Propane lines

[Ronnash080110]

Hello all my pipes for my propane are rusted not sure if they will hold pressure or not but what is an easy fix. I have a Chevy Tioga Arrow G30 van it’s a class C. Thanks in advance
Ashley

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum

Your Propane lines are "black pipe" and discoloration is common after a number of years. What year is your RV? You could do an LP leak down test to determine if there is a leak. If there is then we can help you find it.

[Ronnash080110]

My RV is 1986 Tioga Arrow poor thing is as old as I am.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by Ronnash080110

My RV is 1986 Tioga Arrow poor thing is as old as I am.

If you were born in 1986, you are but just a pup still

Get a manometer and test the system. You might be surprised at how long those pipes last.

https://www.amazon.com/Manometer-Bac...zcF9hdGY&psc=1

This one will work

[bobbecky]

The propane pressure is likely only 11" WC, so if you have a leak, you can stoop it by holding your finger on the hole. The black, now rust colored, pipe would have to be pretty thin to reach the leaking stage, but a rattle can of black spray paint should solve the problem.

[RagingRobert]

When I picked up my new trailer in the spring after it was delivered to the dealer in the winter I noticed the gas pipes looked all rusty...I asked if they used old pipes Not sure why they use heavy metal pipe when alternatives like copper or rubber pipe could be used, probably the cost I figured. Anyway I complained so they painted them black. Next year they looked rusty again...that's when I discovered that "mouse proof" spray which acts as a lubricant as well. At the end of each season I spray this thick oily stuff over the entire bottom of the RV...it remains oily and deters mice, rust and lubricates everything. If I didn't do that I think I would've sprayed a rust check product from a can over all the gas pipes and anything that looked rusty.

[flybouy]

If "black iron" pipe is painted it is for a esthetic purpose only. It's used in RVs for the same reason as it's use in industry and residential building, durability. A rock, road debris, etc. Will not cause damage. ACopper tubing or rubber lines can rupture easily and if it happened while going down the road could end up looking like a flamethrower.

Bottom line, that iron pipe will likely outlast you and a few generations after that.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by flybouy

If "black iron" pipe is painted it is for a esthetic purpose only. It's used in RVs for the same reason as it's use in industry and residential building, durability. A rock, road debris, etc. Will not cause damage. ACopper tubing or rubber lines can rupture easily and if it happened while going down the road could end up looking like a flamethrower.

Bottom line, that iron pipe will likely outlast you and a few generations after that.

Exactly!
If the rust bothers you wire brush it & paint it with some Rustoleum paint & forget about it. I'd be far more worried if there's sections of the LP lines exposed to road hazards using copper or rubber.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Exactly!
If the rust bothers you wire brush it & paint it with some Rustoleum paint & forget about it. I'd be far more worried if there's sections of the LP lines exposed to road hazards using copper or rubber.

EXACTLY !!!!!

My "fear" about the vulnerability of the propane system is not the black iron "main pipe run" but rather the vulnerability of the branch lines that Tee off the main line with copper tubing, rubber "flex hose" or some other material. Those branch lines are going to rupture, break, blow or get ripped apart much faster than a 1/2" black iron pipe run. My grandparent's house which was built in the early 1900's (around 1920) has black iron pipe under it that was installed when "butane tanks" were first introduced for home use. Those "rusty old pipes" are as safe today as they were back then and have never been replaced. I can't say the same for the 3/8" copper tubing that runs to each appliance. Those pipes have corroded and been replaced multiple times over the last 100 years.....

To relate to "RV use" every "my tire blew and destroyed my wheelwell" post that included photos, if there was any "propane system damage" the damage consisted of torn copper tubing, ruptured rubber tubing and ripped apart "flare fittings",,, The worst damage I've seen to the black iron pipe was where it was bent or the hangers were torn away from the frame...

All the black iron pipe I've seen under trailers has had a surface rust covering the pipe. While it may look ugly, I'd suspect that the black iron pipe propane system will very likely be one of the last parts of any modern RV to "deteriorate to an unusable condition". In other words, it'll probably outlast the RV by 2 or 3 times and still be doing "the Timex thing"... (Still ticking)...

[sourdough]

Just to add to those comments;

When I had a blowout in 2016? that caused 7k in damages one of the things torn up/off/out was the flex rubber gas line that went to the kitchen slide - destroyed. It tore it all up right to where the cast iron pipe was - it had no damage.

[RagingRobert]

Okay forget what I said @6 about the different pipes But spraying them is still a good idea Imo