Extended late season camping

[Mister]

I usually do a week long fall trip in NOV. And this is NOT the time to wake up at 4 in the morning with you propane dry and your furnace not running. I'm sure this has been asked before but how safe would it be to make a hose using a female ACME fitting, a 4-5' length of 1/4" LP hose, and a male ACME adaptor threading into one of the female feeders into the campers regulator? I'd like to use something like this to feed off of a 60 or 80LP tank and keep the tanks on the rig for reserve.

[gasman6674]

That will work or you could buy a longer pigtail to screw directly into the regulator that eliminates a fitting. Would need to be 1/4" inverted flare for the regulator and normal pol for the tank. 60# and 100# cylinders are pol they do not use the QCC acme thread. PS been there done that ran out about 3am last October it got really brisk in the trailer.

[Mister]

I'd like to avoid tampering with the regulator if possible. Loosening and tightening fittings promotes the risk of damaging the regulator with my kind of luck. Besides, I'd like to be able to hook up to my on board tanks quickly and preferably without tools.

I wasn't aware the fittings on the larger tanks were different. Can you tell me more about the fittings on the larger LP tanks?

----

I feel like such a wuss... When I was younger I hunted from a primitive and uninsulated & unheated cabin with nothing but a mummy bag in December... Now I'm worried about running out of propane for my furnace. Oh how I fallen!

[gasman6674]

60 and 100# cylinders use the old style female POL fitting. You could do your hose with male QCC on one end and male POL on the other. Just remember it will be under pressure if you have to dis-connect it.

[Mister]

Just to be clear, this is the type of fitting your speaking of?

[gasman6674]

Yes, That is called a POL fitting

[Mister]

Thanks. Electricity is my forte... Gas is a bigger mystery than the dark side of the moon.

BTY, any recommendations on a place to get a 60 lb tank at a fair price?

[gasman6674]

If you want to own it, Tractor supply or Menards, If you want to rent/lease check with your local LP Gas dealer

[Mister]

Yeah I think I'd rather own it. That way I've always got it on hand and ready. Thanks for the help.

[gasman6674]

Manchester also makes a 50# cylinder might work well for you and be a little lighter weight wise

[Mister]

Originally Posted by gasman6674

Manchester also makes a 50# cylinder t work well for you and be a little lighter weight wise

Excellent! As always weight is huge concern. Especially when you pulling a 7500# trailer with a half ton. Wood, gear, fresh & bone... I need to save every pound I can.

[Mister]

Well I survived the fall deer camp with the help of a couple of extra 20lb'ers. But I'm already looking forward to spring and very real possibility that early April may well be colder than Nov here in OH. Bottom line, I'm ready to get serious about this.

First question. I've been asking the so called plumbers at HD & Lowes. They don't seem to know. First is 1/4" ID hose and fittings enough to supply the 30K BTUs to my furnace and an estimated 20K to my stove simultaneously? 3/8" hoses exist but I'm having trouble finding a female QCC1 to 3/8" NPT adaptor. I figure 1/4" may well be enough because it's on the high pressure side of the regulator, but then again the pressure in the tank will lower as temps decrease.

Next, the P.O.L. fitting. It seems I have two choices. First is a pin hole version which seems most common. Next is a full flow version with I'm guessing around a 1/4" diameter hole. (pics included)

Finally, I've found one place that sells 60# cylinders online. However with shipping it's quite a bit more expensive than the normal price of a 100lb'er. I was wondering if anyone had a lead on a supplier of 60# tanks. I'm also going to look in to the 50# mentioned by Gasman

[Mister]

Sorry I forgot to attach pictures of the POL fittings

Top --> Full Flow

Bottom --> Standard

[gasman6674]

1/4" hose @ 10psi will supply 50,000btu a little over 400 feet, would I recommend it ? NO. I assume you want to feed your existing system without modifications so I would recommend you get a 60 or 100# cylinder from rural king/tractor supply/menards (they all sell them) then go to your local LP gas dealer (not a reseller) and purchase a 1/4" hi pressure adjustable regulator and full flow pol fitting(rego 597FA or fisher 67 series) with the adj range of 3-15 psi, you do not want to exceed 20-30psi in your hi pressure line do to the possibility of re-liquidification, Buy the hose lenght you want, I recommend hose with 3/8" female flare ends as you can always adapt back to pipe. Then you will need a marshall excellisor ME393 which is 1 5/16" male acme (QCC connection) to 1/4" female pipe that will allow you to connect to your existing pigtail and use your "hose" regulator with out mods.

