[C320-list] Major LP gas system failure!

[Scott Thompson]

You don't say where the "pop" noise came from.  Your friends' theory 
seems to require multiple failures: the pressure regulator, followed by 
the solenoid, followed by something in the cabin (otherwise it seems 
unlikely you would have had gas in the cabin).

In any event, I'm glad it wasn't more serious. The news today about the 
dive boat fire in California is sobering.


On 9/3/2019 7:24 PM, Guy Smith wrote:
> Hey All!
> Had some excitement on Sunday morning, on the hook in Still Pond!I got up first to start the tea pot on the stove in the galley.(My wife was still snoozing a bit...) As I usually do, I ventured outinto the cockpit and turned the LP tank on... instead of the normal 1/4 second "psst" of the gas bottle charging the gauge up to pressure, I (we actually) heard a POP! and the gas bottle continued to "pssssssssssss..."! I immediately turned the valve off and headed into the cabin.There was a heavy oder of gas in the galley area. Needless to say, no stove valves were left on.The I realized that I hadn't switched the gas solenoid switch on, so I was amazed that gas made it into the cabin!
> Some friends that I've been talking with think that the pressure regulator failed and the gas valve solenoid (down stream of the regulator) was a low pressure solenoid and couldn't take the pressure (which was about 30 psi at the time, if you could believe the gauge).
> I can't help thinking that if I would have got a burner started and *then* the system failed with the burner lit, it coulda been really BAD! Especially since my wife was in the aft cabin and couldn't egress very quickly!I think my first reaction would've been to go to the control panel to turn the solenoid switch off, loosing precious time getting to the bottle valve.
> So I was wondering:
> -Anyone else have this happen to them?-Could the Stove be damaged after getting a jolt of hi-pressure gas? (obviously *something* leaked in the cabin)-Since I'm gonna replace the tank (it's  a '97 original), regulator and solenoid, should I also pull a new gas line or just pressure check it? It seems pretty involved to fish a new one but probably a good thing to do?-How would I pressure check the stove components? Is there recommended pressure to set and monitor for leaks in the stove's components?-Am I technically allowed to do this work myself without certification?
> I'm a pretty capable mechanic and have run and repaired gas lines in my home, so I'm not against doing the work myself.I can imagine the yard would charge me an arm and a leg to diagnose and repair the system before they were done.
> Thoughts?~g
> Guy and Liz Smithsv Pleiades'97 C320 #452Worton Creek, MD
>