Urgent under-slung lpg tanks (1 Viewer)

[John & Joan]

URGENT


Check the straps of your under-slung LPG tanks.


A poster on FACTS has reported the following.

I have a 55 litre Stako LPG Tank fitted to my 2008 Motorhome this tank was fitted Jan 2008 It fell off yesterday whilst driving on examination the two Securing straps had both corroded underneath the plastic covering where the corrosion could not be seen. Luckily the pipes from the fill held as the tank was dragged along the road it it had broken it could have been much worse as it was full!! so please check your straps.

This is a serious situation as tanks fitted by some suppliers are just hung in the straps and not fitted into a frame. My tank was fitted by MTH at Lydney in the Forest of Dean as was the tank above.


Chris Wise of Autogas2000 wrote:

LPG tanks under the vans should be checked on a yearly interval to make sure that the tank, frame, straps are all in good secure condition and the rust proofing is in place.

If anyone out there is concerned about the security of their gas tank no matter who fitted it or when it was installed then please PM me and I am happy to offer a free inspection here at our Thirsk workshops to make sure that the tank is secure and safe for use.

Have a quick look at your tank fittings and contact Autogas2000 or another reputable firm if you have any rust on your tank or straps.


MTH ceased trading a few years back.

 

[rainbow chasers]

Early ones were mild steel, and do need to be checked! They came powder coated, but that is only effective until the coating is breached.

New ones are galvanised - and though not faultless in the rust department will last much longer. Treat them as service items - check regularly!

 

[Douglas]

As I fitted my own tank, before doing so I fully protected the tank, straps and the fitting with several coats of epoxy paint then I painted it all over again with stone chip protection paint. I had already discovered that the existing paint was not up to the job and that the commercial fitters fit "as is".

I also ask, at MOT time if I can inspect the tank when its up on the ramps to keep an eye on it.

Doug...

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[JayDee]

I seem to remember hearing / reading / maybe even dreaming Smile about some issues with tanks fitted by MTH.

When we had ours fitted (last year) we chose Conrad Anderson over Autogas2000 purely because he was about 300 miles nearer (round trip).
No problems to date but thanks for the warning.

Lucky the pipework held up; could have been very nasty; though I believe there's a NRV in the tank fitting from the filler pipe.


John

 

[John & Joan]

I was just at Thirsk yesterday for an inspection of a tank fitted in 2007 by MTH. Chris had offered a free inspection of any tank installed by any supplier, after a report that a tank straps had corroded and the tank fell off after just being filled.

My tank had been fitted outside under slung below the van and we were told it carried a 10 year guarantee by MTH in writing. I was shown the fitting information by Stako and these state tanks are only guaranteed for 18 months if fitted inside a compartment or 6 months if fitted outside.

The tank should sit on a carrier. Mine was fitted with the carrier on top and suspended on the fixing straps. MTH had fitted 4 straps instead of the normal 2 straps, so that was a plus. This is not a safe method as the straps rust and can allow the tank to fall off. They are only designed to keep the tank in place with the weight taken by the frame.

My tank straps had started to flake with rust, reducing their thickness and as a result strength but were secure.

I am going back to Autogas2000 to have the installation corrected.

How many other have tanks suspended on these retaining straps?

Autogas2000 also under seal the tanks they fit to prevent damage to the paint by chipping, allowing the tank to rust. The bottom of my tank has lost a lot of paint, so will have to be removed, cleaned, painted with zinc paint and then fitted into a new frame set up to support the tank, then undersealed.

Chris wise was very helpful and spared no detail in his explanation of the problems. Many thanks to Chris and his colleague.

 

[scotjimland]

Just for information

The standards normally worked to for vehicles installations are the LPGA Code of Practice No 11 - Autogas Installations (referred to as just CoP11 for convenience).

This is quite detailed (20-something pages) and lays down a whole raft of requirements - some of them need a bit of thought, some are just common sense, and some you probably wouldn’t guess. Tanks and mounting is covered ..

LPGA Code of Practice No 11 "Autogas Installations

can be downloaded using this link. www.focenergy.com/c.o.p.'s.doc

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