2-Burner Propane Stoves

[GrantRobertson]

the usual way they plumb the gas is from the tank there is a rubber line that goes into iron pipe. the iron pipe will have tee's off the tee's there will be copper tubing going to each appliance. all the copper tubing will have flared ends, no other ends are permitted.

This makes it sound as if there is some rule book that I am supposed to follow. Is there such a set of rules or laws, to which I must comply? Who enforces said rules? Where can I get a copy of them?

Or do these rules only apply to manufactured RVs, sold by dealerships?

Those flared ends... Are there rules as to what can be connected to them? May one connect a hose to that flared end? Is it permissible to connect a valve between the manifold (which you described as a series of tees) and said flared end?

 

[B and C]

This makes it sound as if there is some rule book that I am supposed to follow. Is there such a set of rules or laws, to which I must comply? Who enforces said rules? Where can I get a copy of them?

Or do these rules only apply to manufactured RVs, sold by dealerships?

Those flared ends... Are there rules as to what can be connected to them? May one connect a hose to that flared end? Is it permissible to connect a valve between the manifold (which you described as a series of tees) and said flared end?

You can reinvent the way to plumb propane if you want to.  Murphy is the enforcer and I don't want to be anywhere near your rig whenever you strike a match.  You ask a lot of basic propane questions and then have it set in your mind that you know how to do it better than a proven way.  May God look out for you and those around you.  We are just trying to steer you in a proven direction.

 

[highdesertranger]

all RV appliances will have flared fittings. camping gear will have proprietary fittings. all copper tubing for gas must have flared fittings(even in household apps). this is just like brake lines they must be flared fittings. what other type of fitting are you planning on using, a compression fitting? compression fittings are not approved for LP gas, natural gas, and brake lines. I was just pointing out what's in use. if you want to reinvent the wheel, good luck. I am not trying to give you a bad time I am just pointing out what's in use. there must be a code for this but I am not going to look it up to prove I am right. it's your RV do what you want. highdesertranger

 

[ahh_me2]

Those flared ends... Are there rules as to what can be connected to them? May one connect a hose to that flared end? Is it permissible to connect a valve between the manifold (which you described as a series of tees) and said flared end?

There are hoses designed to mate with Flare fittings, and fittings to adapt pipe thread hoses to Flare
Valves are easy to put in-line in a Flared fitting system, and often useful to do so.
Permissible? as per the RVIAA regs on propane, "Any propane appliance shall have a shut-off valve located within 6 feet of the appliance, inside, in easy reach."

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

National Fire Protection Code Section 58 deals with propane.

http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/document-information-pages?mode=code&code=58

As for the nuts and bolts aspects of it, there are "best practices" which the certified technicians know and understand.  If you are going the DIY route, probably best that you find and use them.

Regards
John

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

BTW, I've been doing a bit of research on DIY propane stuff, in preparation for my own build.

Gas stoves for homes or RVs have a safety feature in the burners that shut off the flow of gas if the flame goes out.  (Blown out by the wind, say.) This prevents the gas from quickly building up to an explosive level in a confined space.

The burners on camp stoves don't have this feature.  Saves money and since they are only supposed to be used outside, the gas can't build up to dangerous levels.

If you are going to stand over the stove the whole time you are cooking, you can probably get away with using a camp stove inside.  If you're the type who wants to put a big pot of soup or stew on to simmer for hours while you go off and do something else, using a camp stove inside is a VERY bad idea.

Regards
John

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

You might take a look at THIS thread:

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f10/how-to-run-propane-lines-519.html

Regards
John

 

[GrantRobertson]

I would be very wary about converting a low pressure RV system into a high pressure system.

I never said anything about "converting" anything. As I have said many times, this RV is an empty shell. I have no idea if the manifold is even still down there. If it is, and it is connected to the tank via a hose, then that hose is surely past its safe lifespan. So, I will literally be plumbing from the tank, out. New regulators, new gauges, new pipes, maybe a new manifold, new hoses. Everything. And if the tank is damaged, then I will have to hunt down a replacement tank as well.

 

[GrantRobertson]

if it was me I would stick with an RV stove and actually I would go with a stove oven combo.  ovens are nice.

Well, I have been telling myself that I would make myself some fresh-baked cookies for like 30 years. I have just never gotten around to it. I think, for me, a stove would just end up being a very noisy place to store pots and pans, that I also don't use very much.

But we can save that conversation for later, in the cooking section.

 

[Mobilesport]

I would keep everything low pressure indoors, especially if you have pets or children. 
Buy a dedicated outdoor stove for cooking outdoors , they don't take up that much space.
You shouldn't cheap out when it comes to Propane systems. 

 

[[email protected]]

My pet peeve with the new propane camping stoves is that they have inferior valves imo. I’m currently in the hunt for any propane stove with a quality valve that gives me precise flame adjustment. Someone said build a Case around a rv stove. I’m going to look into that. Meanwhile, I’ve ordered a backpack stove with no housing in the hope it has a better valve. I’ll keep you posted.

