Delete a Propane Solenoid Safety Valve?

My MH is a 2012 Forest River Georgetown. The system has a 12V house battery controlled system with a normally off solenoid, meaning with no power the solenoid is off (no gas flow). The previous owner wired in a switch to shut off the solenoid from the control center, otherwise it would only ever shutoff when the detector sniffs propane/CO.
I’m not sure if/when they stopped using it but it is a great system to have.

If I remove the shutoff solenoid from my system it will mean that I have to crawl under the RV to turn the shut off valve on or off every time I want to use the system or store the RV. The tank is not located behind a hatch where the knob is easily accessible. I like having the solenoid and I like having it controlled by the detector and will repair it when it goes south.

When I operated LPG vehicles to try and thwart evil Mexican gasoline in the 80's the use of a shutoff (vacuum or electric) switch valve was mandatory. I lost track 30 years ago about price and obsolescence but the electric switches would last for many years. They were 12 volt operated and required about one half amp. I used a 24 volt model in my bus with a wind up 12 hour Intermatic Timer. This was in the tropics. Cruising sailboats I worked on had similar smaller valves but the switches heated up to "Ow! ****!" hot.

dougrainer wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:
The OEMs stopped installing CCI 7719 when CCI went out of business in 2008 (14 years ago). Not because of customer complaints.
I reversed engineered my CCI 7719 when it failed and made the necessary repair. The CCI solenoid coil is NOT 12 volt. It is a 9 volt coil. The valve is snapped open with 12 volts and maintained with 2 volts.
As already noted, if you have a propane leak while away from your RV, the system will shut off the propane, which would keep the water heater or refrigerator flame from starting a fire in case of a leak. I consider that added safety.


Richard

They went out of business in 2008?. BUT, OEM's (the majority that did install) stopped in the late 90's. Customer complaints? I have 43 years as a RV tech(mainly motorized) 1979 to current. WHO would be better to state customer complaints? YOU or ME? I had to listen to people upset that their LP system shut down and caused problems with refers and all LP appliances. AS I stated, SHOW evidence of the supposed added safety with such a system. YES, such a system would be a nice feature, but due to the system unreliability, they were discontinued. Doug

Fleetwood and Monaco continued to use the CCI detector until CCI went out of business. I consider them OEMs. I reversed engineered the detector when CCI went out of business and went into the repair business (ccirepairs@gmail.com). The major reliability issue was AGE, which all detectors do. So how does one condemn a product that ages out just like it's competitors? It was a very well engineered product that only consumed 0.168 milliamps, when turned on. The sniffer failed, just like other detector products.
Oh, BTW there is a new owner of CCIrepairs, just in case you need one repaired.

Richard

Dodge guy indicates he has a Roadmaster. He could have a center line tank that has a remote shut-off which includes the solenoid as there is no direct access to shut the tank off.

dodge guy wrote:
Funny! I have a 2012 with a CO/LP detector with the valve, and I replaced it in 2019 with a new one. It is factory wired. Can’t imagine manuf would stop installing a necessary safety item!

Safe-T-Alert 70742PRBRK

What Brand RV do you have? I did not state they were not used, but your RV is 10 years old. Do you know if your OEM RV maker STILL installs a solenoid controlled system? All I can state is, I work on almost all makes of motorhomes and I have not seen a solenoid controlled LP system OEM on Rv's in the Past 20 years. That means RV's newer than 2002. I should also have stated on some of the Systems, they had 2- 12 volt positive wires powering the detector. Chassis and Coach. Some RV makers connected the detector straight to the batteries and some connected thru the Battery disconnect system.
1. having connected straight to a dual battery, and storing, you would drain the chassis battery within a few weeks and have a dead chassis battery. It takes longer to drain the coach but if left for more than a month all the batteries would be dead
2. You have a coach battery disconnect, but NO chassis battery disconnect. The Chassis would be dead in a few weeks if system left on
3. Connected to a disconnect(coach), refer ON LP, RVer forgets about LP system solenoid and leaves the RV for days and as he leaves the RV turns the disconnect OFF, killing the LP system and the refer turns off and items then thaw and smell. HAD this happen a few times years ago with irate customers. Doug

Funny! I have a 2012 with a CO/LP detector with the valve, and I replaced it in 2019 with a new one. It is factory wired. Can’t imagine manuf would stop installing a necessary safety item!

Safe-T-Alert 70742PRBRK

RLS7201 wrote:
The OEMs stopped installing CCI 7719 when CCI went out of business in 2008 (14 years ago). Not because of customer complaints.
I reversed engineered my CCI 7719 when it failed and made the necessary repair. The CCI solenoid coil is NOT 12 volt. It is a 9 volt coil. The valve is snapped open with 12 volts and maintained with 2 volts.
As already noted, if you have a propane leak while away from your RV, the system will shut off the propane, which would keep the water heater or refrigerator flame from starting a fire in case of a leak. I consider that added safety.


Richard

They went out of business in 2008?. BUT, OEM's (the majority that did install) stopped in the late 90's. Customer complaints? I have 43 years as a RV tech(mainly motorized) 1979 to current. WHO would be better to state customer complaints? YOU or ME? I had to listen to people upset that their LP system shut down and caused problems with refers and all LP appliances. AS I stated, SHOW evidence of the supposed added safety with such a system. YES, such a system would be a nice feature, but due to the system unreliability, they were discontinued. Doug

The OEMs stopped installing CCI 7719 when CCI went out of business in 2008 (14 years ago). Not because of customer complaints.
I reversed engineered my CCI 7719 when it failed and made the necessary repair. The CCI solenoid coil is NOT 12 volt. It is a 9 volt coil. The valve is snapped open with 12 volts and maintained with 2 volts.
As already noted, if you have a propane leak while away from your RV, the system will shut off the propane, which would keep the water heater or refrigerator flame from starting a fire in case of a leak. I consider that added safety.


Richard

Doug: Good explanation!