Propane Use & Regulator

[mkbix]

Last week I turned the furnace on and set it at 65 degrees. Been staying at the in-laws house down in New Mexico. It's been 30-50 degrees each day. We don't stay in it while visiting the in-laws, ( we will eventually ) but I kept the furnace on for my wife to be able to go down and work and be comfortable.

We ran out of propane in one week. Does that seem right?

We have 2 tanks, I tried switching over to the 2nd but the regulator keeps showing red. I need to try the whole "let gas out at the stove 30 seconds and slowly open the valve of the propane tank" trick. Already I'm debating switching to a marshal regulator. From what I read on forums, they seems to be better.

In ours, we have the Mr. Heater F273766 regulator. It looks to be of decent quality, but I can't get the red indicator to switch to green.

Which also begs the question, do you guys remove your propane tanks to get them filled? Obviously I can move this thing when empty, but seems like a hernia waiting to happen when it's full.

[MikeThompson]

You have an automatic change over regulator. When the tank that the lever is pointing to runs out, the regulator automatically switches to the other tank. The indicator turns red so you'll know the tank is empty. Switch the lever, take off and refill the empty tank and you're set. It sounds as if you let both tanks run empty.

[mkbix]

I did switch over the regulator. The 1st tank is definitely empty and the 2nd tank is definitely full.

I got the furnace to kick on for 30 seconds and then it stopped, so that I'm why I'm guessing I have the issue of tripping that check valve.

[namusmc65]

Did you turn on the stove and let it burn a couple minutes to bleed air out of the lines?

[mkbix]

I did let any air bleed out.

I ended up taking the full tank on the left side of the trailer, and moved it over to the right side, switched the regulator over and it worked.

For some reason that left side won't work. I'm thinking maybe the pigtail from the regulator is clogged or defective?

PS. I spent a solid amount of time looking for my furnace and feeling like an idiot to discover that I have doorless one? I still have no idea how many BTU's it is, but I'm guessing 30,000.

[wags999]

A week at 30 degree at night, with temp set at 65 could use a 30 gal tank of propane. We used a single tank in two days when it was in the upper 20's with a wind, set at about the same temp. Nothing uses propane like your furnace does.

[RPR]

I installed a RV 30 amp receptacle at our daughters. They live in N Alabama so we can plug in our Class C if needed while visiting to save propane.

[mkbix]

Originally Posted by RPR

I installed a RV 30 amp receptacle at our daughters. They live in N Alabama so we can plug in our Class C if needed while visiting to save propane.

Our 5th wheel only has a propane furnace. At least that I'm aware. Maybe I'm missing something?

[stateboy]

As another option to reduce propane use, we'll use an omni-directional electric space heater (like the one pictures) at times to take the chill out of the air. The electricity is already paid for in the campsite price so why not? Most have more than one setting (such as 750w and 1,500w) so you can choose how much power to use on a branch circuit that happens to be shared with other electric appliances.

[ve7fet]

Originally Posted by stateboy

As another option to reduce propane use, we'll use an omni-directional electric space heater (like the one pictures) at times to take the chill out of the air. The electricity is already paid for in the campsite price so why not? Most have more than one setting (such as 750w and 1,500w) so you can choose how much power to use on a branch circuit that happens to be shared with other electric appliances.Attachment 47700

This... if you're not paying for the power (or it is already paid for in your site fee, if you are camping)... get a space heater to cut down/eliminate your propane usage.

Furnace sucks a lot of propane to use.

I use an oil heater for spring/fall camping. Put it in the middle of the living area. It is silent and has three adjustable settings (so you can adjust it depending on whether you are on a 15A or 30A feed).

I chuckle when I wander around a campground when it is cold out and hear everyone's furnaces running...


Back to the OP's question... make sure the leaver on your regulator is pointing towards the FULL bottle, and your indicator should go green. Otherwise, you may have a defective regulator (wouldn't be the first).

The way the auto-changeover regulator is SUPPOSED to work is:

-open both bottles
-lever points to bottle in use first, and indicator is green
-when bottle in use is empty, indicator goes red
-reserve fuel (reduced capacity) is drawn from the "other" bottle
-change over lever to "other" bottle and indicator goes green
-remove empty bottle/fill/replace/turn on, this is now the reserve bottle

Beware when turning on bottles with OPD valves (all newer bottles), if you turn them on quickly in to an empty propane system, the excess-flow safety cutoff may "slug closed", and cut off supply. Crack the valve open, when you hear the hissing stop (system is up to pressure), close valve and re-open.

After pressurizing the system, go light the stove to bleed most of the air out of the system (when the stove finally lights, most of the air should be gone). Also check your water heater and fridge light.


Good Luck!

[Hog3loves]

Originally Posted by mkbix

Our 5th wheel only has a propane furnace. At least that I'm aware. Maybe I'm missing something?

Our 321 RSTS has the electric fireplace that can crank out a respectable amount of heat. However, that living room/kitchen area has a tremendous volume of air to heat (or cool) resulting in limited heat going to the elevated bedroom if you're using only the electric fireplace to heat the trailer. Think about that, if there's a good reason to have that 2nd air conditioner (bedroom) installed, then there is a good reason to use supplemental electric heat if the propane furnace is not functioning. We have a ceramic heater in the bedroom for that eventuality, but I like the suggestion above and will look into that model.

Knowing the propane furnace sucks a lot of fuel, and having the generator installed for dry camping events, I have the larger 40 lb/10 gal tanks installed on both sides. I also have the Mopeka tank sensors installed to help with the "how much propane is left" question.

[Seann45]

Shut the full tank off... then v.e.r.y. s-l-o-w-l-y open the valve after you make sure the hose is screwed in all the way to the tank This fix takes care of 98% of all propane problems

[mkbix]

Turns out it was a faulty regulator. I pulled out the one it came with (the Mr Heater model 6020) and replaced with the camco auto. Not sure if the camco is better quality but it works! Indicator works and auto switches over.

But now we just started our journey. Went from worrying about freezing last 2 Weeks to running the ac as soon as we setup here in Palm Springs