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turbojimmy's avatar
turbojimmy
Explorer
Mar 26, 2015

Low Propane Flow after Refill

I had my propane tank filled for the second time since I've owned it. It was full when I got it, I depleted it without issue. I refilled it last season and depleted it again without issue. After this last refill, however, I have low propane volume for some reason.

It took 22.5 gallons, which is about right for the 80 lb tank (my understanding is that the "80 lb" rating considers that it will only be 80% full). It has a safety valve to prevent filling beyond 80%.

I fired up both furnaces when I got home from having the tank filled. Both worked great for a while, but quickly started losing steam. It was clear that I had a flow problem. When I shut off the rear furnace the front one got hotter. Now, just one furnace barely gets hot. Flame from the stove burners is weak.

I'm not sure where to start troubleshooting. It's a pretty simple setup: tank => valve => regulator => leak detector.

The leak detector has a plunger on it to check for leaks by watching for bubbles in a sight glass, but it's seized up and I can no longer operate it. I don't think, however, that it would be a restriction, would it? It is installed upside down versus what they show in the manual, but it was like that when I got it.

My manual says that there should also be a high-pressure safety valve after the regulator but there is no such thing. It's supposed to stop flow of propane in the event the regulator fails and allows high-pressure propane into the rig's system. If this thing were installed somewhere, I can't find it. I needs to be outside and I can see where the propane lines enter the interior. Plus, if activated it blocks flow completely.

So what's your guess? Regulator?

16 Replies

  • vegasfoodguy wrote:
    Some brands of propane have a lot of oil, Maybe regulator is full of oil.


    It may be. It's also over 30-years old.

    I shut off the tank valve and lit the range burner until it went out. I left it open for a while (no thermocouple).

    Maybe it was just time for the regulator to fail? Odd that I didn't have any problems until this refill though.
  • turbojimmy wrote:
    Thanks both for your replies.

    1) I'm in NJ. It was below freezing when I had the tank filled, now it's pushing 60-degrees. Not sure if an increase in pressure due to the increase in temps has anything to do with it.

    2) I tried relieving the pressure by opening up the range valve for a while. It does the same thing. One range burner looks strong, but quickly diminishes as I light other burners or fire up the furnace.
    Like Iragvet05 posted, you need to shut the main valve to the tank then bleed the line to reset the high pressure shutoff valve. Be sure to hold down the igniter while bleeding the pressure because your stove may have a thermal coupler that shuts off the flow to the burners if there isn't a flame which would then render your bleeding incomplete. The change in temperature shouldn't effect the pressure enough to cause a problem.
  • Thanks both for your replies.

    1) I'm in NJ. It was below freezing when I had the tank filled, now it's pushing 60-degrees. Not sure if an increase in pressure due to the increase in temps has anything to do with it.

    2) I tried relieving the pressure by opening up the range valve for a while. It does the same thing. One range burner looks strong, but quickly diminishes as I light other burners or fire up the furnace.
  • Shut the tank valve off then open a burner to release any residual pressure. Go back to the tank and slowly open the valve. Chances are the regulator high-pressure safety valve just needs to be reset.