 

[Wabbit]

When you say inferior valves and precise flame adjustment, are you talking about the turny knobs that raise lower flame? If so, what I do is pull the knob off and add a spacer to "stiffen" up the turny thingy. I have been using cardboard(think beer case cardboard) for years. I keep meaning to swap that out with leather, but keep forgetting to. If this makes sense, great! If not, I completely understand. Rereading this confuses me.

 

[maki2]

I am using a gas one dual fuel stove. It is a single burner but it has great flame control. Much nicer quality portable stove than many brands.

As far as the windscreens go you can make a folding one without a lot of fuss. That job can done in just a few minutes with only two tools, a drill motor and a rivet puller. It is easy for a beginner, an introduction to working with sheet metal project using off the shelf materials from a local hardware store.

Just go to the hardware store and buy pre-cut pieces of flat aluminum sheets, they comes in a variety of sizes. You don't need really thick metal, just thick enough to stand up on its own without bending back on itself. You will need 3 pieces. One of them longer that the width of the back. The two side pieces can be slightly shorter than the depth of the stove. The height should be enough to help keep splatters from bacon or hamburgers hitting the walls but not so tall that it would become unstable in a very strong wind.

If you wanted to you could hinge a 4th piece of metal to the bottom edge of the back piece, it would stay flat on the table and the stove would sit on top of it providing a weighted anchor. That would give it some extra stability when used outdoors in windy conditions.

Then go over to where they sell cabinet hinges and get some light weight ones to connect the sides to the back (and bottom if you use one). You can use aluminum pull rivets to fasten them in place.

 

[[email protected]]

When you say inferior valves and precise flame adjustment, are you talking about the turny knobs that raise lower flame? If so, what I do is pull the knob off and add a spacer to "stiffen" up the turny thingy. I have been using cardboard(think beer case cardboard) for years. I keep meaning to swap that out with leather, but keep forgetting to. If this makes sense, great! If not, I completely understand. Rereading this confuses me.

Thanks wabbit, I’ve used various Coleman stoves all my life and back in the day, when they all used white gas, the valves, aka turny things, were easy to adjust without the flame going out at low settings. But when they started making propane stoves, the valves on all of them were fussy and hard to adjust. Frustrates The bejebers out of me. I’ll try the cardboard spacer thing and I’m still going to search for something with a quality valve, preferably a compact one burner. I’m using a bread rack in my van as a gally. And will put the stove away when not in use, to preserve my preparation space.

 

[Wabbit]

Coleman stoves used to be great. Their quality has really went downhill. I use a 2 burner Coleman, it works, but it's not what they used to be. Best of luck!

 

[[email protected]]

OK folks, I just received a one burner backpack stove named ENKEEO. Got it on amazon. I’ll try to post pics but, haven’t done it before... Anyway, it looks very sturdy, is likely to be able to hold a large pot of water with strength to spare. But the legs are a tripod, as all the stoves of this ilk are. So, tippy, if you’re not careful. I’ll probably mount it to something flat, was going to use wood, but on second thought... Well the valve, mounted near the tank as opposed to near the burner, is smooth working and looks precision made. I paid 20 for it, the same amount I paid for my old backpacking Prius stove in 1970, and this appears to be a better made stove. So the stove uses butane and I only have propane. Tell you later how it performs. A couple of the reviews suggested that you can hack some connections to use with propane 1lbs and bulk tanks. What do you all think? I’m inclined to do it.

 

[[email protected]]

Dang, the pictures of the stove didn’t post. I searched the forum for instructions, and now I can’t make the search page work. Bad hair day. I tried to attach to this post, but I hold little hope. Thoughts or tips?

 

[[email protected]]

Ok, I’m clearly a hopeless Luddite. Found out that the photos I was trying to attach were too large, as in too many kilobytes. Took the pictures with my iPhone 7. So now how do I convert the pic files? Looked for settings on the camera app, and on “photos” app, no dice. Thoughts?

 

[maki2]

You can change the size of the photos on your phone using a photo editing app that you install on your phone. Or another choice is to change the setting for your camera phone to a lower resolution image, its default is preset to high resolution which does not work for forums. Read your manual and do a web search for iPhone photo editing apps.

 

[Matildas mate]

Ok, I’m clearly a hopeless Luddite. Found out that the photos I was trying to attach were too large, as in too many kilobytes. Took the pictures with my iPhone 7. So now how do I convert the pic files? Looked for settings on the camera app, and on “photos” app, no dice. Thoughts?

I recently experienced the same thing with no idea how I was going to fix it without access to special software. I then decided that since I didn’t know how much over the kilobyte limit they were I would trim the pics down a bit in the photo edit feature - getting rid of some of the empty space outside of the main focus of the pic. In my case this worked and the next attempt at uploading the pics was successful. Another option for future uploads is to turn off the hdr (high definition resolution) and switch to standard resolution for pictures you are specifically wanting to upload.