Fridge Off While Gassing up

And diesel does not put off explosive fumes. So a moot point at diesel only pumps.

2oldman wrote:
OP is gone.

Still here

I would like to know where some of you fill up that you see all of these fumes? I haven't seen or even smelled fumes in many, many, many years. Yes, vapor recovery is that good now days.

In fact the EPA says we are doing such a good job with controlling fumes that they are doing away with the black boot mandate.

Link

OP not I don't turn off when I hit the pumps. But I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm banished to the diesel islands. :)

Me thinks this topic is better than ST tires :R

momentum rv wrote:
"Spending fifteen seconds to walk back and press the power button on the fridge seems like very inexpensive insurance to me. (OK, it's maybe 30 seconds, since it also should be turned back on afterwards.)"

But wouldn't you have to stop somewhere prior to getting to the fueling station (cuz others are fueling at the station), turn off propane, move to fueling station, fuel up, move to safe parking area away from fueling station, restart propane then move on? Seems like way to much effort for VERY slight chance of any thing happening.

To turn off my fridge I would have to push the slide out to get to it. Not as small as I once was. As my trailer is 30' my fridge burner is at least 30' from the diesel pump.

"Spending fifteen seconds to walk back and press the power button on the fridge seems like very inexpensive insurance to me. (OK, it's maybe 30 seconds, since it also should be turned back on afterwards.)"

But wouldn't you have to stop somewhere prior to getting to the fueling station (cuz others are fueling at the station), turn off propane, move to fueling station, fuel up, move to safe parking area away from fueling station, restart propane then move on? Seems like way to much effort for VERY slight chance of any thing happening.

paulcardoza wrote:
Within what distance? 5ft? 25ft? 100ft? Do I need to canvass any other rigs withing a quarter mile radius and have them turn their propane off before I fill? Sarcastic, I know, but you get my point.


When I had my Pace Arrow, the fridge was on the passenger side toward the front and the fuel filler was on the rear driver's side. A good 25ft away with no line of sight to the fridge.

SOMEBODY please post an incident where a propane fridge caused a gasoline fire at a filling station! Until I see it documented, I'll leave my fridge running while I gas up.

DrewE wrote:

Most states (maybe all) legally require that all open flames be extinguished before pumping gas.

State laws can vary in the details. I think many are based on NFPA codes (or incorporate such codes by reference).

In Michigan, for one example, it's within 25 feet of the fueling area. Washington just says that there shall be no smoking or open flames in the areas used for fueling evidently without specifying an exact distance.

Fires at filling stations are thankfully not common in general, and since RVs are a small portion of the overall vehicle fleet, presumably fires from fridges are even less common. Still, it only takes one for you to have a very, very bad day. Spending fifteen seconds to walk back and press the power button on the fridge seems like very inexpensive insurance to me. (OK, it's maybe 30 seconds, since it also should be turned back on afterwards.)

I've never turned the fridge off while fueling. If the truck is pulled up to the pump, the tt fridge is at least 20' away and on the opposite side of the trailer.

OP is gone.

Hammerhead wrote:
Our propane is always turned off when travelling. A typical 8-10 hour day isn't long enough for the fridge to warm up very much with a few ice packs added for good measure. Isn't it more likely that a leak in the propane system will start when you are bouncing down the road vs. sitting at a campground?

If that is your concern.....don't turn on propane when you get to campground cause there could be a leak caused by getting to campground.
Probably best to remove it completely cause how could you sleep worrying about that leaking propane.

There are several safety designs/features built into propane system that make them inherently safe.