Sea trial for 1990 Ericson 34-2 next week

[Christian Williams]

Yes, check the drain in the bottom of the propane locker. (Propane heavier than air)

Then take the tanks off the boat until you get around to troubleshooting.

 

[Marlin Prowell]

Insurance underwriter would like the propane smell addressed. I can see where the age/condition of those pieces might produce a leak. How much between the stove and this tank should I assume is questionable?

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With a 35 year old boat, everything can be considered questionable. Teranodon replaced the hoses and more in his E34 propane locker and I have done something similar in our E34. But that should be the end goal.

You likely have two issues — there is a propane leak, and you can smell it. Underneath the tank is a drain hole. Attached to the drain is a hose that goes to a thru hull that is above the water line. That thru hull has a shut off ball valve. All of that is intended to drain away any propane gas that collects in the propane locker. Perhaps that thru hull ball valve is closed. Also the drain hose is almost horizontal in my boat, so perhaps there’s water or debris that’s collected in the tube. It takes some boat yoga to get into the stern locker to examine this and fix any issues. That should prevent propane gas from accumulating in the locker.

Next, use soap bubble solution to find exactly what is leaking in the propane locker. In our boat, the stem of the propane tank shut off valve had a leak, which was totally unexpected. I had a local propane supplier replace the valve and the propane leak was solved.