I'm back again. But more of a cautionary tale, though I do have one question.


So I FINALLY had to go fill one of 30lbs tanks yesterday. So in the dark last night I swore I heard hissing sound when I connected the tank. I figured it was the gas filling the hose, but did smell a bit of propane, which I figured wasn't that odd on a freshly filled tank. Just to be safe though I turned off both tanks and went back in the house and got some soapy water. Came back outside with a flashlight and poured soapy water over all the fittings. Sure enough the curbside hose was leaking at the clamp very very slightly. So a wiggled the hose and suddenly got very large bubbles. I figured since the other tank was still 1/2 full I would just use that one this weekend. Wrong, checked that pigtail and it was leaking too.


So before I leave today I need to install two new pigtails, glad I found it now instead of while we were camping! So now I'll be checking for leaks before every trip from now on. I usually open the lid on the cover and smell for gas, but I'm thinking I might be more careful from now on.


So how common is it for the pigtails to start leaking? I'm thinking the rubber dried out around the clamps and caused the leak. This TT is only 10 years old, but has spent it's whole life in a hot dry climate.

 

Not common, but I have had orders of new pigtails where some leak right out of the box. It is one of those "never assume" kind of things.

Steve

 

Both of our gas pigtails leaked on a brand new TT upon delivery. Wasn't an issue as we took delivery after our camping season had ended, so the dealer/manufacturer took care of them looong before we actually needed to put them to use. They also gave me longer replacements which makes using our adapter fittings for our Roadtrip grill easier.

 

Was able to run to the local RV store after work Thursday and grab two 12" ones for around 30. Could have gotten them cheaper on line, but it's good to support these local business since they will have parts like this when you need them.

The lady that helped me at the RV shop said the ones that your have to connect to that tank with a wrench rarely leak whereas the quick connect ones fail more often. I still bought the quick ones for convenience, but they are longer than the originals and the clamps look better. Been camping for two days now and no further issues.

PS - sorry for the typos, swype on my cell phone.

 

What I have happen on a too regular basis is that the d#$% mice/chipmunks like the taste of the rubber and decide to build a nest close to their winter food supply, the propane tanks. I've had to replace chewed lines on every RV we have owned so it has become a SOP for me to give the lines a check every spring even though my wife puts a rodent deterrent in the two compartments.

 

I have never had a failure. But I do lubricate the seals a bit with some nose snot (sounds gross I know) before I put the hose back on after a refill.


The quick connects are now a must with the newer propane tanks.

 

Had a leaker on our "new to us" 09 TT.

Replaced the Leaky one right away and the other shorty thereafter.

Never gave it much thought.

Thanks for the tip on the mice, though. I'll leave the cover off this winter. I don't think like a mouse, but id bet that makes a fantastic home under the cover.

 

glue traps, I have them all over the place.

 

I replaced the propane regulator a couple years ago and since I was there I replaced the pigtails at the same time. The regulator (MARSH EXCEL MEGR253H) is doing fine, but one of the pigtails failed the night before a camping trip. It was leaking where the hose goes into the big **** that attaches to the propane tank. Shinestar is the brand. Subsequent to my purchase, there have been a lot of negative reviews.

Maybe this is just one of those items that doesn't last long and I need to carry a spare? Any recommendations for a quality pigtail?

 

My brother in law's TT had a bad connection at the crimp where it screws into the regulator. It was like that from the factory and since he really isn't too mechanically inclined he never caught it, I did. We ended up just taking that side out of service as the other lead was fine. He's had it replace since then.

 

Just had a 3 year old pigtail fail on my trailer just prior to Labor Day weekend. The crimp on the bottle side was about to fall off the barb. Luckily for me, the weekend prior I was applying some plastic protectant to the bottle cover and could smell propane.

Ordered a new auto change regulator (My unit didn't have the auto change feature from the factory) that came with pigtails from . Not sure if they are good quality or not, time will tell. If this one fails I will find a local hose supply to custom make a set of pigtails.

 

I ended up ordering a set of hoses from GASPRO on Amazon. I could have limped along on just one tank at a time, but I'll be camping in cold weather in October and having a tank run out in the middle of the night without the automatic switchover would kind of suck.

 

Did you go with the rubber pigtails or the braided stainless?

 

Braided. Most of the ones that came up were braided. I chose to buy a simple hose, one without a gauge on it. The gauges built into my tanks are so off that I don't need another gauge telling me bad information.

 

Cool, yeah and a guage adds another place for a possible leak. Be sure to post back if you have any issues with those braided lines.