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Propane Hose Blocked

ThomasFour
Explorer
Explorer
I bought a 6' propane hose extension to run a small gas grill off a bigger tank. I have been using the extension hose in place of the small canisters for less than a year. After a recent refill of my larger propane tank, the grill suddenly had very low flame and was basically useless. I reverted back to small canisters and the grill worked fine. Replaced the regulator hoping to use the extension hose again - same result. Switched propane tanks - same result. Both propane tanks work fine on my other gas grill. My deduction - extension hose is blocked. Tried to blow it out with the compressor - no help. I've heard sludge from the tank can block these things up. Any hope of salvaging or just toss it? Thanks.
9 REPLIES 9

time2roll
Explorer II
Explorer II
Consider a different supplier or have one made up by a propane dealer.

ThomasFour
Explorer
Explorer
Thank you all very much for the insights. My plan is to replace the hose based on what I've learned here. Appreciate the help.

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
Flarpswitch wrote:
I am not certain what your setup is, so I am going to make an assumption. First, the grill you are using is a common portable propane gas grill designed to work off disposable cylinders. These grills have an integrated pressure regular and control knob and are designed to operate from 'tank pressure'; that will vary according to ambient temperature. If you are using a bulk tank for economy purposes, you should have and adapter and hose that provides an unregulated LPG supply. Keep in mind that the pressure of the LPG is the same regardless of tank size. As mentioned previously, there may be a check valve in the hose that is supposed to close if there is a situation that caused high flow such as a break in the line. The check valve will operate if the LPG tank is at fairly high pressure and the valve is opened suddenly when the gas flows to fill the hose. If the gas appliance is a high BTU one, just by operating it may close the check valve. Another question I would ask is, does the adapter/hose have a built-in regulator such as found on home BBQ grills? Those will limit the pressure to about 1/2 PSIG and that is not enough to operate a gas grill with its own regulator. The run of the mill portable gas grill needs no less than 10-15 PSIG to operate properly. There are fixed and adjustable regulators that will do the trick. If you are using a high output gas appliance such as a large camp grill, cooker or fire-pit, the regulated pressure will be much higher. This is a problem that comes up often when I am camping; there is someone nearby that is trying to figure out why their grill or stove either never worked or stopped working. The most common problem I run into is someone is plugging in a portable gas grill into the quick connect on their RV that is at the regulated pressure of 11" WC or about 1/2 PSIG. If you can even light the grill, the best you can do is warm your hands on a cold day.


The OP's setup has been working up until now.

Flarpswitch
Explorer
Explorer
I am not certain what your setup is, so I am going to make an assumption. First, the grill you are using is a common portable propane gas grill designed to work off disposable cylinders. These grills have an integrated pressure regular and control knob and are designed to operate from 'tank pressure'; that will vary according to ambient temperature. If you are using a bulk tank for economy purposes, you should have and adapter and hose that provides an unregulated LPG supply. Keep in mind that the pressure of the LPG is the same regardless of tank size. As mentioned previously, there may be a check valve in the hose that is supposed to close if there is a situation that caused high flow such as a break in the line. The check valve will operate if the LPG tank is at fairly high pressure and the valve is opened suddenly when the gas flows to fill the hose. If the gas appliance is a high BTU one, just by operating it may close the check valve. Another question I would ask is, does the adapter/hose have a built-in regulator such as found on home BBQ grills? Those will limit the pressure to about 1/2 PSIG and that is not enough to operate a gas grill with its own regulator. The run of the mill portable gas grill needs no less than 10-15 PSIG to operate properly. There are fixed and adjustable regulators that will do the trick. If you are using a high output gas appliance such as a large camp grill, cooker or fire-pit, the regulated pressure will be much higher. This is a problem that comes up often when I am camping; there is someone nearby that is trying to figure out why their grill or stove either never worked or stopped working. The most common problem I run into is someone is plugging in a portable gas grill into the quick connect on their RV that is at the regulated pressure of 11" WC or about 1/2 PSIG. If you can even light the grill, the best you can do is warm your hands on a cold day.
Steve

jcsb
Explorer
Explorer
My Scout Troop uses rubber hoses for our propane stoves. After a while the hoses deteriate on the inside and eventually plug up. We go camping monthly and have at least 1 or 2 go bad every year. Secondly, the end of the connection from the hose to the stove is a very small opening. We either have to run a wire thru it to clear it or replace.

The life on these depend on the overall usage.
Jim Hunter

jcsb
Explorer
Explorer
My Scout Troop uses rubber hoses for our propane stoves. After a while the hoses deteriate on the inside and eventually plug up. We go camping monthly and have at least 1 or 2 go bad every year. Secondly, the end of the connection from the hose to the stove is a very small opening. We either have to run a wire thru it to clear it or replace.

The life on these depend on the overall usage.
Jim Hunter

pigman1
Explorer
Explorer
Check the end of your extension hose. If you have a fitting that looks something like this propane spud spud you probably have a flow limiter embedded in the spud. These have been known to set and stick. On all my propane lines I have drilled out the limiters after experiencing a number of failures.
Pigman & Piglady
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ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
The interior liner can come loose and block the line. But you can't blow thorugh a line with a female quick disconnect (if that's what it has) without defeating its internal valve. So I would remove the female quick disconnect or the appliance end connector and try to blow through it again.