I was on board Chang Sha at the weekend and as is my wont I hooked up the gas bottle to make a mug o' scald.
After a bit I went out on deck and got a whiff of gas from around the gas bottle which sits just aft of the wheel-house on the deck.
On closer inspection I discovered that the rubber ring around the top of the valve on the gas bottle that seals into the seat on the regulator was quite perished and that gas was leaking out onto the deck.
My question is can I take the still mostly full bottle back to some gas dealer and exchange it ? Will they even take it back if its still nearly full ?
Anyone any suggestions ?

Colin
GMY Chang Sha

Not sure you'll get any luck with the bottle,,remove the seal and take that back, your supplier can get a replacement for a full bottle not a half used one.

Colin,

If it was me, I would return the cylinder to where I bought it and point out the problem and request a refund.

If I didn't get any satisfaction at the retail outlet, I would contact the company (Flogas, Kosangas, Blue Gas etc) as I am sure that they would want this defective cylinder out of comission.

Last thing anybody needs is a tragedy.

Disconnect it immediately would be my immediate action and return it for a replacement.

Let us know how you get on.

Regards

Kieran

Colin,
Same thing happened me last summer. I removed the cylinder and put it farrr away from any-body and let it slowly empty itself into the atmosphere over night.

I brought it back to where I got it from (empty), pointed out the problem and they replaced it free of charge no problems

@Colin. Thats a bit worrying alright. I would have thought that rubber ring would be replaced at each refill or at least checked and replaced if damaged. I will certainl be checking every cylinder from now on.....

PS: One question, was the regulator clipped onto the cylinder all winter?

Thanks folks.

Bottle was disconnected immediately. The internal seal in the valve seems to be fine, its the outside seal at the top of the valve that seats into the regulator that was the problem. In other words its only leaking when the regulator is attached and turned on.

The bottle is one of the orange coloured ones which I think are Er-Gas and needless to say I haven't a clue where I got it. Could have been somewhere in the wilds of Leitrim last summer. Those bottles have a disposable dust cap (unlike the kosangas ones where the dust cap is permanently attached) and the bottle was sitting on deck all winter (disconnected) with no dust cap on it so maybe it got a bit weather beaten.

Best Wishes,

Colin
GMY Chang Sha

These seals come off very easily, you dont need to be a RGI in order to just pop a srcew driver behind it and lift it off. If you can't remember who the supplier was then just keep your eyes about you, gas bottles seem to get dumped everywhere, i small rub of Vasaline before slipping on will help both in getting it on and also make the regulator fitting much simpler.

be sure that nothing has leaked in to your bilges.in england gas bottles must be stored in gas lockers that are vented at low level overboard.not to criticize or have a go at the o.p but it begs the question about some kind of boat safety scheme whereby owners who wont comply to some basic safety standards regarding dangerous stuff like petrol and gas would have their boats impounded.it would certainly remove most of the junk from the canals.when boats are crowded together and an accidant/fire happens on one, it can spread very easily causing serious damage and possibly injury.discuss...........

Quote:

joeseph
be sure that nothing has leaked in to your bilges.in england gas bottles must be stored in gas lockers that are vented at low level overboard.not to criticize or have a go at the o.p but it begs the question about some kind of boat safety scheme whereby owners who wont comply to some basic safety standards regarding dangerous stuff like petrol and gas would have their boats impounded.it would certainly remove most of the junk from the canals.when boats are crowded together and an accidant/fire happens on one, it can spread very easily causing serious damage and possibly injury.discuss...........

LPG safety regulations for boats were tightened up and kicked in last summer, it was the IWAI that didn't like the idea and looked for an extra "consultation period", so some members would say that the safety issues now lies with them.

Nothing leaked into the bilges. The bottles are sitting on an open deck and there's no way for gas to enter the boat other than through the pipe it should go through. The boat has been inspected by a competent marine surveyor and he was happy with the installation.

I was under the illusion that Vaseline wasn't a great lubricant for rubber seals because as a petroleum based product it could actually cause the seals to corrode. But maybe thats an old wives tale.

