I just got my propane tank filled. It didn't have a gauge on it so I didn't know exactly how much LP was in there, so I just took it to get filled. It ended up only needing about 1.5 gallons.

On my drive home, I was smelling a little odor. The valve was closed really tightly.  When I put my nose to the nozzle, that's where I smelled it the most. I attached the tank and turned it on briefly and didn't smell the odor, but when I shut it off and then smelled the nozzle again, I could smell the LP. Is this normal? Perhaps some LP from the hose got on the tank? 

Tomorrow I'll do a leak test with the soap/water, but for now it's shut off.

My tank came with the 177, and it was recertified, and has 1 year left before I have to renew. 

Thanks for your help!

           Moe

I'm going to do a leak test after work tonight, but I'm still leaning towards getting rid of this tank and starting fresh with a new one for peace of mind. I'll see how the test goes first. I did go to smell the tank this morning on my way to work, and it smelled pretty strongly around the main valve. It was pretty strong, but it wasn't in the air surrounding the tank-- and of course the gas was off when I did take a wiff of it. The odor didn't smell like rotten eggs like people say-- not distinct like sulfer. It smelled more like peanut butter to me! In any case, I smelled something!

I learned the hard way this summer that while 90% of US suppliers use the same additive, 10% uses various other chemicals which can have a different smell than the rotten eggs you expect.  My wife bumped one of the knobs on our stove just a bit on the last day of a long trip, and it took a week at home to figure out where the smell was coming from because to us it smelled like a dead mouse.  I had filled up that tank earlier on our trip in NC and not at our usual local store.

A note on exchanges vs. refills.  You get less LP for your money at exchanges, but if you have an old or damaged tank it is the cheapest way to get a good tank.  Then go back to refilling it.  Some exchanges have some tanks that need a special tool to refill them, forcing you to exchange and not refill.  But I think that practice has been phasing out.

Soap test completely negative. I sprayed every possible point it could leak and there's nothing. :)

The odor was strong on the open/close valve and I cleaned it and the top of the tank really good to see if that helped. Sure enough, I could smell the odor on the paper towel. I will check it again tomorrow but I'm pretty sure now it was just some spillage or dirty gloves on the tank or something.

Part of me feels embarrassed for freaking out over nothing, and the rest of me knows that propane isn't to be messed with and better safe than sorry!  I'm very glad I didn't find anything leaking.