What's wrong with my wok burner regulator?

[Attjack]

The other morning I was in the hot tub and smelled gas so I got out and found the regulator for my wok burner is leaking gas out of this hole pictured below. If I put my finger on the hole I can stop the flow of gas. What do you think is going on? Can I fix this? Do I need to buy a new regulator? If I need to buy a new one how do I select a suitable replacement?

[hoovarmin]

Following

[Red Man]

That’s the vent. It allows the diaphragm in the regulator to move up and down without creating back pressure. If gas is leaking out of the vent, the regulator needs to be replaced. The replacement will need to have a btu rating that exceeds the btu of the burner and needs to have an output pressure range that meets the requirements for the burner. Besides that, you’ll want the same type of pipe connections (just to make replacement easier) and a similar physical size.

[Attjack]

Thanks, Red Man. My wok burner is the PowerFlamer Propane 160 0~160kBTU/Hr continuous heat. Looks like I'm on the hunt for a replacement regulator.

[mnavarre]

What's probably happened is you're drawing propane faster than the regulator can do it's job. Compressed gasses like propane and C02 are cryogenic in their liquid state, and if you're drawing product too fast you get cryogenic liquid flowing through the regulator, which freezes the diaphragm and causes it to fail. Have you seen any icing on the regulator while using the burner? It could just be that the regulator isn't capable of keeping up with the draw from that burner. For a 160K BTU burner that looks pretty undersized. Maybe try Grainger or McMaster-Carr.

[Spinaker]

And who does not LOVE going to Grainger? I could hang out in there for hours and hours. SO much cool stuff.

[jfmorris]

So, a couple of things here. This was while the burner was not in use I take it, since you were in the hot tub, so lesson #1 would be to turn off the gas at the tank when not in use, to reduce pressure on the regulator diaphragm, which might extend the life of the next one.

My suspicion, based on rebuilds of other type regulators (CO2) is that there is an internal diaphragm that has started leaking. Unlike CO2, Nitrogen and other regulators, I don't see any screws to take this apart and replace internal components, so a new regulator is in order, as everyone has already said.

Is there a pressure rating on the regulator anywhere? I think it will be a high pressure regulator to do 160k Btu's. My jet burner for brewing is high pressure (105k BTU's). I don't know if there are different pressure values for what is considered a "high pressure" regulator.

I mainly chimed in to tell you to start turning the tank off, as well as the control at the wok burner...

[Attjack]

That is good advice. Lesson learned.

[hoovarmin]

I'm headed outside to check if I turned off my tank last night

[jfmorris]

I lost a tank or two with a propane fire pit table we bought for the backyard in 2023, before I realized it loses gas slowly if I don’t open the door and turn off the tank after use.

[Smoked Transistors]

@Attjack This company sells anything propane related. They maybe able to help you find what you need. https://tejassmokers.com/High-Pressure-Regulators/29

[Spinaker]

Another interesting thread for the back yard army. Regulators are a common problem with propane units. Not that they happen all the time, but when there is an issue, the regulator is usually the culprit.

Thanks for all the input boys! This kinda stuff is what really makes this place valuable.

[hoovarmin]

Agreed

[yakima]

Dont forget propane rated teflon tape. Do not know if needed, with what is likely at least half brass fittings, but it can't hurt.

My litigation experience with propane is that it looks simple, is in fact simple, but is not intuitive. And is deadly when it goes awry.

[yakima]

And, turn off tank before turning off cooker, to burn off gas in the line.