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Old 06-22-2015, 11:23 AM   #1
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Propane tank full - no gas!

I got my Prism back from the dealer who addressed a few issues in December and found they had left the furnace on until I ran out of propane. I filled the tank and didn't give it another thought. Then I tried to use the hot water hearer last week - nothing. I tried the stove - no gas. I tried the generator - nothing! I checked the valve - wide open. The tank is full . What could be keeping gas from getting to the appliances?
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Old 06-22-2015, 11:29 AM   #2
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There is a free flow safety valve in the tanks. If the system is empty and you turn on the gas, it will leave the tank fast enough to trick the safety valve into thinking there is a free flow. Shut off the valve, disconnect the line, Reconnect the line. The crack the valve ever so slightly and let it stay that way for a minute or two. This will fill the lines. Then open the valve slowly and try stove again.
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Old 06-22-2015, 11:31 AM   #3
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Have you tried shutting your tank off the opening it very slowly? I believe propane tanks have a check valve that shuts off the gas if they are opened to quickly, I've had that happen to me before.
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Old 06-22-2015, 06:16 PM   #4
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Possible bad propane regulator at the tanks. I had these things fail and restrict the gas flow to almost nothing. Even ones that were fairly new. You may new to replace it with a new one. Also check that your propane tank hook up fittings are screwed on all the way and tight. There is a small ball check valve in the propane line fittings that will not allow flow from the tank if they are loose. I've even had these check valves get stuck and had to replace the hook up lines between the tanks and regulator.
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Old 06-22-2015, 06:32 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by OneRoomShed Trailer Tech View Post
Possible bad propane regulator at the tanks. I had these things fail and restrict the gas flow to almost nothing. Even ones that were fairly new. You may new to replace it with a new one. Also check that your propane tank hook up fittings are screwed on all the way and tight. There is a small ball check valve in the propane line fittings that will not allow flow from the tank if they are loose. I've even had these check valves get stuck and had to replace the hook up lines between the tanks and regulator.
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Old 06-22-2015, 07:39 PM   #6
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I would also check the connection on to the tank . With the new valves if the connection is not tight it will no activate the valve and no gas will come out .
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Old 06-23-2015, 11:40 AM   #7
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I would also reset your CO2 detector there is a safety switch that prevents gas flowing if it is not working. I had a no gas problem and that fixed it
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Old 06-23-2015, 11:43 AM   #8
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Thanks; it's a built in tank. I'll try the slow opening first.
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Old 06-23-2015, 12:02 PM   #9
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I got my Prism back from the dealer who addressed a few issues in December and found they had left the furnace on until I ran out of propane. I filled the tank and didn't give it another thought. Then I tried to use the hot water hearer last week - nothing. I tried the stove - no gas. I tried the generator - nothing! I checked the valve - wide open. The tank is full . What could be keeping gas from getting to the appliances?
Are you sure the tank is full? I put a full tank on and a week later it was empty. Went looking for a leak and found a stove burner just barely turned on. Leak was so slow it didn't trip the alarm. Had the ceiling fan on so that helped spread out the gas fumes. Checked the alarm and it did work..

I now have this on all my tanks.

Propane Level Gauge

A quick glance and I know what I have in the tank.

Jim
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Old 06-23-2015, 12:56 PM   #10
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ALSO - Often, you may need to let the gas run for a moment to purge the air out of the lines.

I use one of those long butane lighters.

Turn one of the stove burners on, light the butane lighter and hold the flame near the stove burner so you can see the air flow from the stove burner blowing against the flame of the lighter.

Give it about 45 seconds and it should light.
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Old 06-23-2015, 01:01 PM   #11
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Are you sure they didn't overfill the tank when they refilled it for you? There has to be an "empty" portion above the gas level for it to produce gas from the liquid propane.
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Old 06-23-2015, 03:56 PM   #12
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An internal tank probably has an electric shutoff solenoid in the circuit. It's run off of the propane detector and is a safety feature that shuts off the propane when the detector goes into an "alarm" state. The coil in the solenoid on my 2011 Georgetown 327DS shorted and blew the fuse protecting the propane detector. Of course, the fuse wasn't in the fuse panel. The propane detector is fed directly off of the house battery's + terminal and has its own 5A inline fuse in the battery compartment. (Yes, locating that fuse was an interesting chore.)

I discovered that the solenoid is NOT a replaceable part! The only way to get one is to purchase an entire new propane detector kit which includes the solenoid. Unfortunately, the new solenoid had different sized fittings than the original. Fortunately, the RV mobile technician who was installing it at the campground I was staying at brought a full set of adapters and had one that fit. My breakdown insurance also covered the entire cost of the repair, over $700.

I also discovered that the original solenoid was rated to draw 1A at 12V. This means that having the propane turned on was drawing 24AH/day from the house batteries. The replacement solenoid is rated at 0.5AH, requiring only 12AH/day, a desirable improvement. Since my rig was only one year old when this happened, I still had four years life left on the original propane detector. The new one that came with the kit has been put in storage (it has a 10 year shelf life) and will be installed at the end of the original one's service life.

I also took the service technician's recommendation and installed a switch in the power line between the propane detector and the solenoid. This lets me, when I don't need it, shut off the propane from inside the RV.

Phil
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Old 06-23-2015, 05:14 PM   #13
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My Trilogy has an electrical shutoff close to the fill port for the 100 lb tank.
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Old 06-23-2015, 10:10 PM   #14
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I had a related situation in February. After much pain, the dealer determined that the tank hadn't been purged before it was filled the first time. This caused the regulator to freeze after an initial 10-15 minutes of running the furnace. Propane cools rapidly as it expands (often below freezing), which caused the moisture to freeze in the regulator. The dealer paid to purge and refill the tank...which takes three to four days. Since the EPA won't allow propane to be dumped into the air, it had to be burned off via a special 10' stand that produced a large flame burning off the propane.
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Old 06-24-2015, 09:57 AM   #15
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Had the same issue and it me nuts truing to determine the issue. Tow full tanks, one would work and the other not. Wasn't even a year old and then found out after carefully switching the tanks that it was the regulator.
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Old 06-27-2015, 12:36 PM   #16
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I also took the service technician's recommendation and installed a switch in the power line between the propane detector and the solenoid. This lets me, when I don't need it, shut off the propane from inside the RV.

Phil
I like that idea, going to have to look into that. I think I have room in the switch panel by the door to fit another small switch.

Jim
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