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Old 09-05-2012, 06:15 PM   #1
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Location: Knoxville, TN
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Propane Issue - hope this helps others trouble shoot

So late last spring on the last day of our camping trip we could not get the propane to feed to the camper (no stove, hot water heater, etc). When I got home I looked all through the forums and found fix on turning tank on slowly due to built in safety mechanism in pig tail hose (hose from tank to regulator). Messed with it for a while and it turned back on - thought that was it. If narrative too long - just look at last paragraph!

Just took on a trip recently and when I was checking all the systems a couple days before the trip - again, no propane!!! Nothing would work - went to several camping stores / dealerships (some were outright horrible in their service dept suggestions and camping world probably best knowledge but I ended up diagnosing myself through dumb luck). Camper under warranty but too much trouble to bring in if I could figure myself - plus was running against the clock for our camping trip.

Anywho, started with pigtail replacement but no one carried the smaller threaded one - finally found - went ahead and bought an extra regulator just in case. Got home and noticed that pigtail attached to small brass elbow bracket that attaches to regulator - hmmmm. Didn't really need the skinny thread pigtail as the regular ones go right into the regular regulator thread (what the frig is the smaller hose with brass bracker for!!!????). Well, I went ahead and plugged in my new pig tail and turned on propane (also made sure was not issue with tank before all of this) and immediately heard and felt propane hissing out of pig tail near bracket that attaches it to regulator. Thank the lord above this did not immediately trigger the safety mechanism in the new pig tail because after trying to tighten the pigtail and the elbow bracket into the regulator it still leaked here.

Well, then I saw it - a hairline crack in the brass elbow connector (connecting the pig tail to the regulator). Thought this was easy fix but apparently no one, and I mean no one, carries this little booger in stock. After a major goose chase and about 12 combined hours of my life that I will never get back, I was finally directed to a hose and brass fittings factory here in Knoxille - they had the little booger - cost $1.72 - bought three for back up. Hooked it up and all is well - camping trip went great and daddy saved the day (although no one in my family wanted to be around me as I was trouble shooting this little turd).
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Old 09-06-2012, 07:59 AM   #2
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I am glad you got that figured out. Something so easy can cause so much heartache.

Soon after I took delivery of my Swift 184Bh, I tried to turn on some propane appliances and show some family members the new family member. I could not get the propane to come out. I closest I could get was the occasional little TINY flame out of the stove. I started removing one piece of the lines from the back and worked my way forward. I was assuming that I had water in the line and it was plugging everything up. I made it all the way back up to the tank when I found the problem. The line between the bottle and the regulator was plugged.

It had been 100 degrees out every day after we accepted delivery. I know it all worked when we took delivery but now... nothing. I took that line off, and it was blocked. There was no reason that I could think of that there would be a one way valve inside that short 12 inch line. Because of the heat, I assumed that some of the glue had re-melted and sealed across the couplers. I took a length of bailing wire and tried to run it down. It snaked through easily right up until the end. I found the blockage and easily ran the bailing wire through.

If I had started at the front it would have taken me 5 minutes to fix but because I started in the rear, it took me 30. I am glad that I tried to fix it. Had I taken it in for warranty I would have been without the camper for 2 weeks and it would have cost me $30 in gas.

I am not trying to hijack your post, like you I just wanted to post something that might help others.

Glad you got it figured out.

Cheers,

X
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Old 09-06-2012, 08:28 AM   #3
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Any idea how it got cracked?
Did it come that way or do you think it was cracked while filling?
I don't want to find the same thing on my unit.
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Old 09-06-2012, 10:05 PM   #4
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Hi X - no, thank you for sharing. That 12 inch hose is the pig tail I am referring to - I have learned that they have a small safety mechanism built into them that will not allow propane to flow if it feels too much pressure (usually the result of a leak - which is what was happening in my case - but sometimes they are just overly sensitive and you can try the really slow turn on from the propane tank that I saw in a lot of threads). Guy at camping world said they sell a lot of these because they can be so finicky. For around $15, I plan to just keep the extra one I bought in case that goes out next.

CJames, no idea on the cause of the crack - that is why I picked up a few extra elbows. My thought for down the road is to get a pig tail with the standard size threads that will just plug right into the regulator. Not sure why they make one with a smaller thread making it necessary for an adapter.
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Old 09-06-2012, 10:06 PM   #5
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Hi X - no, thank you for sharing. That 12 inch hose is the pig tail I am referring to - I have learned that they have a small safety mechanism built into them that will not allow propane to flow if it feels too much pressure (usually the result of a leak - which is what was happening in my case - but sometimes they are just overly sensitive and you can try the really slow turn on from the propane tank that I saw in a lot of threads). Guy at camping world said they sell a lot of these because they can be so finicky. For around $15, I plan to just keep the extra one I bought in case that goes out next.

CJames, no idea on the cause of the crack - that is why I picked up a few extra elbows. My thought for down the road is to get a pig tail with the standard size threads that will just plug right into the regulator. Not sure why they make one with a smaller thread making it necessary for an adapter. We went on 3 or 4 trips prior to the failure so it must have happened in transit, heat, accidentaly knocking into it with something - my guess is as good as yours on that one.
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