This is a rant/warning combo.
I have a Sturgi Extend-a-stay kit that's a bit less than 4-years old. I don't use it much, so when it's not in use the hose is stored in a side compartment - my point being that it's not sun-damaged or anything like that.
I wanted to fire up the heat to do some work in the RV but the on-board tank is out of propane. I grabbed a 20 lb cylinder that I knew was about half-full, dug out the hose and fired up the heat. I went out a couple of hours later and there was no heat. I checked the propane cylinder and it was empty!
I was sure that the thing was half-full, but maybe not. I hooked a fresh cylinder up to it and immediately smelled propane. I shut it off and disconnected it. It was at that point I realized that the inside of the Extend-a-stay hose had become really brittle and was cracked in several places under the rubber sheath and the propane was seeping out through the rubber. There was no visible indication of it being broken inside. It had a bit of a curve to it so I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to straighten it out. I heard it crack and break internally with every attempt to straighten it out. That hose used to be totally flexible - I have no idea what caused it to deteriorate like that, particularly at what I consider to be a young age. And, again, the outside of the hose looked brand new. Outside temps were low-40s, so it's not like the hose was frozen solid.
I didn't see where I could order a new one from Sturgi without the entire kit so I got a $15 replacement from Amazon. Hopefully the new one will hold up better?
I have a Sturgi Extend-a-stay kit that's a bit less than 4-years old. I don't use it much, so when it's not in use the hose is stored in a side compartment - my point being that it's not sun-damaged or anything like that.
I wanted to fire up the heat to do some work in the RV but the on-board tank is out of propane. I grabbed a 20 lb cylinder that I knew was about half-full, dug out the hose and fired up the heat. I went out a couple of hours later and there was no heat. I checked the propane cylinder and it was empty!
I was sure that the thing was half-full, but maybe not. I hooked a fresh cylinder up to it and immediately smelled propane. I shut it off and disconnected it. It was at that point I realized that the inside of the Extend-a-stay hose had become really brittle and was cracked in several places under the rubber sheath and the propane was seeping out through the rubber. There was no visible indication of it being broken inside. It had a bit of a curve to it so I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to straighten it out. I heard it crack and break internally with every attempt to straighten it out. That hose used to be totally flexible - I have no idea what caused it to deteriorate like that, particularly at what I consider to be a young age. And, again, the outside of the hose looked brand new. Outside temps were low-40s, so it's not like the hose was frozen solid.
I didn't see where I could order a new one from Sturgi without the entire kit so I got a $15 replacement from Amazon. Hopefully the new one will hold up better?
So I e-mailed Bill @ Sturgi. He replied right away and asked me to call him. So I did.
Really nice guy. He explained what happened and why it happens. I tend to believe him but skeptics chime in if you'd like.
He said the issue with the hose - and any hose like it - is the plastic inside them. They're basically PVC hose wrapped in rubber. They use elasticizers (I don't know how to spell that) to make the plastic flexible. When connected to a high pressure source - like a tank - the gas leaches into the plastic and makes it stiff and brittle. You don't have this issue with the low-pressure hoses like those that feed grills and such. The rate of deterioration depends on how much time the hose is connected to the high pressure source. It could be a year, or many years.
He said they've been experimenting with other materials over the past year or so that hold up better.
Anyway, I didn't get a new hose out of them but I enjoyed the conversation whether it was baloney or not.
Really nice guy. He explained what happened and why it happens. I tend to believe him but skeptics chime in if you'd like.
He said the issue with the hose - and any hose like it - is the plastic inside them. They're basically PVC hose wrapped in rubber. They use elasticizers (I don't know how to spell that) to make the plastic flexible. When connected to a high pressure source - like a tank - the gas leaches into the plastic and makes it stiff and brittle. You don't have this issue with the low-pressure hoses like those that feed grills and such. The rate of deterioration depends on how much time the hose is connected to the high pressure source. It could be a year, or many years.
He said they've been experimenting with other materials over the past year or so that hold up better.
Anyway, I didn't get a new hose out of them but I enjoyed the conversation whether it was baloney or not.
Thanks for the info. I'll definitely e-mail them.
I kept saying "Sturgi Extend-a-stay" but I believe the packaging said "Sturgi-Stay", which I guess is the post-Marshall Brass product. I thought I bought it from Amazon but it's not coming up in my history. Could have been anywhere I guess.
I kept saying "Sturgi Extend-a-stay" but I believe the packaging said "Sturgi-Stay", which I guess is the post-Marshall Brass product. I thought I bought it from Amazon but it's not coming up in my history. Could have been anywhere I guess.
TurnThePage wrote:
I've also had challenges with rubber propane hoses. I've had one now for 10 years and still haven't used it yet. Now I'm nervous! ๐
What's interesting is I also bought 2 Camco-branded hoses to go from the Extend-a-stay to my grill. I store them in the same place as the tank hose. They're in perfect shape - still really flexible with no signs of stiffening up like the Sturgi hose did.
