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Old 05-24-2016, 06:53 PM   #1
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Furnace vibrating and putting out low heat

Our old trailer had a gravity furnace and would run on and on until the gas ran out. Then the propane light and furnace would just fade out and go out. The tank would then have zero propane.

Since I'm anal about having to get up in the middle of the night to change a tank I simply put on a new tank every few days (I have 4 of them), and then top them all off in the fall before the Winter camping season.

I was a little lax these past few weeks. It was cool, but not cold. I thought I'd see how far the tank would go. It didn't like that....

The 2015 195RB furnace started to make a loud noise and the furnace would vibrate when the burner came on. Heat output was low. The tank had 3 lbs left. When I put a full tank back on all was well.

Is this normal or do I have a problem?
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Old 05-24-2016, 07:46 PM   #2
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Why not solve your problem of changing out partially empty tanks by installing an automatic change over regulator. We have one in our TT and it works flawlessly. I think that when tanks get low and there is a heavy draw in cold weather the remaining propane in the tank can freeze up because the surface area of the liquid propane is small and it can get too cold to vaporize inside the tank. Colder outside temperatures can make this more of a problem. You've probably seen frost on the outside of the small 1 pound containers used for grills and lanterns. The frost builds up more quickly when the bottles are low on gas.
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Old 05-25-2016, 06:22 PM   #3
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Its a 195. We have no room on the tongue to add a second tank.

Besides, at most we only use about 60 # of propane ALL YEAR. That includes all of the "winter" camping. I am totally pleased with the efficiency of this trailer.

I DO have a pressure gauge on the tank, but its usefulness is marginal at best. When the furnace did what it di it was till in the "green". I wish there was a better way to measure the tank contents.
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Old 05-25-2016, 07:09 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by gypsmjim View Post
Its a 195. We have no room on the tongue to add a second tank.

Besides, at most we only use about 60 # of propane ALL YEAR. That includes all of the "winter" camping. I am totally pleased with the efficiency of this trailer.

I DO have a pressure gauge on the tank, but its usefulness is marginal at best. When the furnace did what it di it was till in the "green". I wish there was a better way to measure the tank contents.
Yes, the pressure gauge IMHO is worthless, it shows the tank is empty or has something in it, almost as accurate as "it's 20 deg outside and 22 deg inside, I think the propane tank is empty".
I found a "toy" called "Gas Check" which is a pen-sized thing that you press on the side of the tank. Start high and work your way down. Red light = no liquid, green light = liquid. It's kinda cool but you have to physically check the tank to get a level. I like it tho.
Some folks can find the level by tapping on the tank, I've never mastered the skill.
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Old 05-25-2016, 07:14 PM   #5
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Yes, the pressure gauge IMHO is worthless, it shows the tank is empty or has something in it, almost as accurate as "it's 20 deg outside and 22 deg inside, I think the propane tank is empty".
I found a "toy" called "Gas Check" which is a pen-sized thing that you press on the side of the tank. Start high and work your way down. Red light = no liquid, green light = liquid. It's kinda cool but you have to physically check the tank to get a level. I like it tho.
Some folks can find the level by tapping on the tank, I've never mastered the skill.
I have a digital bathroom scale I found at a garage sale for a buck. It works wonderful, and agrees with my propane dealer's scale. The only problem is I have to turn everything off and then dismount the tank to get a good reading, and then prime the lines again. Not insurmountable, but I'm just lazy.

OTOH, when I stand on the sacle the readings are wayyyyy off and wayyyy tooo high......LOL.
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