Is there a secret shutoff valve?

TitanMike · 04-28-2018, 02:50 PM

Took a 300 mile trip this week to the Oregon Coast. Went to use the BBQ that came with my Microlite 25BDS for the first time. Wouldn't light. Adjusted spark, held a separate lighter next to burner, nothing. Checked shutoff valve on end of hose and it was open. Pushed in valve in quick disconnect, no gas. Not even smell of gas. Even removed coupler from hose, not even smell of gas.

Furnace works great as does water heater and stove which all feed off the same "manifold" under trailer. Just this one line to the BBQ has no gas.

Traced line back to where it went through floor of storage compartment. No kinks or other obstacles.

Anyone else have same problem?

It's raining serious right now or I'd be disconnecting line on the manifold end to see if there's a plug of pipe dope or something blocking but thought I'd see if anyone here ran across a different solution. Starting Tuesday I leave on a 4,000 mile trip with no schedule and an occasional steak would be nice so I need to fix.

BTW, Was real nice of Dealer tp NOT see if the Bbq worked before I took delivery.

Martsing · 04-28-2018, 03:07 PM

Ours has a quick connect and a shut off lever at the very end of the hose where it connects to the grill.

Marty

Skyliner · 04-28-2018, 03:07 PM

This video should help. I don't have a BBQ quick connect line on my current RV but my last RV did From what I remember, both ends of the hose that is used to connect to propane RV line and the BBQ fitting have a lever one each end The lever must be opened perpendicular (closed no gas flow) so that you can retract the female fitting to accept the male fitting. Once connected, you need to move the lever so it is in the same direction of gas flow(on position). Same thing on the otherside of hose that goes into the quick connect fitting on your gas grill.

Also, sometimes opening the gas too fast will cause it to stop flowing thru the regulator. Always double check propane flow and propane availability by lighting a burner on the stove. If that doesn't light you have other issues. Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baDTE7HN__s

TitanMike · 04-28-2018, 03:27 PM

Thanks for the replies. I have all calves I can see open and am not sure any flow regulator issues are the problem as all other lpg appliances are working fine. One tank is full and other maybe half.

Problem seems to be between manifold where main lpg feed branches to all the other gas appliances.

I'm thinking something is plugging just the line to the bbq but I thought I'd check before disconnecting the line from the manifold only to find that there's a second shutoff hidden between floor and belly cover. I've seen stranger things in my lifetime.😁

Skyliner · 04-28-2018, 09:09 PM

Shut your gas valves off at the tanks and then remove the quick disconnect fitting at it's connection. Have someone turn a propane turn on and smell/feel/listing for gas flow. Try to blow some air thru the quick disconnect too and blow some air via the hose you are using to connect to the gas grill. You may have a clog somewhere.

Don't hesitate to look under the camper and follow the propane lines all the way back to the tanks.

For me, I almost always forgot to move the valves on each end of the hose back into the inline position after hooking up the quick disconnects....frustrating.

Good luck w/ your troubleshooting!

TitanMike · 04-28-2018, 09:16 PM

Since posting this I made a decision. Since I'm leaving Tuesday for the month of May i just pulled the BBQ out of the storage compartment and will make the trip without it. When i get back I'll just drop the trailer off at the Dealer and let them fix it. First year is up July 10 and i have a list of other small stuff I'll just let them deal with too.

Maybe they'll wash it too. ��

uhduh camping · 04-28-2018, 09:39 PM

Im betting the male end of quick connect is to short to open female side seal. Open the quick connect valve and carefully push seal open with small screwdriver or ball point pen. If there is gas flow then purchasing a matching male/female gas quick connect fixes the problem. There was a thread about this issue a couple days ago.

TitanMike · 04-28-2018, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uhduh camping

Im betting the male end of quick connect is to short to open female side seal. Open the quick connect valve and carefully push seal open with small screwdriver or ball point pen. If there is gas flow then purchasing a matching male/female gas quick connect fixes the problem. There was a thread about this issue a couple days ago.

I've already taken the couple and valve completely off the end of the hose and checked for gas. Did that after I did the same as what you suggested.

Thanks though.

Cypressloser · 04-28-2018, 10:14 PM

Two things I can think off. Either is the line plugged with crap like filings from thread cutting or teflon tape or the line is not connected to the main trunk at all. Since you can't even smell gas remove the quick connect and try to blow air through with your mouth, if there is no resistance it is not t-ed in.

RangeMaggotBob · 04-28-2018, 11:31 PM

Mike- on ours, there is a valve right at the BBQ. There is also a valve where you hook up underneath the trailer to the port. Take one more look. Ours was hard to tell it was even there, but I had the same problem a you, but there it was.

TitanMike · 04-28-2018, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RangeMaggotBob

Mike- on ours, there is a valve right at the BBQ. There is also a valve where you hook up underneath the trailer to the port. Take one more look. Ours was hard to tell it was even there, but I had the same problem a you, but there it was.

Thank you very much. That was my suspicion but it's been too nasty to crawl under and explore.

