Smell Mystery

[xrocketengineer]

Maybe you guys can shed some light on this. We are having a pretty warm December with mornings in the 60's if we are lucky. In addition we have been getting several, not very dense, foggy mornings. On some of those early foggy mornings and before the Sun comes up, there is a faint smell like propane in my screened in pool /porch area enclosed on two sides. I have a grill there with two 20 pound propane tanks with a cover and there is absolutely no smell inside the cover. I have no gas service in the house. As soon as there is some Sun light or breeze the smell goes away. This is the first time I have noticed this smell in more than 30 years.
I called the local Fire Station to see if they had a "gas sniffer" but they did not and did not provide any other ideas or solutions.
This morning the smell was even inside my enclosed garage. And again as soon as the Sun came up, the smell dissipated everywhere.
My next move is to check with my next door neighbor since he has a large underground propane tank for his emergency generator.
Any ideas of what fog is supposed to smell like?

 

[L35]

Fog has no smell, but it will hold down vapors like propane for example. I’d check with your neighbor as you mentioned before pulling your hair out any further.

 

[OntheRidge]

You can get a sniffer pretty cheap on Amazon, also.

 

[Roadworthy]

You can smell the propane at levels far lower than the point at which a danger exists. Propane itself has no smell. They add ethyl mercaptan so you're aware of its presence. You can get a sniffer from Amazon or possibly even Harbor Freight but I have no idea at what levels they detect. If the smell goes away when the fog lifts there's probably not enough around to worry about.

 

[D2Cat]

Contact the propane co. They can determine it's origin.

 

[xrocketengineer]

You can get a sniffer pretty cheap on Amazon, also.

Great idea, I did not think that they were that inexpensive! I got this one:
Gas Sniffer

I don't have any hair left to pull out!

 

[SRRGC1]

LP (liquid propane) is heavier than air meaning it was stay close to the bottom of any space. Can use a spray soap to detect any leak at your cylinders. Presume your cylinders are turned off? Propane will move with any air currents in the area and is likely what occurs when temp rise. If your cylinders show no leaks, your neighbors would be suspect. I believe The Home Depot sells gas detectors. Unsure if LP pr nat. gas. LP is odorless and a little propane can smell alot. The manufacture adds an odorant for this purpose. Next time you smell LP use a light powder and see which way the breeze is moving. This might help in narrowing the source down some.

 

[SRRGC1]

Also, what D2cat suggests.

 

[PaulR]

I've got a similar sniffer. Bought it when we tried to nail down a gas leak here in the building.
It's really weird, it can "coagulate" and you can smell it in a room far far away from where its leaking if that room is closed off pretty well.

 

[hagrid]

Too many people farting under an inversion layer in the atmosphere.

 

[Tughill Tom]

Maybe you guys can shed some light on this. We are having a pretty warm December with mornings in the 60's if we are lucky. In addition we have been getting several, not very dense, foggy mornings. On some of those early foggy mornings and before the Sun comes up, there is a faint smell like propane in my screened in pool /porch area enclosed on two sides. I have a grill there with two 20 pound propane tanks with a cover and there is absolutely no smell inside the cover. I have no gas service in the house. As soon as there is some Sun light or breeze the smell goes away. This is the first time I have noticed this smell in more than 30 years.
I called the local Fire Station to see if they had a "gas sniffer" but they did not and did not provide any other ideas or solutions.
This morning the smell was even inside my enclosed garage. And again as soon as the Sun came up, the smell dissipated everywhere.
My next move is to check with my next door neighbor since he has a large underground propane tank for his emergency generator.
Any ideas of what fog is supposed to smell like?

Remove the 2 tanks from your house, if you can still smell it call the Fire Dept. Your neighbor has a leak! It's on them .

 

[Bmyers]

I can't believe your fire department doesn't have a gas sniffer. I thought all of them did. We had them 20+ years ago when they were expensive. Last I checked, all our pumpers have them on them.

That surprise me.

 

[JimmyJazz]

Get the name of your neighbors fuel supplier and call them ASAP. I would not be waiting around or attempting to diagnose the issue with no experience. This kind of thing can kill you. Better safe than sorry. Here in Pennsylvania I heat with natural gas. There have been two or three occasions where I called the gas company after detecting a smell. In each instance they arrived within 40 minutes. They have rigorous protocols to follow. All business. Kind of scary. No charge for either the visit or the stories afterward involving death and despair. Not kidding. Lots of risk and liability with this kind of thing. Treat it with the respect it deserves.

 

[xrocketengineer]

I can't believe your fire department doesn't have a gas sniffer. I thought all of them did. We had them 20+ years ago when they were expensive. Last I checked, all our pumpers have them on them.

That surprise me.

It surprised me too. They insisted to check with the gas company for them to sniff. There is no gas company since I have no gas service.
I talked to the neighbor and he will pay attention to the smell and when the sniffer arrives in about three days we will check my tanks and his.

 

[fried1765]

Too many people farting under an inversion layer in the atmosphere.

Cow farts ????
Cows must be banned!

 

[michigander]

The BQ tank may have a bad valve. ? I've had one leak.

 

[D2Cat]

As mentioned previously and by others, your neighbor's propane supplier will have to proper equipment to find the leak. They have to pressure test and document readings for their liability protection. He could have a pressure relief valve or fill valve malfunctioning or a tank beginning to rust through.

 

[Daren Todd]

Too many people farting under an inversion layer in the atmosphere.

Sorry!!!

 

[hagrid]

Sorry!!!

I'm not shy. Let em rip.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Every house has a vent stack. Im thinking you may want to rethink the propane smell. Maybe hagrid wasnt too far off…