Colin
GMY Chang Sha

Quote:

Billy Bunter

Quote:

joeseph
be sure that nothing has leaked in to your bilges.in england gas bottles must be stored in gas lockers that are vented at low level overboard.not to criticize or have a go at the o.p but it begs the question about some kind of boat safety scheme whereby owners who wont comply to some basic safety standards regarding dangerous stuff like petrol and gas would have their boats impounded.it would certainly remove most of the junk from the canals.when boats are crowded together and an accidant/fire happens on one, it can spread very easily causing serious damage and possibly injury.discuss...........

LPG safety regulations for boats were tightened up and kicked in last summer, it was the IWAI that didn't like the idea and looked for an extra "consultation period", so some members would say that the safety issues now lies with them.

any reason why?

Quote:

joeseph

Quote:

Billy Bunter

Quote:

joeseph
be sure that nothing has leaked in to your bilges.in england gas bottles must be stored in gas lockers that are vented at low level overboard.not to criticize or have a go at the o.p but it begs the question about some kind of boat safety scheme whereby owners who wont comply to some basic safety standards regarding dangerous stuff like petrol and gas would have their boats impounded.it would certainly remove most of the junk from the canals.when boats are crowded together and an accidant/fire happens on one, it can spread very easily causing serious damage and possibly injury.discuss...........

LPG safety regulations for boats were tightened up and kicked in last summer, it was the IWAI that didn't like the idea and looked for an extra "consultation period", so some members would say that the safety issues now lies with them.

any reason why?

I did some time later reopen the particular thread to ask how these consultations were progressing, had no reply i would still be interested to know just who is consulting with who.

Makes you think though, when the next boating mishap comes along there could well be some finger pointing.

I would always check the rubber ring on gas bottles before connecting. Even got a bottle once with no rubber ring on it.

Hi Colin
You are quite correct, Vaseline is not a suitable lubricant for rubber products.
It MAY be ok in this particular case, since the LPG is also a petroleum product, so the seal, which has to work with the gas after all, must be of a petroleum resistant material.
However, to be safe, why not pay a visit to your local pharmacy and buy a tube of water based lubricant?
Nowadays you can buy this without the need to wear a dirty Mac, or dark glasses, you know!

I wonder should IWAI consider joining forces with the gas suppliers to publish a leaflet on the safe use of gas on boats. I'm aware of several boats that use "Super Ser" style heaters, with the bottle stored in the back of the heater. The regulators in these are left connected until the bottle needs to be replaced. Imagine what would happen if your dodgy cylinder found its' way into one of these

Duncan

Quote:

colin_becker1
I was under the illusion that Vaseline wasn't a great lubricant for rubber seals because as a petroleum based product it could actually cause the seals to corrode. But maybe thats an old wives tale.

Colin
GMY Chang Sha

Duncan

As it turns out I found an old bottle in the back garden with the same type of seal so I can salvage that and put it on the bottle on the boat. I'll remember to inspect them more carefully in the future !

It is something I worry about. I recall a Derg Rally many, many moons ago in Portumna harbour and when we all arrived back from the pub someone noticed a bad smell of gas on a hire boat that was also in the harbour. It was unclear where the leak was coming from and we didn't know how much had gone into the bilges. The punters didn't want to stay on the boat so we roped it out of the harbour and tied it to a marker in the channel and called the hire company in the morning and they sorted it out. Most likely it was a similar problem to mine where the bottle itself was leaking and as the bottles were in a proper locker, most of the gas probably went over the side but we weren't willing to take a risk.

I would be very unhappy storing a gas-bottle inside the boat. That was the way it was when we bought the boat and it was the first thing we changed. Which is why the unused bottles are now rather in-elegantly stored chained to the hand-rail on the back deck.

Colin
GMY Chang Sha

lpginstallation.pdf

Attached are the "boat safety certificate" requirements for LPG installations in uk.
They make good sense and should be followed by all.

All the best Peter

Geraldine Foley
Newry & Portadown branch
'There's life in the old canal yet!'