Onboard Propane works sometimes, then not

[pamerica]

Hi.  1992 Class B on-board propane tank installed underneath.  New tank 1 1/2 years ago.  Had worked great.

Did not use the propane for stove or refrigerator, or at all, for over 6 months or more.  Refrig. running on electric, works fine.

Propane tank is full.  Sometimes when I light the stove it works until I turn it off.  Other times the flame will die out once started.  Other times it just won't light at all.

Re: refrigerator...when I first started it up again, the propane flame stayed lit, so I went on my trip escaping hurricane Irma.  A few hours later I stopped and saw the fridge propane had extinguished.

If this is pertinent to the issue, the van has been located in central Florida all summer.

Any ideas why this is happening?  Thank you.

 

[highdesertranger]

my first guess would be the regulator and/or the rubber hose. having the refrigerator blow out while driving is not uncommon. you do know it's illegal/dangerous to have that refer running on propane while refueling. in fact I believe the propane is supposed to be shut off when refueling. highdesertranger

 

[pamerica]

Thanks, highdesertranger.  And thanks for the reminder about turning off propane while refueling.

 

[Almost There]

For a '92, I'd suspect the regulator is on it's way out unless it's been replaced within the last few years. If it's the original it's 25 years old!

There's a tester  for propane pressure. Not sure if it's cost effective to buy one and learn to use it or just find a mobile RV tech to check it for you.

The fridge pilot light most likely blew out on the way down the highway. The back of the fridge has vent panels to vent the heat produced and where air can get out, it can also get in.

The stove problem may be dust and spider webs down the pilot tube. It's not unusual if the stove isn't used frequently, try taking a regular pipe cleaner (not the craft store ones) and cleaning the pilot tube.

2nd on not driving down the highway with the propane turned on. That's what the 12V system is for. Likewise, don't try to run it on the 12V while parked. It's seriously inefficient use of the battery and will flatten a house battery in no time.

 

[Trebor English]

It is way too hot to test the furnace.  Do you know if it has the same problem?    

The regulator has a vent port that has to be open for it to work right.  A mud wasp may have plugged it or there may be something else visible.  Rather than crawl under maybe you could reach under with your phone and get pictures to see what's happening.

 

[John61CT]

Besides the regulator, any rubber hoses can emit an oily gunk as they break down.

Really should replace annually, or best use iron or copper wherever possible.

 

[pamerica]

Thanks Almost There, Trebor English, John61CT.   All helpful information. I don't know where or what the regulator is but I'll try to find that. And I don't know about hoses either.  When I had my new tank put in, hopefully they put new hose on? I'll try to find that out also.
Trebor, later I will try the water heater.
I have to get underneath to take pictures, that's fine.  I'll be able to do that later today or tomorrow. Thanks everybody.

 

[pamerica]

p.s.  Re: refrigerator flame blowing out.  Yes, that's what I thought happened because it's happened before. Only now it will not relight.

 

[user 15722]

I wouldn't disagree with any of the possibilities mentioned above.
Considering the years on the machine, minor scale developed within the system could be obstructing an orifice.

To be safe with this inherently dangerous aspect of RV'ing, I would advise you have a professional inspect all aspects of your propane system.
Even the valve seal of your onboard tank could have degenerated over time and OFF might not really be OFF.

I've been known to be reckless with many things. This is not among them.
Best
wheels

 

[tx2sturgis]

Debris can get in the lines and be blown up to the orifice and plug it up, causing difficulties staying lit.

Or its possible you have a LOT of air in the lines and it simply needs to be purged.

You really need to have it looked at by a professional.

 

[karl]

Sounds like regulator would be my first test.
It would be a great time to check/replace any rubber lines- I hate rubber lines- J copper and black iron rule.
I'd want to back flush any opened/changed lines with compressed air before closing up the system.

It sounds like this may not be a job for you to take on personally without experienced help present.

