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In-coach propane


Ron 'n Sue

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Our Toy is 1992. Not too high mileage, but we did a 12,000 cross country return trip last summer. So, not new.

Last year we had a propane leak (luckily outside) and had to have the regulator on the tank replaced. I could smell the propane even inside during the night, but it wasn't accumulating inside. My husband couldn't smell it at all, even tho it was obvious just outside next to the tank access. Could even hear the gas hissing out.

So, to make a long story a little shorter, I decided to have the system checked this spring to make sure all was safe. It wasn't that expensive and we had the gas sniffer replaced at the same time.

One thing we're not sure about is the little pinging noise we hear when the stove is on, and wonder what that is. The pinging sound increases if, for instance, the hot water heater is on at the same time as the stove. Think we hear it a little when frig is on gas.

Sue & Ron in Toy-Rig

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i too have a nose for propane. I smelled a leak at my house from the utility company outside near the meter; wife neighbor and inlaws couldnt smell it. I called the gas company anyway; they came with a digital "sniffer" that confirmed the leak. it was leaking under ground at a fitting junction that had gone bad. of course this was before the meter so it did not save me any money but saved them some.

The contractor from the gas company said it was a VERY small leak and that my nose was quite "sensitive"...lol

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I wonder if its coming from the regulator??? I haven't noticed anything in mine, but I'll listen more carefully

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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Took Toy-Rig to our propane guy nd we could not hearbanything due to traffic noise. Then we looked at the gauge and the dial was rising and falling at about the same rate as the pinging we couldn't hear. He said it is likely being caused by oil in the line which sometimes happens, not dangerous bt we'll get it fixed soon.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We feel rather annoyed because we had to replace the propane regulator yet again. Along with tubing and flex hose. We replaced the regulator last year and we had the system checked in May this year.

We noticed back in May, a pinging sound when the gas was on, which got louder when we were using the stove and the water heater. The gauge was showing the gas going up and down.

So, today, back to the shop.

Apparently the regulator was all grundged up, as well as the pipes. This is apparently caused by overfilling the propane tank. I guess that's possible, but how? Aren't the dealers supposed to know how not to do that? Overfill?

Anyway, we will really need to watch the filling. Maybe don't fill up but only put in less than half a tank!

We'd like to put the blame somewhere else, but it was probably our fault. Maybe.

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No they can be overfilled. The pressure release often doesn't let loose until the tank is already overfilled. It just happened to me. I questioned the guy when he charged me for 7.1 gallons cause I know it can't hold that much but thought his gauge was off to steal some extra money. Well when I turned the gas on the regulator blew. Changed it out myself and now all is good. Gas station atendants are often not trained all that well.

Linda S

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Smell gas. Trun the gas off. Turn nothing on. Get out. Call the fire department or the proane guy.

Well I don't think over reacting is going to help. Just turn it off and open some windows and turn off gas appliances. It will dissipate pretty quickly. In my case there was no propane guy. One place offered to check for the leak for $160. I told them it was the regulator but they said they still had to charge that and wouldn't tell me if they would fix it. After calling every place in town and going in person to both of the big propane suppliers I ended up having to do it myself. No one will work on RV propane tanks near me. I have to say thank you to them. Only cost 20 bucks and now I feel confident handling propane work. I have another RV that needs some propane lines replaced. No problem, I can handle it

Linda S

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  • 6 months later...

Not sure what an 80% pressure gauge will tell you.

The pressure in the tank would read the same regardless if there is 1 oz or 4 gallons.

Tanks can be filled by weight or visually by observing the vent. when liquid comes out of the vent, the tank is full.

john Mc

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OPD propane tanks can not be over filled. The design is such that they can only be filled to 80% by volume. This does not mean you can only get 80% of 20 pounds in the tank the tank will hold 20#. Inside the OPD tank is a float the same ideal as your house hold toilet, propane is dispensed as a liquid from the storage tank when the level reaches 80% of capacity the float shuts off the valve you can not force any more propane in. Trust me I fill propane tanks all summer long at the local camp ground they will not over fill no matter how hard some one might try. There are some that will tell you they can only fill them to 17# because of the 80% rule that is just another way to stiff you for 3/4 of a gallon of propane a great deal of the exchange tanks only have 17# of propane in them and that is what they will tell you it is not true a 20# cylinder will hold 20# with a 20% space. There is a weight stamped on your propane tank that is the tare weight that is how much the empty cylinder weights if you are concerned that your tank is over filled weigh the tank and subtract the tare weight there will be no more than 20# in the cylinder.

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Don't know how I did that last post Linda any way if you have a fixed tank on your MH they usually are 30# tanks so if that is the case it is possible he did put 7.1 gallons in as that would be a bit shy of 30#

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Well, here's the thing. Our tank regulator was ruined because someone tried to overfill the tank and did. The lines, regulator, etc. were 'oiled' and had to be replaced. Twice

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Propane is petroleum product it has oil in it. Oil in the system not an unusual problem one of the best ways to get oil in the lines is to leave the gas on all the time winter and summer. Many applications have rubber hoses between the tank and the regulator so that the regulator is the low point that also adds to the problem. People that use their camper heaters a lot like heavy winter use find oil in their systems. Oil is a big problem in the Mr Buddy heaters the regulators are very small and oil plug easily there are oil traps designed just for those heaters.There are traces of oil in the propane gas it's self. If the tank was over filled it needs to be replaced because the valve is bad the only way you can tell is to weight it. When a tank is filled there is a bleeder valve that has to be opened other wise the tank can not be filled about the time the bleeder starts to spit liquid the OPD valve shuts off the incoming liquid and then the bleeder is closed. We have never had a OPD tank that did not shut off we have had empty tanks that would not fill because the valve was stuck generally from leaving the tanks on their sides usually slamming them on the ground freed them up but some times no matter what we did they would not fill, the valves are very good at shutting the flow off.

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