extra propane capacity

The water heater barely uses pretty little lp. It’s a horizontal tank and I think it’s about 18 gallons. It’s my heater that uses it quite a bit. I was out for about 6 nights....cold nights and days and I went through most the tank and I wouldn’t have minded using it a lot more. I love the extend a stay idea. I think camco makes one. So question 1 is are those adapters safe? I don’t mind carrying a tank since I almost always have a trailer. I don’t think a larger tank will fit but I’m open to ideas on how to stuff something larger in there. How big can I go?

Goggle "extend a stay"...

Gary

If you're talking about extended stays at RV parks, you can reduce your propane use by installing an electric water heater element. (Or using the one already installed if available). There are a couple brands and they work great.

I installed one in my old '94 Bounder and in this '02 Journey it came installed from the factory. I haven't used propane to heat my water for over two years now, relying on the electric element and timing my shower and dish washing needs so they don't coincide. The factory installed heater is bigger than the aftermarket heater but the aftermarket element I installed helped a great deal too. Only required that the propane be turned on for 5 minutes before a shower and off immediately afterward.

If you leave your hot water heater on all the time on propane, that isn't necessary and wastes fuel. Just turn it on 10 minutes before you need hot water, and off after.

As far as adding a tank for your furnace, do your neighbors have one? Have you asked them where they got their equipment? That's the best way. Many towns you just call the propane company and they'll bring one out and attach it for you. You pay a deposit and go on a 'keep filled' month to month charge basis.

If you're talking about adding a tank so you can boondock longer, that's a whole 'nuther story.

My question is how long are you staying? I have used the 20lb bottles for years in the truck camper and never used a full one on a trip, on the motor home I have not even dropped below 3/4 when on a trip.

I only turn on the hot water when I need it and the furnace only when cold. If you have hook-ups you may want to get a 110V heater to relieve some of the draw on the propane one.

If you do need more propane then I would go with a larger tank or if you are parked for long term someplace (months) then get one of the huge tanks and hook up to that.

What kind of tank do you have now, horizontal or vertical? What is its capacity? I've never been crazy about carrying an extra bottle for the simple reason that space is worth its weight in gold. If you can afford it, I would spend the money on a bigger capacity tank. The tank on our Monaco is a Manchester horizontal 14.4 gallon tank and lasts quite a long time. New Manchester tanks, last time I checked, were around $500.