Anyone heat with propane?

Does anyone heat with propane out there? I'm not sure if I should be worried but I smell a gasy smell by the floor inside my house. I called my Dad and he thinks I may be ok, but I'd like to ask others too.

I live in a trailer and my washer is right across from the furnace. Well I was down on my hands and knees looking for cat toys under the washer when I smelled something gassy like. So I sniffed by the floor a few times, then right against the bottom of the furnace cover. It's deffinatley coming from there. But when I stood up and smelled like halfway up the cover I couldn't smell anything. There is a vent at the bottom that I can smell it from, but not from the vent half way up.

We don't have the heat on, but we do have the AC on.

Dad said that sometimes they add something to propane so when you are running low you'll get a different odor, but that is usually only noticed stoves he thinks. I have an electric stove so I'm not sure. He told me how to shut it off so I might wake DH up and make him do that.

Any advice? I'm looking for the number of the people who serviced our furnace last fall. (There was a recall on a part!) I can call them in the AM about it...or maybe the fire department? I think I should at least go check the gas level in our tanks. I know it's been a while since we had them filled so they might be low like Dad said...

Best advice is to leave the trailer and call the fire department.
They will check for gas leaks. Better to be safe.

Right after I posted my boss called (I had sent her a text). She said to take our carbon monoxide detector and put it low on the floor near the furnace, but not right up to it. She also said to go outside and sniff around where the line goes under the house and under the house.

So I've got the carbon monoxide detector about 3-4' away and I woke DH up to go outside. He shut the valves off on both tanks (one he thinks was already off because it wouldn't move) and I sniffed where the line goes in the house. Unfortunately the guy who installed our skirting last screwed it into the house and my sleepy husband wouldn't find one that wasn't to pull up so I didn't get to sniff under the house. I did smell the gas right at the top of the tank when we were looking at the meters and shutting the valves off.

Just adding....DH said we have about 30 gallons of propane left. We have 2 big tanks...I think they hold 200 gallons each....gotta look at the last bill and see how much they gave us....

I called our gas company from work and ended up coming straight home.

The guy from the company is here now and testing for a leak. The lady I talked to on the phone said it didn't sound completely normal, but may be just the lower gas level in our tanks. If it's just that, well better than having a problem and I guess worth the $100.

For now I'm just trying to keep Mooch and Noodles away from the open furnace panles because they are sure curious!

Hope everything is okay. It is better to be safe than sorry, but its too bad they are going to charge you to look at it.

Well the guy found a leak!

A very small leak he said but it is a leak! He's fixing it right now.

Noodles is freaked out with the noise he's making now but Mooch is being curious. Nosey nosey is more the word! Even her new banana isn't distracting her!

So you were right! Makes all of it worthwhile to know your family is safe now You must have a great sense of smell.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

So you were right! Makes all of it worthwhile to know your family is safe now

You must have a great sense of smell.

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I guess the girls' hiding thier toys under the washer served a good purpose!

But seriously, I'm so glad I did smell it before it got worse or anything! I mean it's low to the ground for me where it was, but not for my girls!

I'm soo glad you were alert and got advice and had the proper people come out to access the situation. Propane leaks can definitely turn bad if not attended to- so it's a good thing you were paying attention

I am so glad you followed your intuition and had it checked out!

Yes, you were right, when in doubt ANY time you smell an odor check it out. You probably know this, but the "Odor" is actually added to gas and propane for just that reason.
In its natural state neither gas not propane has any smell and fragrance was added years ago to counter the claims of the oil and coal industry who said that "gas" was unsafe because you couldn't smell leaks, etc.

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

I'm soo glad you were alert and got advice and had the proper people come out to access the situation. Propane leaks can definitely turn bad if not attended to- so it's a good thing you were paying attention

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Unfortunately I remember how dangerous it can be all too well.

My Junior year of high shcool, in a nice neighborhood about a mile from here, a girl I went to school with was helping her dad re-tile the kitchen floor. Well she went and spent a night at her friends down the street, so just her Dad was home--her mom was out of the country and her sister was at college. In the middle of the night their house blew up. Litterally. There was nothing left. It even knocked the house next door off its foundation. People sleeping in their beds were hit with debris. It was such an explosion I heard it at my parent's house about 5-7 miles away. My friend who lives less than a mile away said it was so loud she fell right out of her bed. I'll never forget that -ever-. They somehow determined that a valve had not been shut off right when they moved the stove and the whole house filled with gas. They don't know what sparked it though.

I'm so glad that is all over now. I'm ready for a calm quiet evening! I'm making homemade macaroni and cheese with extra cheese!