Coleman 3 burner &rvq
I see there's a similar post today discussing this but my questions are a little different and I didn't want to hyjack someone else's post. When growing up we had a htt with a single 20lb it had a ...
Forum Discussion
First, thanks for the Sturbis site, red31. Looks like a great place for hard to find gas stuff.
MX-RV, some of the problems you're hearing about may be due to flow limiters installed in the system, either on purpose or as a result of other requirements. For example, some of the Sturbis fittings shown in red31's post have flow limiters. The green handwheels all are configured for this, and other fittings or spuds may be. A close examination of that green fitting will show that it is designed for a certain BTU rating, If you demand more than that flow, it will set and limit the gas flow to just a very little bit or none. These can be reset by closing all valves and reopening them slowly, but if the same conditions occur, they will set again. Higher flow handwheels are available at some sources, but they are different color, grey and red I believe. In addition, many, if not all spuds (the round nosed piece that goes into the tank or other fitting with or without a rubber gasket on the tip) are also usually flow limiting. They too have a stamped BTU rating on them if you check them closely. Finally, some tanks with the overfill devices (tri-cornered shutoff handle) have a flow limiter as part of the valve. According to Manchester Tank engineers, this was a serendipitous result of the tank valve design. Not all tank valves are this way, and if you find a valve with the word ITALY stamped into the valve right under the handle, these do not have the limiter. I know either valve is permissible in the US, but don't know about Canada.
I found all this out when I wanted to add a system where I could supply LP to my Tiffin from 20 or 30 pound bottles when I boondocked, and found I couldn't run the two heaters with the "wrong" bottles or the other flow limiters. My solution was to get 20 pound bottles at my local Lowes (they had the ITALY ones) and to drill out all the spuds and handwheels. Some may decry my method of going around the "safety features" inherent in the system, but that was my choice and I will deal with any consequences. By the way, I've been operating this modified system on 3 Class A's for well over 5 years. Works fine.
The one thing I would suggest, however, is that if you use quick disconnects you get the type needed for your gas pressure (high or low, they're different depending on which side of the regulator your working) and back up the QD with a shutoff valve on the pressure side. There's always a chance they may leak some on disconnect.
Good luck on your mod.
MX-RV, some of the problems you're hearing about may be due to flow limiters installed in the system, either on purpose or as a result of other requirements. For example, some of the Sturbis fittings shown in red31's post have flow limiters. The green handwheels all are configured for this, and other fittings or spuds may be. A close examination of that green fitting will show that it is designed for a certain BTU rating, If you demand more than that flow, it will set and limit the gas flow to just a very little bit or none. These can be reset by closing all valves and reopening them slowly, but if the same conditions occur, they will set again. Higher flow handwheels are available at some sources, but they are different color, grey and red I believe. In addition, many, if not all spuds (the round nosed piece that goes into the tank or other fitting with or without a rubber gasket on the tip) are also usually flow limiting. They too have a stamped BTU rating on them if you check them closely. Finally, some tanks with the overfill devices (tri-cornered shutoff handle) have a flow limiter as part of the valve. According to Manchester Tank engineers, this was a serendipitous result of the tank valve design. Not all tank valves are this way, and if you find a valve with the word ITALY stamped into the valve right under the handle, these do not have the limiter. I know either valve is permissible in the US, but don't know about Canada.
I found all this out when I wanted to add a system where I could supply LP to my Tiffin from 20 or 30 pound bottles when I boondocked, and found I couldn't run the two heaters with the "wrong" bottles or the other flow limiters. My solution was to get 20 pound bottles at my local Lowes (they had the ITALY ones) and to drill out all the spuds and handwheels. Some may decry my method of going around the "safety features" inherent in the system, but that was my choice and I will deal with any consequences. By the way, I've been operating this modified system on 3 Class A's for well over 5 years. Works fine.
The one thing I would suggest, however, is that if you use quick disconnects you get the type needed for your gas pressure (high or low, they're different depending on which side of the regulator your working) and back up the QD with a shutoff valve on the pressure side. There's always a chance they may leak some on disconnect.
Good luck on your mod.
