HALFWAY BENCH

9/21/20

Serious Repair Required

 Adventure Location:  Decatur, Al
Adventure Date: 9-21-2020
Click the Pic to enlarge

We have no recollection of why the OFM was messing around with the LPG tanks but we are very glad he did.  As he was messing around he bumped the hose from the tank to the regulator and got a whoosh of propane on his arm. That is not good.

He carefully tested this and that and when the hose was moved a spray of propane came from inside the knob that attaches the hose to the tank. That situation could not be left for another day.  Think big explosion and huge ball of flame to figure out why it needed attention RIGHT NOW. 

After shutting both tanks he pulled the leak hose apart and still could not find any trouble.  No matter. The fifteen year old hoses had to go NOW.



So we headed off to Andy’s RV place to get two new hoses. An exact replacement was not available, but the normal for newer rigs was. It looked like it would work just fine so out the door we went with them. 

When we go back to the Castle we found out that the old hose and regulator had 3/8“ fittings and the new hose has 1/4“ fittings. So it was back to Andy’s for a bushing to make it all work.  They knew exactly what we needed and had two in stock. The purchase was made.  The hoses and bushing had cost us $35 but was a steal compared to the explosion and ball of flame scenario.  

Back at the Castle we set to replacing the hoses. It is not a hard job but a bit tedious.  We got a surprise when our two rolls of Teflon tape for the threads had just enough to finish the job. But the job was finished except for testing.

How do you test pressured lines like these? We test them with a bubble solution brushed on them.  The OFM is to do it three times about five minutes apart.



Everything tested secure and now we ought to be ready for another at least ten years on this assembly. By then the OFM Teams will not likely still be running the roads trying to have tooooo much fun.

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