…but when you do need it, no expedient works half as well. And it’s unobtrusive and relatively cheap, and I wish I’d known of its existence 15 years ago.
Last winter when I was blundering around trying to figure out what was wrong with my bedroom heater, I removed the bypass regulator for the propane bottles and replaced it with the original single-bottle regulator. This had no good effect but I never got around to replacing the bypass regulator until this morning. And having done that, of course you want to go around and test the various fittings for gas leaks. In particular the pigtail hoses are prone to developing slow insidious leaks, which can’t always be pinpointed or sometimes even detected by the old soapy water trick. Which is why…
…whenever I have to fiddle with my propane supply, this gadget becomes my favorite thing.
Give it half a minute to calibrate itself, then just poke it around all the little rotaty bits, and the bits where rubber meets metal…
And hey presto!
Gotcha. Now I have to replace that hose. But in the meantime I can just close the valve on that bottle and I won’t waste gas waiting for winter.
Seems like a 120 gallon/420lb propane tank would be less fiddling, and maintenance. Although only holds 96 gal when full.
Probably hard to get service/ refill delivery unless other locals are on the route.
And of course it would help if there were a route. Actual SUVs have been damaged trying to get to my cabin. A propane truck would be here to stay.
Well having your own propane truck would keep you supplied – for your heater and for your oven – for a rather long while!
Huh? Did not know that item existed. Have been using soapy water spray bottle for years. Just installed new water heater and the soapy bubbles worked, had to re-align and tighten a junction.
Guess I am going to have to add one to my tool kit now, just to keep up with Joel 😉
And, here I’ve been doing the soap/water thing, not knowing this gadget was around. Damn…
Mark I nose didn’t always do the job, and I’ve had at least one bad pigtail drain a 50 pound tank. Time for another ‘zon order…
Thanks for the heads up!