# Squirrel Damage



## Kathy (Apr 6, 2008)

We didn't have any propain going to stove. Knowing the tanks were full, we checked to find the propain line was chewed clear thru. Some of the campers think we weren't in any danger while my husband thinks it should have exploded. Whose right? Any good way to keep this hose from being a future snack??


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

That's not what you want the camping critters doing!

I'm not positive, but I think modern propane tanks have a safety valve that shuts off the flow if the flow is too rapid; ie, burst hose. Other than that, as long as there wasn't an open flame, the propane would disperse in the air without exploding. There probably wasn't much risk of an explosion, but it's still not something you would want happening.

I don't have any good suggestions for preventing this from happening again. Considering how many trailers are out there, with rubber hoses from their propane tanks, and the fact that this isn't a common occurrence you must have run across a very resourceful squirrel.


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## Kathy (Apr 6, 2008)

duggy said:


> That's not what you want the camping critters doing!
> 
> I'm not positive, but I think modern propane tanks have a safety valve that shuts off the flow if the flow is too rapid; ie, burst hose. Other than that, as long as there wasn't an open flame, the propane would disperse in the air without exploding. There probably wasn't much risk of an explosion, but it's still not something you would want happening.
> 
> I don't have any good suggestions for preventing this from happening again. Considering how many trailers are out there, with rubber hoses from their propane tanks, and the fact that this isn't a common occurrence you must have run across a very resourceful squirrel.


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## sunnybrook29 (Oct 7, 2009)

Were the tanks turned on ? Were the tanks emptied by the hose being cut ? 
New tanks are not supposed to allow flow unless something is screwed on , but , You had something screwed on so the gas should have flowed , I think ?
Many years ago I taught firefighters about propane . Propane will only ignite if the mixture is [ trying to remember ] 8% propane to 92% air at sea level .Something like that . If you open a valve and had flow , you can lite a match and walk away carefully , at some point the mix is correct and it will burst into flame 6 or 8 feet away from the tank .Do not try this at home , we did it in full attack gear . In the movies these things blow up and take the hole neighborhood away . It don't happen that way . Any firefighters on here have probably taken the same classes . We would build a large fire under a 500 lb tank and sit around waiting for the pop out to blow , when it went it was a semi-contained explosion twenty feet above the students heads , scary stuff .


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Most likely not squirrels but even worse it could have been skunks. They also like to chew brake lines. My in-laws in Quebec have had all kinds of damage over the years. They ended up setting up live traps under the trailer and car and caught scores of skunks over the years but no squirrels.

They ended up finding a company that made metal hose braid that they slipped over the rubber hoses and that seemed to solve the issue. I have no idea where they got it though.

As for the propane explosion issue. Not very likely to occur the fuel/air ratio is very narrow. As for the ruptured line protection. They do not really stop the flow but reduce it to less hazardous levels but they will leak till the tank is empty.


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## bbwb (Apr 4, 2008)

I had the same problem with my hoses starting to be chewed through. I wound up using a 1" diameter flexible plastic conduit to cover the rubber hose. The tubing will want to straighten out so I used cable ties to the angle frame under the propane tanks. This plastic will prevent the chew through.
bbwb


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