Be safe

 

[highdesertranger]

there should be only one rubber line in the system, the one right off the tank. highdesertranger

 

[pamerica]

Again, Hello Bob Wells, is there some way that if just ONE errant finger touches some unknown key and all you have written is erased, that it can be saved as draft, like it is in gmail?  

Trying to post this again because you have helped me:  Thanks also to Wheels, karl, highdesertranger (again), tx2sturgis..if somehow you are not mentioned here, I am sorry and I did appreciate your reply.

I understand and agree about a "professional" looking this over.  Good luck finding one here.  Until then, I have gotten super info from you folks to consider:

Regulator, vent port, hose, debris, dust, spider web, air in line, mud wasp, pilot tube, valve seal, rubber lines, minor scale, "regular" pipe cleaner, not the ones used in crafts.  Looking forward to seeing what that is.  Couldn't get to hardware store today, but want to buy this.

And, now I have really good aspects to consider if/when I get this professional to help me.

Seems some of this I may be able to observe myself.  Maybe not.  I will look at what seems to be safe stuff.  I do completely understand this propane issue can be dangerous.  And I may still get back to you here with observations you have made me aware of.  Yes, I will call an RV guy I know, too.  Don't know if he is knowledgeable about propane.  Thank you, everybody.  I love you.

 

[pamerica]

Oh my gosh, I am horrified by the snarky tone of my last post, regarding saving to draft.  Plus I just found an answer in the forum issues area.

Sorry.  I appreciate this forum and Bob so much.  I used to be perfect, don't know what happened.

 

[Wabbit]

What was the answer? Pretty please

Oh and your last post didn't seem snarky to me, although sometimes I think I am being snarky too. Anyways, don't sweat it.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I've had that happen a couple of times, where I have typed out a long post and then my rented fingers hit the wrong key and POOF!

All Gone!

Some of the problem is definitely Windows 10, and the way it maps keyboard shortcuts...and in my version of Win10 its a huge pain to disable those stupid shortcut keys...

What evil lurks in those guys at Microsoft, we will never know.

 

[pamerica]

Thanks Wabbit and Tx2sturgis for your kind responses.

Wabbit, it wasn't a full answer to solve this disappearing post issue, but here goes....First, someone said there is no function on the forum for an automatic save.  Going to ask if we can please have that, if possible.

Then someone said that if they post using their phone, they have a "forward" button that when they press it, the disappeared post appears.  I am not using my phone, but that made me realize that maybe I have a function on the computer that will do the same?

I am using a Chromebook right now.

 

[Almost There]

It's some combination of keys in Windows 10 that is a shortcut to erasing all that was typed. I too wish I knew what it was.

The only work around is to type long posts in something like word and then copy/paste to here but then you run the risk of weird HTML coding showing up and/or fonts sizes being all screwed up.

It's not just here that it happens! I have 2 other boards that I used to post to that 'disappeared' my posts as well.

Most BB software doesn't allow auto save that I know of! If it was easy, I'm sure we'd already have it!

 

[tx2sturgis]

A workaround is easy to do but its not automatic.

If you have a few paragraphs typed up and you want to save what you have so far, just open a notepad app and do a copy and paste...do that every paragraph or two.

If you lose your work, then just go back and reverse the process, copy the latest text from the notepad and paste it to the forum. On a long post, I do this just before I hit SUBMIT...just in case something goes wrong at the last second...

I know its not THE answer, but it does work.

Wow....thread drift...GUILTY!

 

[deadwood]

If it has a new tank I would rule that out to start. And if it is all the propane appliances not working I think we can rule that out as well. I would be looking from the regulator to the hoses that connect to the appliances. I agree with Almost There that if the regulator hasn't been changed out in all these years that is where I would start. They aren't that expensive and if it still doesn't work then you can rule that out too and start thinking about blockage in the lines or air in the lines.

Try the easy fix first and see what happens. You can always pay to have someone check it out afterwards.