Firehole River
It started to rain just as we awoke this morning. However, it didn’t look too bad, and there were some patches of blue sky, so we decided to go view some of the hot springs, mostly planning to stay in the car and just drive from site to site, getting out to see a bit of the geysers and steam. We’d got part way to the Old Faithful area when we realized that we hadn’t turned off our furnace, but didn’t think it would be a problem as it was turned down so low.
We went to a couple of geyser basins (Black Sand, and Midway), but then it started to rain more heavily as we drove around Firehole Lake drive, so we gave up and came back to the campsite.
As I approached the trailer I could hear a piercing beep, and when I opened the door heard that the furnace was on, and the propane detector alarm was activated and flashing a red light, as well as it’s siren being on. I assumed it was a problem with the furnace, especially as the bathroom door was open and blocking the furnace vent, so I shut off the furnace, and opened all the windows.
That silenced the alarm, but it went off again as soon as I opened the doors under the kitchen sink. With all the windows open, the alarm was silent, though it still smelled of propane in the trailer, as we ate our lunch.
After lunch we checked for leaks with soapy water, but found nothing. Within a minute of closing the windows the alarm would come back on. We shut down everything that uses gas (the furnace, the water heater, and the refrigerator) and that made no difference, so we went outside and shut down the main gas valve, and were on our way to the service station to see if they had a propane technician.
Then I remembered that I had hit the barbecue propane tank this morning when I was putting away the electric cord,. Since it is in storage under the front of the trailer, I opened the door, and the odor of gas was very strong. Sure enough, the main valve on the tank was open half a turn.
We opened all the storage compartments, and aired out the inside of the trailer, and it seems to now be ok. It has been over half an hour with things running and the windows closed, and everything seems ok, though the odor lingers as it has probably permeated everything organic in the trailer.