Cannot get propane to flow

Gdetrailer,
Regarding the 12 volt battery. It is fully charged. My lights come on in the trailer and the refrigerator light works. The refrigerator propane light is on steady for about 30 seconds and then starts to blink indicating a propane problem. Like I said previously I looked at every inch of the metal pipe under the travel trailer and could see no sign of a solenoid unless there is one on each separate line going to each of the four appliances above where the flex gas conduits leave the main gas pipe where I cannot see. I have a switch in the pass thru to shut off the battery so I am not sure why I need to disconnect it. I plan to call KZ and ask about a solenoid but I would think the operator manual and/or maintenance manual would have said something about it if I had one.

Today, I opened the spitter screw as you suggested. The tank on the right which is the one we have been using had only gas escape. The one on the left had liquid coming out. I didn't leave it open long enough to completely drain the liquid but I can do that tomorrow. But I am thinking since I had the selector on the regulator pointing to the tank that was not completely full I should not have had a problem. I am also wondering if I should open the 3 burner knobs on the stove before I turn on the propane tank valve. I will also weigh the cylinders tomorrow and check the label for tank weight.

KZowner49 wrote:
My problem is I am not getting any gas out of the stove. I can turn the burners to full on and nothing comes out not even air. I would think if air was coming out I should hear a hiss after awhile. And my propane detector does not detect any gas coming out of the stove regardless of whether the 3 burner knobs are in light position or full on (high). So as best I can tell the regulator is somehow preventing gas from coming out even though the red flag is not showing. I could understand that it could take a few minutes to push air out of the line, but if the regulator is not pushing gas at all, then I could wait an hour an never get any gas to come out.

Pretty sure your issue is impossible to solve via Internet.

Take it back to your local dealer and have THEM SHOW you how to make it work WITHOUT shore power.

Right now, I am suspecting that your trailer IS equipped with an automatic propane shut off solenoid which is operated via the LP gas detector. The detector in this case is supposed to shut off the propane supply if it detects LP gas in the air, if detected it will alarm and shut off power to the propane solenoid.

I suspect that your LG gas detector which is powered via the 12V system is not getting 12V when no shore power is present.

By the way, you DO have a fully charged 12V battery hooked up when your trying this?

Your fridge DEPENDS on having 12V to operate the control board so you will need 12V to have fridge operate.

When in storage, unless you have solar panels you do need to disconnect the 12V battery, otherwise things like the LP detector, radio and even fridge control boards will draw down your battery charge.. The result is a dead battery and left sitting long enough will damage the battery.

At a minimum you do need a working 12V battery, if not for the LP alarm but your fridge also.

KZowner49 wrote:
Both tanks were filled at the RV dealership in January. We only used one of them a little and had it topped off at the RV dealership a month ago. The Uhaul place weighed it (40 pounds) and said he didn't think it could take any more propane. I knew it was full. I just took it to the Uhaul place to see the process used to fill the tanks.

Your cylinders may have been overfilled and only allowing liquid to get to the regulator instead of gas.

The 20 lb cylinders are designed to hold 25 lbs of propane. They are not allowed to hold over 20 lbs which is 80% of the cylinders volume. That leaves a volume of gas at the top equal to a out 1.2 gallons. One gallon of liquid propane is equal to about 4.24 lbs.

I have only seen 20 lb cylinders with the tare weight (empty container weight) stamped on the collars that read 17-1/2 to 18-1/2 lbs. That means a full cylinder might weigh between 37-1/2 to 38-1/2 lbs. You stated that your cylinder weighed 40 lbs after it was topped off. You need to check the tare weight of your cylinder to see if the tare weight is 20 lbs. If less than 20 lbs it is over filled. The next step is to loosen the spitter screw on the side of the shut off valve to see if liquid or gas comes out then retighten it. If only gas comes out you should be okay. If liquid comes out you need to take it to a safe place like an open field far away from any open flame and open the screw until gas starts to come out or take it to a propane distributor that has a burner he can connect it to so the excess propane can be safely burned off.

