Mr. Troutbend is in Las Vegas for bowling tournaments, but today the propane guys came to fix a worn-out valve on one of the tanks. The first step is to empty the tank back into the delivery truck. They keep track of how much they take out and put back the same amount.

That leaves about an inch in the bottom of the tank that has to be flared off before the valves can be disconnected from the tank and replaced.

They call it a flare tree, and set it up out in the middle of the yard away from trees.





Prior to ignition, they called the local fire department to report the plan to have a controlled burn, and called gain when done to close it out.



The whole thing cost $147, not bad for parts and labor for three men for about 2 hours.

While we waited for the burn off, I got some good advice about thermocouples. In case you don't know, a thermocouple is a safety device that shuts off the gas to your furnace when the pilot light goes out. It has a sensor that sits where the pilot flame heats it. This sends an electric signal to a magnet that moves when the signal stops and shuts off the gas. When they wear out, the pilot light won't stay lit.

The past few years I've had to replace the thermocouple on my furnace much too frequently, and of course it always happens at an inconvenient time when I'm here alone. It gives me an appreciation for men, who are expected to just grit their teeth and get a project done, no matter how frustrating and impossible a task it seems to be. They don't scream, they don't throw down the screwdriver and go sit on the driveway and cry, they just somehow get it done.

I've been told that the replacement parts currently available at hardware stores are imported, and the quality is very low, so they fail more often. Come to find out, professionals like the propane company use a heavy-duty thermocouple that lasts longer. The other thing is the copper tubing coming from the furnace shouldn't be so long that it coils around, and it shouldn't touch any other metal.

So now I know, and I'm going to take steps to improve things.