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  • Dead Mouse Smell....

    Had the lil Grand for about 6 weeks now, always had a dead mouse smell in the kitchen in the morning. Should have dried out and dissipated by now but.....nope. Ok- into the basement, crawl all the way up to the kitchen drawers, nothing! Ugh. Working my way back I got a wiff of that smell by the furnace. Got my propane sniffer out and probed every propane connection in the basement, nada, and it didn't smell like propane. Pull front cover off furnace, bubble juice the brass elbow/3/8" pipe connection and bingo. A small bubble after 101-5 seconds. It was just enough of a leak to mix with the atmosphere and cause a misleading stink. I searched for instructions on my SF35v but could not find anything much, so I just winged it. Unit comes out super easy after disconnecting the ducts, rotate until the keys line up with the slots and they pop right off the casing, remove some anchor screws and it slides right out. On the bench, remove the belt-line screws and gently slide the core out of the casing and the rest it elementary taking lots of pics with phone for wiring references to remove blower assbly to access the elbow fitting- threads on same were a bit choppy so, for a few bucks, replace it. Could not find the exact elbow up here on the mountain so I made one from components til the correct one arrives. Also did a belt-n-suspenders with tape and dope. 4 full turns on both fittings and stuff the core back in the hole and sniff/bubble test with post-regulator line pressure (only!), no leaks. Pull the core, re-install in casing, re-install the whole thing and leak/function test. Ok. Easy-peasy. One note- the factory uses one-time crimp nuts on the wiring leading to the furnace. That needs to be cut and re-spliced. I used adhesive filled heat shrink spade connectors with a touch of Tesa tape at the connection to keep dust out and this way if it needs to come out again just remove the tape, un-plug the wires and slide it out, no cutting. The casing is SHARP, everywhere, wear gloves if you don't like a lot of little cuts and tape or loom shield any wires that even look like will get close to the casing. ziptie stuff accordingly. I actually found two wires that had cuts on them-lil dab of liquid e-tape fixed that. The blower also has two hidden tangs that go into the core case so tilt it up then over to remove, and engage those FIRST when reinstalling to avoid snapping them off, then install the blower gasket and then the screws when the blower if flush with the base. Keep the LP pipe/elbow covered at all times to avoid having something go into the gas valve block and invert same when removing doped fittings to prevent chips from falling in etc. Saved a TON of $$ doing this myself. It was easy- just go slow and be gentle during teardown.

    - pv.

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    '20 Baby Grand 230RL
    '93 Ford F350, 4WD, Crew, long box, 7.5L, SRW
    Demco High Jacker 6076P-16k
    Demco custom rails 8552005-71

  • #2
    Vid- (bubble/sniff leak check before and) sniff check during func test.

    112721.mp4
    Attached Files
    '20 Baby Grand 230RL
    '93 Ford F350, 4WD, Crew, long box, 7.5L, SRW
    Demco High Jacker 6076P-16k
    Demco custom rails 8552005-71

    Comment


    • #3
      pvduke -- sharp edges indeed! And I agree you saved a wad of cash by doing this yourself versus paying a mx person to do the work.

      Only note I don't see is the performance of propane checks after reinstallation. Technically it's required to verify 11" WC (with a 50% load) out of the regulator, verify pressure does not exceed 14" when load is removed, and also a 5 minute leak check (needle on gauge cannot move--not even a smidge) after any work is done on a propane system. You're obviously adept at doing this type of work so these would be good tests to learn how to do (if you don't know them already) using a manometer.
      Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

      2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus

      Comment


      • #4
        Only changed a leaking elbow. Everything else is as was and it's "working" happily as far as I can tell. And I didn't know about the test/regs. Ooops. Called around and got " what's a bananometer"? Obviously nothing like that up here (remote area). Once the proper 1-pc elbow comes and it's time to swap I'll check it as per your suggestion. Thanks.
        '20 Baby Grand 230RL
        '93 Ford F350, 4WD, Crew, long box, 7.5L, SRW
        Demco High Jacker 6076P-16k
        Demco custom rails 8552005-71

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by pvduke View Post
          Only changed a leaking elbow. Everything else is as was and it's "working" happily as far as I can tell. And I didn't know about the test/regs. Ooops. Called around and got " what's a bananometer"? Obviously nothing like that up here (remote area). Once the proper 1-pc elbow comes and it's time to swap I'll check it as per your suggestion. Thanks.
          Manometer measures pressure. You can check the regulator and check the system for leaks. Easily made from clear tubing. Check out
          YouTube for instructions.

          John & Kathy
          2014 Reflection 303RLS
          2014 F250 SC SB 6.2

          Comment


          • #6
            Okay. I did some research and as far as I can tell, least in this County, there is no requirement for a TPDT or performance test after a simple non system altering repair. HOWSON- if you have a link for the requirements in Arizona for the tests that must be done after a simple fitting replacement I'd like to have that for my records but as far as I can tell or at least find out on my end there aren't any up here or in Arizona

            . And I get it it's important to maintain your system and have it checked and tested regularly. No two ways about that.

            Thankfully all my devices are soot free, there's no popping and banging from lean burn, no smells so just based on the combustion process is of my devices I think I'm good pressure wise. Leaks can be another story. My hand held combustibles sniffer starts getting excited@ 60PPM, shrieks at 1000 PPM and it's not detecting anything but that's not to say it's not missing something.

            ​​​​​ You did bring up a very valid point... and it fits with the title of this topic, don't rely on your nose to verify a propane leak. I had a very slow seep I mean it was a micro leak and it ended up smelling like a dead mouse because it was mixing with the atmosphere before it reached my nose and it wasn't enough to trigger any alarms. I overlooked that and got all up into the DIY Thing and my simple field repair using two or three basic hand tools, bubble juice and a sniffer I should have circled back around to the safety thing.

            And as such I'm going to build my own device for the drop test. By that I mean a brass 4-way (I copied from another source) with a couple of ball valves on it and a barbed fitting and I'm going to purchase a commercial gauge set for the sake of accuracy and repeatability for both the drop test and line pressure test.

            -pv
            Attached Files
            '20 Baby Grand 230RL
            '93 Ford F350, 4WD, Crew, long box, 7.5L, SRW
            Demco High Jacker 6076P-16k
            Demco custom rails 8552005-71

            Comment


            • #7
              pvduke -- that's the test fitting I have. I use it with a Yellow Jacket manometer.

              Came in handy yesterday. My friend's furnace was not working right. Found output of regulator <10" WC with furnace on ( right at 10 with it off). Adj reg to 11" w/furnace on. No issues last night--good thing as the temps dropped to 33F.

              Don't have a specific reference other than what I was taught and also industry (GD) standard practice when working on a propane sys.
              Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

              2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus

              Comment


              • #8
                Copy- good to know NTL and glad you touched on that safety point thx again propane aint to be trifled with. 39 here last night was nice to have pizza in the oven again and the furnace back on line.

                -pv.
                '20 Baby Grand 230RL
                '93 Ford F350, 4WD, Crew, long box, 7.5L, SRW
                Demco High Jacker 6076P-16k
                Demco custom rails 8552005-71

                Comment

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