnecting tanks and resetting. The only propane appliance I have is the heater. The whole system is relatively new and lightly used, so my educated guess at this point now is resetting, and bleeding tanks if needed, will solve it.
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 11 Mar 2024 02:30pm - Edited by: spencerin
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Resetting, and bleeding, didn't solve it. So, I put in a call to the company that installed it.....
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 27 Apr 2024 07:07am
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Well, it turns out a bunch of ladybugs were in the ignition chamber. The guy cleaned it out, polished up the igniter, and said it runs fine once again.
My place, once built, became a safe haven for thousands of ladybugs (the invasive Asian kind) every Fall and Winter. They get into everything, apparently including direct-vent wall propane heater ignition chambers. Easy fix - will just put a screen over the intake/discharge flute when not in use.....
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 27 Apr 2024 11:23am
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That happened to me on LP something earlier this year, got brought up on the forum. I guess it’s somewhat common. Glad you got it going again.
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