You might not have enough gas volume in the top of the cylinder for gas to flow through the regulator.

Have you tried connecting the cylinders to a BBQ grill or outdoor propane cooker and see if they will work. As others have indicated you could have bad hoses.

Still don't know why it would all work with it hooked up to 120v and not while not connected to power at all, or even battery??

Makes no sense to me, as the stove should work with zero power to the trailer? Yes, the other appliances need at least 12v to work, but the stove is just straight from the tanks.

Don't know what to offer you in your case? Sounds like you just need to go to KOA's?? And that does not sound like something I'd want to do..

Good luck!

Mitch

I replaced the Enerco model F173766 Propane Auto Changeover Two Stage Regulator (also known as Model 6020) that came with the trailer with an identical model. It was only a few months old and has worked as long as we were at the KOA site but not in storage area.

Chris,
Regarding the pigtails, no I did not replace them. They appear to be OK. When I turn the gas on they move indicating pressure and the red flag disappears in the regulator. The problem seems to be that the regulator is not sending any gas out the hose that connects to the main gas line.

My problem is I am not getting any gas out of the stove. I can turn the burners to full on and nothing comes out not even air. I would think if air was coming out I should hear a hiss after awhile. And my propane detector does not detect any gas coming out of the stove regardless of whether the 3 burner knobs are in light position or full on (high). So as best I can tell the regulator is somehow preventing gas from coming out even though the red flag is not showing. I could understand that it could take a few minutes to push air out of the line, but if the regulator is not pushing gas at all, then I could wait an hour an never get any gas to come out.

Nice post GD.. That's what I do with my system, even after only a couple of weeks..

I first turn on the tanks.. I do see green on the switchover. Then I go in and turn the stove fan on, then I open all 3 stove burners.. I then hold one of those long shaft manual lighters on the front burner.. It usually takes a good minute or two for it to light. Then I light the other burners and then let them all burn for another minute or so.

I shut them off and then I fire up the HW tank. It's the farthest gas appliance from the tanks. Once it lights, the fridge will light after a few sparks and all is good...

Been doing that forever and always works...

Not sure what else to suggest to the OP, since I've never experienced his issues...

Good luck!

Mitch

KZowner49 wrote:
My regulator does not appear to have a green flag in window, just a red one that disappears when I open the valve on either cylinder, so I don't think the pigtails are bad. Like I said earlier we have camped at KOA 4 times and all the appliances work fine. Its just when we are at the storage place with no hookups we can't get propane to work. The guy from the dealership thought the hot Texas air may be heating up the air in the propane line and putting too much back pressure for the propane to flow. And when we drive the trailer for an hour to the KOA the propane pipe cools down so maybe that is why it seems to work there. Problem is wife wants me to get refrigerator cooled down before we leave site.

Try this.

Turn on one of the tanks (slowly turn the valve).

Red "flag" should go away on the change over.

Leave tank on.

Go to your stove.

Take a manual lighter and light it.

Now, turn on one of your stove burners and place lighter flame beside the burner.

You should initially see the flame get "pushed" from the burner.

If no push then you have an issue with the regulator.

If you get a push, keep the manual lighter lit and held close to stove burner.


AND WAIT.

In this case you have AIR in the gas line and depending on the size and distance of the line it can take several minutes to get propane.

Once the air is purged, the stove burner will start to light.

Once the stove burner is lit, the rest of your appliances now should work.

Believe it or not, air can and does enter your gas lines when the propane cylinders are turned off for some time between uses.

If the cylinders are turned off for a long time you will have to purge the air out of the propane lines each time you startup.

Never have figured that one out but after owning several RVs which have done the same thing I suspect it is normal.. I have even pressure tested the lines on my current TT to make sure it isn't leaking.

Because of this, I never leave my cylinders turned on when not camping, hate to waste propane..