...using a lighter to ignite and turning off a valve [just before we finish] cooking... old enough to remember...lit campfires with matches...
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Good point...
... and something I probably should clarify.
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The following clumsy/awkward system of constantly fiddling with propane bottles and their appliances was based on my hobby of walking wrecking-yards aka 'dismantlers'.
Based on my observations, after a vehicle fire starts, it is nearly impossible to extinguish.
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Pretty much everything in a vehicle burns, enthusiastically.
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a)
In our rig, we have:
* a dedicated hose from a dedicated five-gallon propane bottle to the Coleman propane two-burner camp-stove, plus
* another dedicated hose and dedicated five-gallon propane bottle for the Wave 3 catalytic heater.
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Prior to each use, we 'OPEN' the bottle valve.
Nearing completion of use, we 'CLOSE' that bottle valve.
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This gives us the opportunity to verify the connections on the twenty-pound bottle and at the appliance.
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b)
On factory RecreateVehicles with remote propane bottles on the hitch or remote frame-mounted under the rig, is the propane system reliant on the stove knobs closing, the furnace knobs closing, various thermocouples working perfectly every time, and the integrity of the plumbing from source to appliance(s)?
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Based on my experience with factory RecreateVehicles -- new, as well as bounced over a few years of bad road -- I think that reliance is treading on thin ground.
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c)
As you might imagine after two decades full-time live-aboard, using one of our Wave 3 catalytic heaters part of the year -- and living with dogs -- somebody inevitably danced on its piezo ignition push-button...
... rendering it back to its component pieces.
Rest In Peace, dear friend.
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Accordingly, we light the Wave 3 using a match.
"But but but LM!, that match smoke will RUIN! the heater pad, and turn your heater to JUNK [emphasis added]!"
We thought so, too.
Real-World, that theory FAILED FLAT ON ITS KABOODLE [emphasis in original]!
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And the Coleman propane two-burner camp-stove?
We light it using a clicker-igniter we acquired at a yard-sale decades ago.
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d)
Nearing the completion of cooking or heating, we turn the bottle valve 'OFF', and allow the appliance to use the propane in the hose until the flame sputters out.
Apparently, the odorant in propane -- the sulphur stink -- eventually breaks-down the lining in the hose.
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Will shutting 'OFF' the bottle valve and reducing the stagnant gas inside the hose, will that add years to the hose life?
Perhaps.
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e)
I'm old enough to remember building a bonfire stack, dousing it with gasoline, then igniting it by tossing fire-crackers.
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Oh, wait.
We still do that.
