Smell of Propane.

[slidedude]

Hi all - I have a Masterbuilt Propane smoker. When I lit it last weekend the flame lit fine, but as it burned it seems I continued to smell propane, besides the small amount I expected to smell upon first lighting it.

Not wanting to die, I shut her down right away. Today I checked connections to the tank and between the hose and the smoker itself (see pic) with soapy water, and saw no bubbles. From this picture it seems like the brass nozzle juncture just feeds into the chrome cylinder, but I guess the flame probably burns from the end of the brass fitting all the way down the chrome tube with holes, right out and up into the burner itself, but I still shouldn't be smelling much propane after the flame gets lit, right?

Sorry if my terminology is wrong, but in the past I just don't recall smelling very much propane once the smoker gets lit. Any tips/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks guys..

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• slidedude
• Jul 9, 2014

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Did you check the fittings which the smoker lit?

Some other things to consider was it windy?

Were you running it hotter or colder than normal?

You will get some unspent gas smell occasionally but it shouldn't be much.

The chrome part is the Venturi fitting. Sometimes you need to clean that out, check for spiders, cobwebs and dirt. Same with the burner.

 

[slidedude]

Did you check the fittings which the smoker lit?

Some other things to consider was it windy?

Were you running it hotter or colder than normal?

You will get some unspent gas smell occasionally but it shouldn't be much.

The chrome part is the Venturi fitting. Sometimes you need to clean that out, check for spiders, cobwebs and dirt. Same with the burner.

I will disassemble things as much as I can and make sure there are no spiders,etc. The smoker was last used lass than a month ago, but maybe something is in there.

Not windy, and I was getting ready to get it up to about 250 for a turkey roast, but I never got past about 160-170, since I shut 'er down because of the smell. I was afraid of creating a smoker bomb....thanks for the tips!

 

[foamheart]

Before you get too far into it, might I suggest a call to Masterbuilt's 800 tech support? Be a damn shame to void a warranty before its fixed. That is just how I always think. First indication of trouble on a new unit call the manufacturer. THEN if its nor resolved dig in.

Just my humble opinion. I know I used to apologize to folks who tried to fix a problem with a machine I sold, because once they scratched the screw heads, its was all their liability.

 

[slidedude]

Before you get too far into it, might I suggest a call to Masterbuilt's 800 tech support? Be a damn shame to void a warranty before its fixed. That is just how I always think. First indication of trouble on a new unit call the manufacturer. THEN if its nor resolved dig in.

Just my humble opinion. I know I used to apologize to folks who tried to fix a problem with a machine I sold, because once they scratched the screw heads, its was all their liability.

VERY good point. So far all I did was take apart things that I had previously had to assemble when I got it anyway. I took off the burner and Venturi assembly and blew everything out with compressed air. Hooked everything back up, did a bubble test (no sign of a leak), and lit her up. Except for a slight odor at first, everything seems OK. Maybe I was imagining things this last weekend, but better safe than dead, right? I'll give her a few more test runs of increasing duration before the ribfest I intend to initiate this weekend...;-)

Thanks for the replies guys