stay a while lp problem, I think

[klm]

First, let me say I know nothing about lp stuff other than using it to cook and keep warm. So be patient as I try to explain this.

I have a cw stay a while, it's about 7 yrs old. When I am using the onboard tank everything is fine. The issue is when I connect the hose and run off the aux tank. Let me go back to last winter. I had close to a full onboard tank, connected the hose and ran off aux tank. When I was ready to head south, disconnected the aux hose/tank only to discover the onboard tank was EMPTY. OK, so this season as I ready to set up the aux tank, and close the onboard, turn on stove burners until they go out. All good so far. Now hook up hose and tank, check for leaks, again all is good. But I get to thinking about last winter, so I close the aux tank (onboard is closed), turn on stove burners and they DO NOT go out. How can this be? There must be a failure of some sort at the stay a while hose port? I am guessing that it might be time to replace the stay a while? Any thoughts?

Thanks
Kathy

[wannavolunteerF]

I would call a gas company... many of them have licensed gas service techs.. in GA, it is a specialized plumbing license.. the gas companies can work on heaters and fireplaces in homes and some will work on RV's.. My parents had their extend-a-stay installed by gas company.

[wa8yxm]

I can think of a way but.. I do agree it sounds like one of the valves (tank valves not the Stay A While) may be faulty.

[Tinstar]

klm wrote:
Wa8yxm. Op here. Thank you for your post, I am not knowledgeable in this lp stuff and your explanation helped me a lot. I am leaning towards the stay a while check valve is the culprit. I am a fulltimer, the stay a while is 7 yrs old. I have a call into the local mobile tech to come and check the entire system.

Your post mentions pressure, length of hose all leading to a long time burn off. When I closed the aux tank valve I let the stove burners go for 15 minutes. The burner flame never went out or even lessened. Should I try it again and allow even more time?

Thanks again all. And of course a cold front is on the way 🙂

I'd venture to say, no way could the hose have that much gas and pressure to burn that long.

[D_E_Bishop]

WOW!, I can understand your confusion, and my answer is find a professional. If the mobile repair guy is good and solves the problem so much the better, but, if he doesn't, go to a suppliers, not a refill place at the local gas station but Amerigas or Ferrelon or whom ever and have it checked out. I understand you are set up for the season but if they cannot send out a gas tech, go to them.

[klm]

Wa8yxm. Op here. Thank you for your post, I am not knowledgeable in this lp stuff and your explanation helped me a lot. I am leaning towards the stay a while check valve is the culprit. I am a fulltimer, the stay a while is 7 yrs old. I have a call into the local mobile tech to come and check the entire system.

Your post mentions pressure, length of hose all leading to a long time burn off. When I closed the aux tank valve I let the stove burners go for 15 minutes. The burner flame never went out or even lessened. Should I try it again and allow even more time?

Thanks again all. And of course a cold front is on the way 🙂

[wa8yxm]

There are several user problems described in this post..

First a description of how the Stay-A-While and the older Extend-A-Stay work.

They have a series of check valves in them (one for each port) to prevent gas flow from one tank into the other or the escape of gas if one tank is not connected.. But which tank supplies the gas is a matter of which tank has the greater internal pressure.. Normally this can be either tank depending on ye old Mercury (Temperature) the hotter the tank the higher the pressure.

At night the hotter tank will be on-board, and the furnace is burning gas.

This is why you shut off the main tank if you want to run on the AUX only.

Second we have the question of "Why did the burners not go out"

Well you have that hose,,, The hose from the aux tank to the Stay-a-while is full of gas at high pressure,, Not sure how high but over 100 PSI. The line pressure in the RV is 11" of water, or about 1/2 PSI as I recall (I have done the math but do not feel like re-doing it today) it is going to take a fairly long time to burn off that 100+ PSI hose fill, that's the problem.

[klm]

Op again. Hope you're not sick of me. Ok here's what I've done. I disconnected the 30 lb tank and hooked up a 100 lb aux tank. Same process. Turned on stove burners, turned off lp at the tank. Stove burners do not go out.

So it's not the aux tanks. Who do I need to fix whatever is happening?

[Dutch_12078]

It sounds like the back pressure when the aux tank is open is somehow causing the main tank service valve to open. I can't think of a way for that to happen though. I think the Stay-A-While is a pretty simple 'T' device in this application, and if it's anything like the Marshall Brass Extend-A-Stay, the only check valve is on the auxiliary tank side, allowing that tank to be disconnected while the main tank is open.

[klm]

Op back. I did as suggested, allow more time once lp is turned off at source (30 lb tank). The stove burner flame did not go out for over 15 minutes. It never went out, could it take that long? I turned off the burners at that point. Something is not right.

I will take the 30 lb tank to a local lp co to check the shutoff valve. If that is ok, I will call a mobile tec to check the stay a while and the onboard shutoff valve.

Any other suggestions?

[klm]

Op. Will test again in the morning. I'll be more patient and wait longer for burners to go out. Maybe it's that simple

[chuckftboy]

If both tank valves are closed and both are working then you haven't given the stove enough time to burn all the LP in the lines. Your stove connection to the tank may be short so the flame will go out quickly but when you connect the 12 foot extend a stay hose and it is filled with LP, it will burn much longer.

Try again and give it a little more time.

[klm]

Op here. Yes the stay a while is after the shut off, but here's my confusion. I shut off the onboard ( no aux hose connected yet). I go inside and turn on stove burner. Flame goes out in a very short time. So the shut off valve works in that scenario. But when the hose is connected, both valves closed I do the same stove burner thing and the flame does not go out. Head scratcher

[Tinstar]

If both tanks are closed the only explanation is one of the shut-off valves is defective and it sounds like it's your on-board tank valve to me.

I am assuming that the "stay a while" is plumbed into the line AFTER the on-board tank valve.

[klm]

Op here. The main/onboard tank is closed. That's what puzzles me. Where is the lp coming from when both the onboard and aux tank valves are closed? I suspect from the onboard. Is there some type of check valve inside the stay a while port?