Comments on: Propane and Odor Fade http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:14:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ramsey http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-1028 Ramsey Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:46:54 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-1028 Holy hell, Bruce. Never seen that opening photo before. Glad to know you're on the case..... Holy hell, Bruce. Never seen that opening photo before. Glad to know you’re on the case…..

]]> By: Bruce http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-1017 Bruce Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:36:06 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-1017 It's hard to say. I'm not a propane expert or an engineer. A propane system can be tested for leaks, which I presume was done by person who came out to your house. If you aren't confident of that person's assessment, have your system checked by a qualified technician recommended by your propane distributor. It could be that you have a batch of propane that is heavily odorized, or that you have a very sensitive sense of smell. The best way to ease your worries is by installing a propane detector, which goes in the lowest spot in your house -- a basement or crawlspace, if you have one. It’s hard to say. I’m not a propane expert or an engineer. A propane system can be tested for leaks, which I presume was done by person who came out to your house. If you aren’t confident of that person’s assessment, have your system checked by a qualified technician recommended by your propane distributor. It could be that you have a batch of propane that is heavily odorized, or that you have a very sensitive sense of smell. The best way to ease your worries is by installing a propane detector, which goes in the lowest spot in your house — a basement or crawlspace, if you have one.

]]> By: Brooke Brockbank http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-1008 Brooke Brockbank Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:39:01 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-1008 We live in a rural area and have a propane tank- only for fireplace. A few days after we installed the propane tank we smelled propane if we were standing right next to the fireplace. It was very strong. We called and had someone come check it out- when they got there the smell was not present anymore (of course), but they did many tests on all the pipes and said they were convinced there was no such leak. They also said that maybe we smelled something, but propane would sink and that it would be near the floor and not in the area around the fireplace. Well the smell keeps coming back very strong- it is the propane smell, but whenever I smell the floor, i smell nothing. Should I be concerned. Sometimes I can smell it when I walk in the room. But again it is never around the floor by the fireplace. Can you ease my worries about this? We live in a rural area and have a propane tank- only for fireplace. A few days after we installed the propane tank we smelled propane if we were standing right next to the fireplace. It was very strong. We called and had someone come check it out- when they got there the smell was not present anymore (of course), but they did many tests on all the pipes and said they were convinced there was no such leak. They also said that maybe we smelled something, but propane would sink and that it would be near the floor and not in the area around the fireplace. Well the smell keeps coming back very strong- it is the propane smell, but whenever I smell the floor, i smell nothing. Should I be concerned. Sometimes I can smell it when I walk in the room. But again it is never around the floor by the fireplace. Can you ease my worries about this?

]]> By: Renee MacKenzie http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-1003 Renee MacKenzie Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:34:00 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-1003 Dear Bruce: Just another note to say thank you again for your work in this area. I wrote you about two and a half years ago after suffering burn injuries in a house explosion. I do my own small part in educating people about the dangers of odor fade and propane but it seems So Little compared to the potential devastation. Dear Bruce:

Just another note to say thank you again for your work in this area. I wrote you about two and a half years ago after suffering burn injuries in a house explosion. I do my own small part in educating people about the dangers of odor fade and propane but it seems So Little compared to the potential devastation.

]]> By: Bruce http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-323 Bruce Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:15:47 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-323 Thanks for the document, Courtney. I've replaced yours for the inferior version I had linked. I appreciate any other documents or information you care to pass along. Thanks for the document, Courtney. I’ve replaced yours for the inferior version I had linked. I appreciate any other documents or information you care to pass along.

]]> By: C.Martin http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-321 C.Martin Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:30:41 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-321 Bruce, I was very interested in the results from the canadian study on oxide absorption and I was sad that the document you have posted doesn't inlcude the tables. I found one that is posted on the internet that does and I thought I'd pass it along incase anyone else was interested. http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia02/os/propanept2.PDF Thanks for all your work on the subject! Bruce, I was very interested in the results from the canadian study on oxide absorption and I was sad that the document you have posted doesn’t inlcude the tables. I found one that is posted on the internet that does and I thought I’d pass it along incase anyone else was interested.

http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia02/os/propanept2.PDF

Thanks for all your work on the subject!

]]> By: Bruce http://brucegoldfarb.com/propane-and-odor-fade/comment-page-1#comment-305 Bruce Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:58:33 +0000 http://brucegoldfarb.com/?p=28#comment-305 Glad to hear the propane leak was detected in time. Dirt and porous masonry surfaces adsorb mercaptans like a sponge. The mercaptan is in the material. Once the gas is gone, the odor itself is harmless. The area smells vaguely of gas. I'm not a chemist or engineer, but if it were my home, I'd find ways to mitigate the odor. Perhaps you can remove a few inches of dirt and/or cover it with clean topsoil. If the crawlspace is open to the outside, I'd rinse what I could with a hose to remove surface dirt from the foundation, supports and beneath the beams. I'd go to Home Depot and buy a pump sprayer with a long nozzle, like the kind used by home exterminators, and fill it with a few bottles of cheap hydrogen peroxide from the dollar store. Peroxides neutralize sulfur-bearing compounds, and it may work on mercaptan. I'd spray as much as I can, and for good measure would follow up with a spray of something like Febreeze. You might also try sprinkling activated charcoal, which is sold with pool or aquarium supplies. But this stuff is jet black and messy; not a good idea if you have pets that might get in there. And as long as you're in the crawlspace, install a propane detector -- that's the dangerous area where gas can accumulate. Glad to hear the propane leak was detected in time. Dirt and porous masonry surfaces adsorb mercaptans like a sponge. The mercaptan is in the material. Once the gas is gone, the odor itself is harmless. The area smells vaguely of gas. I’m not a chemist or engineer, but if it were my home, I’d find ways to mitigate the odor. Perhaps you can remove a few inches of dirt and/or cover it with clean topsoil. If the crawlspace is open to the outside, I’d rinse what I could with a hose to remove surface dirt from the foundation, supports and beneath the beams. I’d go to Home Depot and buy a pump sprayer with a long nozzle, like the kind used by home exterminators, and fill it with a few bottles of cheap hydrogen peroxide from the dollar store. Peroxides neutralize sulfur-bearing compounds, and it may work on mercaptan. I’d spray as much as I can, and for good measure would follow up with a spray of something like Febreeze. You might also try sprinkling activated charcoal, which is sold with pool or aquarium supplies. But this stuff is jet black and messy; not a good idea if you have pets that might get in there. And as long as you’re in the crawlspace, install a propane detector — that’s the dangerous area where gas can accumulate.

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