MJL
New Member
After months of chasing down one tiny leak after another in my new LP gas piping installation, I have to wonder if anyone ever gets these things *completely* leak free? I have about 100ft of pipe overall and it can easily hold 10psi for 15 minutes, which seems to be the requirement for passing inspection in most places. Even 30, 50, or 70 psi for a day or two. But given a few days, the pressure always starts dropping. And I always find a tiny leak, fix it, and repeat again and again. I tore the whole system out and replumbed it a couple of weeks ago, meticulously cleaning every thread and joint with acetone, and using Hercules Block because it seems to be recommended everywhere for foolproof leak-free joints. Two days went by at 30psi with no problem. The following morning, one psi less. Now several days later I'm down to 20psi. There are no appliances attached, every outlet is capped, and I fill the system via schrader valve. The valve and gauge were originally part of the leakage problem, but have been fine since I resealed them.
So I'm just curious to hear from the professionals out there: what is reasonable/expected/acceptable? When it comes to gas, I would think that ANY leak would be unacceptable. And I understand that pipe which leaks at 10 psi or higher might not leak at all when subject to the much lower LP gas pressure. But what's the consensus here?
So I'm just curious to hear from the professionals out there: what is reasonable/expected/acceptable? When it comes to gas, I would think that ANY leak would be unacceptable. And I understand that pipe which leaks at 10 psi or higher might not leak at all when subject to the much lower LP gas pressure. But what's the consensus here?