I will say the gas setup is kind of strange. On my old trailer (a Terry) there was a short hose from the regulator to a piece of iron pipe that ran the length of the trailer and there were tee's and an ell for each appliance.

This trailer has one long hose that runs back to above the rear axle to a manifold where more hose branches off to appliances. Behind the axle is a length of pipe that runs from the manifold to the rear, outside kitchen.

Looks like the gas system was designed by a high school kid using parts found in the garage.

mikkeeh · 04-29-2018, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Thank you very much. That was my suspicion but it's been too nasty to crawl under and explore.

I will say the gas setup is kind of strange. On my old trailer (a Terry) there was a short hose from the regulator to a piece of iron pipe that ran the length of the trailer and there were tee's and an ell for each appliance.

This trailer has one long hose that runs back to above the rear axle to a manifold where more hose branches off to appliances. Behind the axle is a length of pipe that runs from the manifold to the rear, outside kitchen.

Looks like the gas system was designed by a high school kid using parts found in the garage.

Lol. May have been. High school kids work cheap!

NickHeaps819 · 04-29-2018, 08:08 AM

Question! Is the BBQ one that came with the unit or did you buy it separately? Most BBQ’s that you get have a regulator on them that drops the pressure to the required level before going to the burners. As your camper has a regulator already installed in the line if you have a second one it would stop the flow down to nothing and your BBQ will not work. You have to get a kit to remove this regulator from the stand alone BBQ for it to work with your trailer. I did mine and installed a quick connect fitting on the BBQ itself. This way it worked with the trailer and I hooked up a quick connect unit to the regulator so if I needed to use the BBQ off the trailer it would connect back up again easily.

TitanMike · 04-29-2018, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrhsharonnick

Question! Is the BBQ one that came with the unit or did you buy it separately? Most BBQ’s that you get have a regulator on them that drops the pressure to the required level before going to the burners. As your camper has a regulator already installed in the line if you have a second one it would stop the flow down to nothing and your BBQ will not work. You have to get a kit to remove this regulator from the stand alone BBQ for it to work with your trailer. I did mine and installed a quick connect fitting on the BBQ itself. This way it worked with the trailer and I hooked up a quick connect unit to the regulator so if I needed to use the BBQ off the trailer it would connect back up again easily.

It came with. Did you note how I have no gas at the QD connector when after removing it from the hose?

CHICKDOE · 04-29-2018, 09:01 AM

you know enough to find the problem. but as you said, you'll have to crawl underneath. you took the quick disconnect off and you have no gas coming out of the pipe? I would not expect a secret valve under the unit. are you sure the supply for the quick disconnect is connected to the supply line for all the other appliances? does the barbeque have a regulator on it? if it does is it possible that the supply line for the quick disconnect is a high pressure line that has to be connected directly to the tanks or that there is a valve for this line up by the tanks? I really don't know but I'm just throwing out some thoughts. the fact that you took the quick disconnect off and have no gas tells me there is something different than what you are expecting.

NickHeaps819 · 04-29-2018, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TitanMike

It came with. Did you note how I have no gas at the QD connector when after removing it from the hose?

Yes I did. I had a similar issue and when I pushed in the release there was no smell of gas either. But when I used the correct fitting it let the gas out. Make sure you’ve got the right male fitting for the unit.
If the BBQ has a regulator on it it will not work because it is dropping the pressure below its operating pressure. Does the BBQ have a regulator attached to it or not?

TitanMike · 04-29-2018, 09:43 AM

PROBLEM FOUND

This was bugging me all morning so I grabbed my creeper and went underneath. Right there in front of me was a "redneck hose shutoff". Not a valve but a sharp link. As the host was tugged out of storage the fittings were misaligned so it formed a kink that totally shut off the gas flow. It was like this when it left the factory as the link was covered with the rubber goo they seal the underbelly with.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to form the hose into a radius bend and keep the kink from reforming when the hose is pulled out of storage again.

Now that I know what it is I feel better. I'll fix it later when I figure out how to make a permanent and reliable one.

Thanks all for your contributions.

Iwannacamp · 04-29-2018, 10:01 AM

They make hose guard type stuff. Bend restricters and other stuff. The spring wire type “screwed” onto the hose would help keep a kink out.

DavidBo · 04-29-2018, 11:08 AM

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Apollo-1...ND12/301541126

This, with a little trimming, might be worth a look. It's made for PEX plastic pipe and comes in various sizes. There are also springs that are used to help hoses keep their shape around bends.
Glad you found the problem!

TitanMike · 04-29-2018, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidBo

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Apollo-1...ND12/301541126

This, with a little trimming, might be worth a look. It's made for PEX plastic pipe and comes in various sizes. There are also springs that are used to help hoses keep their shape around bends.
Glad you found the problem!

Thanks for the link.

I think I'll just change the angle where the hose enters the manifold , pull back enough hose to just make a 180 degree kink free loop, and secure the part that goes out to the BBQ so it can't be pulled out too far. Looks like I have plenty of hose to do this and other than rotating a tee a little I won't have to open up the main lpg line.

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