Francesca Knowles wrote:
Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
How do I know whether or not my system is equipped with the automatic changeover?
There are two types commonly called "autochangeover", but only one type actually self-switches to the other tank.
Easiest way to differentiate:
If yours has a handle on it, it probably isn't "automatic". You have to turn the handle yourself.
A truly "automatic" unit that self-switches usually looks something like this (no handle):
Pic from this link
Not true in many cases. As someone else said, turn on both tanks and then close the valve on the tank that the switch (lever) is pointed towards while having a stove burner on. If it goes out you MAY not have an auto changover or you MAY have a problem. This happened to me recently. I tried the test I just told you about and the burner went out. I went and bought a new auto-changeover regulator and installed it. It did the same thing as before. It turned out that the hose from the 2nd tank to the regulator was plugged. I put on a new hose (less than half the price of the regulator) and problem solved. On most of the auto-changeover regulators the lever points to the 1st tank and draws from it until it is empty and should have an indicator that changes color to show your 1st tank is empty. It will then switch to the 2nd tank (indicator still shows red indicating 1st tank is empty) and you can remove the 1st tank to get it filled. Move the lever to point to the 2nd tank as it is now the primary tank and should show green.
