3 years ago we purchased a remote cabin that has an external 200 gallon
propane tank and was plumbed for some gas appliances. It turned out the
exisitng hot water tank and a small wall furnace (both gas) were failing and
I removed them. With no other gas requirements inside the cabin, I found
the feed and capped the line about 6 feet inside the cabin wall. The gas
plumbing beyond that point was old and suspiciously makeshift, so I removed
it all.

Now the place is almost fixed up, and we are considering a small gas range
and perhaps other gas appliances. I estimate there is 150 gallons of
propane in the tank, which has now been sitting for 3+ years.

Questions:

Does old propane go "bad"? When I removed some of the old piping, there
seemed to be a nasty smelling gel layer inside the pipes. Is this a
congealed version of propane? Do lines need to be reamed out before
reusing?

The regulator for the line is the last item on the feed pipe before it comes
through the cabin wall. Do these fail from lack of use?

If I replumb the gas lines, can a standard propane supplier inspect the
system or is there an offically body I need to get to inspect the new setup?
I don't want to mess with gas (or my insurance) without having someone
knowlegable who can verify my work. On the other hand, we're a fair
distance from any real city, and arranging for an inspector to get there is
problematic.

Thanks
Gary

Mamba wrote:
....
If I replumb the gas lines, can a standard propane supplier inspect the
system or is there an offically body I need to get to inspect the new setup?
....

Generally, most have the capabilities to do so, but will probably charge
for more than simply the tank and its direct connections.

Whether you need anything else depends only on your local jurisdiction's
rules -- can't answer that.

Call the supplier -- they can tell you what they can/will do and also
what are the pertinent reg's they operate under where you're located.
Or, if they're not willing to actually make that call, at least who you
need to call to find out.

--

Mamba writes:

Does old propane go "bad"? When I removed some of the old piping,
there seemed to be a nasty smelling gel layer inside the pipes. Is
this a congealed version of propane? Do lines need to be reamed out
before reusing?

The smelly goo is the mercaptan odorant, with some waxy hydrocarbons
that distill and/or polymerize out of the product. This is quite a
normal situation. It doesn't need to be cleaned out as long as it isn't
going to get into your regulator.

The regulator for the line is the last item on the feed pipe before it
comes through the cabin wall. Do these fail from lack of use?

It's possible but at only 3 years old it will likely work fine.

If I replumb the gas lines, can a standard propane supplier inspect
the system or is there an offically body I need to get to inspect the
new setup? I don't want to mess with gas (or my insurance) without
having someone knowlegable who can verify my work.

A propane dealer will be technically competent to advise and inspect.
Whether it is up to some code will depend on the local jurisdiction.
Most "remote cabins" are not going to be inspected, whether it's legally
required or not. Between a sound installation and inexpensive
electronic leak sniffers in the living space, you should be fine.

On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:24:11 -0700, "Mamba" wrote:

3 years ago we purchased a remote cabin that has an external 200 gallon
propane tank and was plumbed for some gas appliances. It turned out the
exisitng hot water tank and a small wall furnace (both gas) were failing and
I removed them. With no other gas requirements inside the cabin, I found
the feed and capped the line about 6 feet inside the cabin wall. The gas
plumbing beyond that point was old and suspiciously makeshift, so I removed
it all.

Now the place is almost fixed up, and we are considering a small gas range
and perhaps other gas appliances. I estimate there is 150 gallons of
propane in the tank, which has now been sitting for 3+ years.

Questions:

Does old propane go "bad"? When I removed some of the old piping, there
seemed to be a nasty smelling gel layer inside the pipes. Is this a
congealed version of propane? Do lines need to be reamed out before
reusing?

The regulator for the line is the last item on the feed pipe before it comes
through the cabin wall. Do these fail from lack of use?

If I replumb the gas lines, can a standard propane supplier inspect the
system or is there an offically body I need to get to inspect the new setup?
I don't want to mess with gas (or my insurance) without having someone
knowlegable who can verify my work. On the other hand, we're a fair
distance from any real city, and arranging for an inspector to get there is
problematic.

Thanks
Gary


Propane does not go bad. At least not in a reasonable amount of time.
I have use 20lb cylinders that sat for 10 years and it worked fine.

I cant not comment on the gel in the pipes ???????????

Regulators are supposed to be replaced every 15 years. There is a
date stamped on them. That's just the law, not necessarily that they
are bad.

If you dont trust your own work, hire an inspector or just get someone
from the local propane distributor to come. Eventually you will have
to fill the tank anyhow, and they wont fill it without inspecting it,
aet a cost to you of $50 or more. If you follow the code and know how
to connect pipe without having leaks, there is no reason you should
have problems. Of course always test all connections with soap water
and look for bubbles, which means leaks.

Mamba wrote:

....
Does old propane go "bad"? When I removed some of the old piping, there
seemed to be a nasty smelling gel layer inside the pipes. Is this a
congealed version of propane? Do lines need to be reamed out before
reusing?

Propane does not go "bad", but (IIRC) the mercaptan odorant can.
Your local propane company will check that as part of their
service initiation inspection.

"M Q" wrote in message
news:NypTi.6611$MV4.1268@trnddc03...
Mamba wrote:

...
Does old propane go "bad"? When I removed some of the old piping, there
seemed to be a nasty smelling gel layer inside the pipes. Is this a
congealed version of propane? Do lines need to be reamed out before
reusing?

Propane does not go "bad", but (IIRC) the mercaptan odorant can.
Your local propane company will check that as part of their
service initiation inspection.

Thanks all.

I an hesitant to contact the local propane supplier. It is a real Pop and
Pop shop, the guy runs a junk yard, does handy work, and has less than a
stellar local reputation. However, he did the last fill on the tank before
we bought it so we could prove the utilites worked. The next nearest
supplier I know of is probably 50 miles away.

When you say the mercaptan can go bad, does that mean it can damage
appliances, or that it gels and smells bad (as I found)? I guesstimate the
propane tank/lines had not been used actively for a year or two before we
bought the place.

The outdoor tank has a buried line about 20 feet to the wall of the cabin.
It comes out of the ground into regulator at about 3 feet above grade. Then
the line comes through the wall from the regulator and I have it capped
about 15 feet inside the wall. This is in the "basement" under the cabin
floor.

My intent was to add steel piping to the capped line to run it to the area
under the kitchen floor, then pop a flex line up throught the floor to a gas
range. It's a dead simple operation, my main concern is the existing state
of the propane and regulator.