It was an absolutely beautiful Christmas Day here in Pennsylvania; Temperature hit 52 degrees. Bright sunshine, clear sky, white puffy clouds.
My son and I went out on the rear deck and while we were out there, I told him, go over to the propane tanks and check the gas level gauges because we had gotten filled-up back on December 18.
He goes over, lifts the lids on tanks one thru three and all at about 75%. He lifts the lid on tank 4, the gauge shows about 75% BUT . . . . he smells propane!
He tells me "Dad, I smell propane."
I walk over and, sure enough, I smell it too. Not much. Just at the top of the last tank . . . but it WAS there.
Oh boy, what to do?
So, even though it is Christmas Day, I call the local gas company. What choice did I have? I'm either going to lose the propane to the leak, or, God forbid, I'm gonna have some type of "event" here, and "events" with explosive gas are not pretty.
Their 24/7 answering service picked up the call. I told them who I was, where I live, and that I smell propane from one of the tanks. The operator told me he would pass this to their on-call Technician.
About ten minutes later, the technician calls. I apologized profusely for bothering him on Christmas day, and tell him what's going on.
He told me "I live in the same town as you, I'm out in my backyard having a Christmas cigar with my brother. I'll finish my cigar, get in the truck and be there within a half hour."
Twenty minutes later, he pulled down the driveway!!!!! How's THAT for good/terrific/outstanding service? I live out in the middle of nowhere and within 30 minutes on CHRISTMAS DAY, I got a tech from our local gas company. By __any__ standard, THAT is outstanding service!
He checks the tanks, smells the propane. He applies leak detector solution to the valves and fittings to see where it bubbles. NO WHERE. He does the same for the tubing connecting the tanks. Again, NO BUBBLES.
He tells us to turn off all the gas appliances in the house (Stove, hot water heater, gas dryer, furnace) because he's going to undertake a full leak detection process. We shut everything off.
He does the process. The pressure gauge maintains pressure throughout the entire test. NO LEAK DETECTED.
Yet we walk back over to that tank . . . and STILL smell propane.
He applies leak detector solution to the tank pressure gauge and . . . lo and behold . . . . LEAK!
The screws that hold the pressure gauge on the tank itself had loosened over time and gas was seeping out, ever-so-slightly, from beneath the gauge. He got his tools, tightened the gauge. Leak sealed.
That particular tank has been here since the year 1990. Time does things.
Anyway, problem solved. Getting ready to sit down to dinner.
. . . and so it goes . . . .
Thank God we detected this now, when things are still readily available, and not after some disaster (or economic collapse) strikes, or in the middle of sub-zero temperatures, where maybe the heat goes off from no fuel, while we're all down in the house in New Jersey, and water pipes break from the cold, but we don't know any of it has happened. Better to find it now!
