Sturgi Extend-a-Stay Hose Failure
This is a rant/warning combo.
I have a Sturgi Extend-a-stay kit that's a bit less than 4-years old. I don't use it much, so when it's not in use the hose is stored in a side compartment - my point being that it's not sun-damaged or anything like that.
I wanted to fire up the heat to do some work in the RV but the on-board tank is out of propane. I grabbed a 20 lb cylinder that I knew was about half-full, dug out the hose and fired up the heat. I went out a couple of hours later and there was no heat. I checked the propane cylinder and it was empty!
I was sure that the thing was half-full, but maybe not. I hooked a fresh cylinder up to it and immediately smelled propane. I shut it off and disconnected it. It was at that point I realized that the inside of the Extend-a-stay hose had become really brittle and was cracked in several places under the rubber sheath and the propane was seeping out through the rubber. There was no visible indication of it being broken inside. It had a bit of a curve to it so I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to straighten it out. I heard it crack and break internally with every attempt to straighten it out. That hose used to be totally flexible - I have no idea what caused it to deteriorate like that, particularly at what I consider to be a young age. And, again, the outside of the hose looked brand new. Outside temps were low-40s, so it's not like the hose was frozen solid.
I didn't see where I could order a new one from Sturgi without the entire kit so I got a $15 replacement from Amazon. Hopefully the new one will hold up better?
I have a Sturgi Extend-a-stay kit that's a bit less than 4-years old. I don't use it much, so when it's not in use the hose is stored in a side compartment - my point being that it's not sun-damaged or anything like that.
I wanted to fire up the heat to do some work in the RV but the on-board tank is out of propane. I grabbed a 20 lb cylinder that I knew was about half-full, dug out the hose and fired up the heat. I went out a couple of hours later and there was no heat. I checked the propane cylinder and it was empty!
I was sure that the thing was half-full, but maybe not. I hooked a fresh cylinder up to it and immediately smelled propane. I shut it off and disconnected it. It was at that point I realized that the inside of the Extend-a-stay hose had become really brittle and was cracked in several places under the rubber sheath and the propane was seeping out through the rubber. There was no visible indication of it being broken inside. It had a bit of a curve to it so I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to straighten it out. I heard it crack and break internally with every attempt to straighten it out. That hose used to be totally flexible - I have no idea what caused it to deteriorate like that, particularly at what I consider to be a young age. And, again, the outside of the hose looked brand new. Outside temps were low-40s, so it's not like the hose was frozen solid.
I didn't see where I could order a new one from Sturgi without the entire kit so I got a $15 replacement from Amazon. Hopefully the new one will hold up better?
