Gas Bottles

[Haedtime01]

I understand that both bottles have to be on at the same time on my unit. I want to run the fridge about a week on them, will they run out of propane? How do you know when one is empty, or do they just both go out at once?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Haedtime01

I understand that both bottles have to be on at the same time on my unit. I want to run the fridge about a week on them, will they run out of propane? How do you know when one is empty, or do they just both go out at once?

Both do not have to be on at the same time and a 20# cyl will run the frig for at least 6 months or longer.

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

a 20# cyl will run the frig for at least 6 months or longer.

That's hard for me to believe but if you've done it.... ok.

My guess is a single 20# LP tank will run your fridge a month.
That is if you don't use LP gas for anything else.
No cooking, no hot water, no heat.
You should be able to go a week easy on one tank and have hot
water and cook breakfast too!

Assuming you have an automatic switchover regulator you can turn
on both tanks.
The regulator will have a little lever that you can turn from one side
to the other.
The tank the little lever is pointing towards is your "main" tank.
The tank the lever is NOT pointed to is your "reserve" tank.
If you turn on both tank valves, when the "main tank" has LP the little
window in the regulator will show green inside.
When the "main tank" runs out, the regulator will switch to the "reserve"
tank and the little window will show red inside telling you the tank
that the lever is pointed to is now empty (or shut off).

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by KyDan

This is not even close to correct!...

I beg to differ KyDan, we have camped for over 3 months with the frig on propane 24/7 and not even used 1/2 of a 30# cyl and we cook and run the water heat on propane also. In 3 yrs of using it the same way, we have used 1 tank. The furnace will suck a 20# cyl dry in a week.

[KyDan]

We'll have to agree to disagree then....

In 2010 we took our dream out west trip.
31 days away from home.
We had electric hookups about 2/3 of the time.
Long haul days the fridge was on LP of course.
Any CG with electric we had it on automatic so it was on 120v.
We used minimal hot water since we don't typically shower in the trailer.
On that trip we began with 2 full 20# tanks.
By mid trip we had emptied one and I had it re-filled.
By the time we got back home I had very nearly emptied the 2nd tank.
It was light and I couldn't feel any "slosh" when I lifted it.

Of course LP usage for the fridge is going to depend on weather also.
Hot weather means more LP to keep the fridge cool.

[jmswms]

We run our fridge all summer on our tanks-but yes the heat does make a difference

[bikendan]

who told you that you had to use both tanks at the same time? whoever that was, was grossly misinformed.

we can get an entire camping season on one 20lb. tank and we use the propane side of the fridge, since we always dry camp.
but we don't usually have high temps outside. if we do, we get hookups to run the a/c and the fridge. but we only have hookups a couple of times a season.

[BarryD0706]

Originally Posted by Haedtime01

I understand that both bottles have to be on at the same time on my unit. I want to run the fridge about a week on them, will they run out of propane? How do you know when one is empty, or do they just both go out at once?

I'd say "have to be on" is just a little too strong. If you want to use the auto-changeover valve (assuming you have one) then they should both be on, but don't have to be if you want to switch tanks manually.

Can you post a picture of the valve you use to switch from one tank to the other? It'll be where the two hoses from the two tanks join together.

[Haedtime01]

Had the bottles checked and they were fine. I am using the auto switch over system. Thanks Barry...

[h20ski]

I bought my camper in Sept 2011 about 51 nights and just over 6000 miles and still running on 1 tank. I run propane going down the road and just to get the water hot when first arriving at a campground. I only turn 1 on at a time. I'm about to turn both on so they will switch over when tank #1 runs out. I think it's going to be any time.

[jmswms]

We went through 2 tanks real fast when we first got our camper last year. Checked for leaks didn't find any but knew there had to be one (not our first camper). Took it back to dealer and they replaced the lines. No more problems and we've even ran the furnace a few nights.