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smokeylew's avatar
smokeylew
Explorer
Sep 14, 2018

High capacity propane regulator vs regular?

Hi guys, I may have done a bonehead thing here and I would like your opinions about it.

My auto changeover regulator is about seven years old and the tank switch valve was virtually impossible to turn without massive force. I removed it from the 5th wheel and took it down to a local RV supply store and they sold me a high capacity auto changeover regulator as a replacement.

Didn't realize the difference until after I installed it. The pigtails had red screw on connectors instead of the old regulator green ones. Everything seems to work fine but now I'm wondering if this MEGR-253H regulator is going to cause me any issues down the road. Mainly, is it safe to have a high capacity regulator in your RV if you really don't need the extra capacity?

I know I paid a premium for the stupid thing but I already installed it. If it's going to be safe and not cause me any weird problems down the road, I'd just as soon leave it alone.

Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • YES it CAN cause issues.

    The ACME Nuts on the pigtail hoses are different colors for visual indicators of flow ratings
    Reason you have RED ACME Nuts is so they MATCH the flow capacity of the Regulator
    (Black/100,000btu---Green/200,000btu---Red/400,000btu)
    MEGR-253H ---350,000btu

    OEM was a 200,000BTU Regulator/Green ACME which is more then the total propane flow of all your equipment.
    With the HIGH FLOW MEGR Reg it will never be in its normal operating range EVEN if you had ALL Propane Appliances ON at same time.
    That reg will always be 'pinched down' due to the lower btu demands

    Will work...Yes
    Will it cause issues....COULD because reg is always operating at low end of control range

    There IS a reason behind the colors and the flow ratings ....just saying!
  • Being a high flow wont hurt anything and a Marshall is the Caddilac of the regulator world....much better made than most anything else. If you have a platic bottle cover take an 1 1/2" hole saw and drill a port in the front so you can see its vertical indicator.
  • I had the regular version of that regulator and hated it. Indicator was hard to read and had me removing a cylinder that was not quite empty or by the time it said switch the reserve was about gone. Indicator was very small and seemed to creep up and leave me guessing.

    Much happier with my Cavagna replacement. Very easy to read with an indicator that snaps into place when the primary cylinder is ready for refill.

    As far as high volume I don't think it matters. If anything it is probably better made. I think the high volume is really only needed if you have a propane generator etc.
  • Red is usually the color code for high pressure, not high flow
  • I googled yours and the price doesn't look more than a few bucks more than a 'regular' one. Sounds like something I wouldn't worry about.

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