Hope this helps

PS most plumbers dont have a clue on this as they work with the low pressure side(after the "house" regulator)

[Mister]

Originally Posted by gasman6674

1/4" hose @ 10psi will supply 50,000btu a little over 400 feet, would I recommend it ? NO. I assume you want to feed your existing system without modifications so I would recommend you get a 60 or 100# cylinder from rural king/tractor supply/menards (they all sell them) then go to your local LP gas dealer (not a reseller) and purchase a 1/4" hi pressure adjustable regulator and full flow pol fitting(rego 597FA or fisher 67 series) with the adj range of 3-15 psi, you do not want to exceed 20-30psi in your hi pressure line do to the possibility of re-liquidification, Buy the hose lenght you want, I recommend hose with 3/8" female flare ends as you can always adapt back to pipe. Then you will need a marshall excellisor ME393 which is 1 5/16" male acme (QCC connection) to 1/4" female pipe that will allow you to connect to your existing pigtail and use your "hose" regulator with out mods.

Hope this helps

PS most plumbers dont have a clue on this as they work with the low pressure side(after the "house" regulator)

WOW! Helps... Heck yeah! Thanks for all the assistance. I'm glad I posted here. I was originally going to buy a full flow POL fitting, a 5' 1/4" hose from Mr. Heater and a 1/4" QCC1 fitting (again from Mr. Heater) which is very similar to the ME393 with the exception that it features a male NPT fitting as opposed to a female.

Amazon.com - Mr. Heater F273791 1/4" Male Pipe Thread x Female P.O.L. with Acme Thread Fitting

So using a regulator upstream of my campers onboard regulator isn't going to hurt anything? I was always under the impression that the low pressure side of the system operated on something like 1 PSI so this would still be higher but I was still leery of the idea. I looked at the models you listed. I assume there's a quality reason these are more expensive than their competition. The price is fine with me (can't spend too much for safety.) But the size is a little bulky. Is the model I'm linking below worth consideration at all?

Amazon.com - Mr. Heater High Pressure Propane Gas Regulator with POL Fitting #F273719 - Adjustable Propane Regulator

I also found this regulator and hose combo

Amazon.com: Bayou Classic 5HPR-40 48-Inch LPG Hose, High Pressure Adjustable Regulator: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Also 1/4" hose will flow the volume at the higher pressure. But you still recommend 3/8? I've found a couple of hose options but the one I had planned to use was this.

Amazon.com - Mr. Heater 5 Foot Propane Appliance Extension Hose Assembly 1/4 Inch Female Pipe Thread X 1/4 Male Pipe Thread F273717 - Propane Gas Extension Hose

At the risk of getting a lecture about internet advice from others. I'm going to say, you sound the most knowledgeable of anyone I've talked to. As you say, plumbers have no clue about these questions. The smarter ones admit they don't know. The rest have just tried to BS me.

I will also say please point out the flaws in my components and plan. I don't want to run out of LP. But I REALLY don't want blow myself up or damage a propane component by feeding it with liquid and not gas.

[gasman6674]

I have worked in the LP industry 37 years, 27 of those for an equipment distributor
I dont really care for the china stuff but it works, also as long as you dont go crazy on the length use 1/4" hose it will work fine. If you do it as I posted you should not have to modify your existing system and it keeps it simple. Which every regulator you use just dont exceed 20 psi and it should work fine. If you have any other questions you can call me 8-5 est at 800-241-1971 I cant sell to retail but I answer questions all day long.

Regards

Jim England

[Mister]

Thank you very much Jim. After further reading and a second glance, I'm going to get the 597FA regulator you mentioned. Seems like a solid unit for a fair price. As for the rest I'll piece it together with what's easiest to come by. You information has been invaluable.

Much Thanks
-John Shoemaker

[gasman6674]

John
Be sure to turn off the extra tank and slightly loosen the POL fitting when you disconnect as you will have gas trapped in your aux hose.
Regards

[Mister]

Thank you. That's good advice. One final thing... Would adding a pressure gauge downstream of the regulator make sense? If so do you have a model you can recommend?

[gasman6674]

Yes the 597 and 67 series both have 1/4" pressure taps in the side of them.
any good quality 0-30 or 0-60 psi gauge will work fine.