Propane line looks chewed

Yeah-- The squirrels. Or chipmunks, or mice . . . .

One theory is that whatever we touch with our sweaty hands gets salty & they need the salt. I suspect they are just trying to kill us. I've had mice chew my wiring harness in a new car. I doubt anything but a robot ever touched that wire.

Last month a friend had out-of-town relatives staying in his camper in his back yard. The came in to ask how to turn off the 'smoke detector' -- turned out it was the explosive gas detector. Some rodent had chewed the propane lines---- then they turned on the water. Yup- the bastards ate some of that too. [and for good measure they ate some wires on his generator in a nearby shed.]

I think that individual rodents get a taste for rubber- and until they find a good live wire, they taste every piece of rubber/plastic they can find. Stuff happens-- be vigilant-- take precautions.

Jim

I'd think squirrels. Bumped into a coworker once at a hardware store and he said he needed new lines since squirrels had chewed his. I keep my BBQ covered and we have lots of squirrels but they have never bothered it. My grill is practically an antique and I've had to replace burner and grates several times but hoses have remained intact.

I think some of the rodent chew in the winter time to keep their metabolism up and stay warm. Squirrels will practically chew on anything.

Maybe one of those metal loving woodpeckers.

nb

This same thing caused the death of my gas grill. Decided to go with charcoal and gave the grill to someone else who replaced the propane connection. I suspect, in my case, that some grease drippings had landed on the hose and made it too much to resist. Darn rodents! I like charcoal better anyway, but it's certainly less convenient.

Mike

Hmmm, Jog your memory in the biology class. Those critters always need to chew something to wear down their teeth. Otherwise The teeth will grow and they can't even close their mouth.

Do they sell propane hoses with steel-braid jackets, like they do for car fuel lines?

But yeah, a little meat grease on the hose, and it looks like food to critters. Even the mold release on a new hose can smell interesting enough to them.

I'll vote for the rats. Too bad they didnt get gassed and die. I hate rats. Wrap the hose in some sort of metal. Screen, tin-foil, or shove it thru some copper tubing. Then put rat poison around the area so they DO have something to chew. (warning, dont use rat poison if you have pets).

Hmmm... Probably not copper tubing, which tends to crimp, but maybe some sort of flex tubing. I need to go to the hardware store anyway. I'll see what they have. Maybe even some metallic tape.