Advice to omit the auto change LP valve
Ive needed new hoses for awhile. For $25 i see some stainless hoses with a built in gauge. But i often read the auto change valves leak so maybe its best to buy a kit. Flame King has good reviews and ...
Forum Discussion
Regarding the hoses with built in gauges, unfortunately the relationship between the pressure inside the cylinder and it’s true state of “fullness” isn’t linear. The pressure is also affected by the ambient temperature, and how heavily your propane appliance is drawing from the tank.
A good illustration of this is a flame-thrower like torch I have at home that runs off of a propane cylinder. It has no regulator at all, so it uses full tank pressure. I’ve used it so heavily at times that the tank freezes up, actually gets covered with a thick layer of frost, and the torch won’t be able to stay lit despite the control valve being full open. Almost no gas will be coming out. I have to wait for the tank to warm back up, and the liquid propane inside it to boil off to vapor again and build up pressure inside the tank.
The 30 lb. horizontal cylinders in my truck camper have gauges built in to the cylinders, and these are real float actuated gauges, not pressure. These dang cylinders are over $200 each, and even they aren’t linear in their representation of the level of propane inside the cylinder. From full, they tend to drop fairly quickly to half, then even quicker to empty, but then it will be a long, long time before the auto-switch regulator changes over to the other cylinder. But once the regulator switches, the cylinder is truly empty. I’ve checked, and there’s not enough left in there to worry about.
:):)
A good illustration of this is a flame-thrower like torch I have at home that runs off of a propane cylinder. It has no regulator at all, so it uses full tank pressure. I’ve used it so heavily at times that the tank freezes up, actually gets covered with a thick layer of frost, and the torch won’t be able to stay lit despite the control valve being full open. Almost no gas will be coming out. I have to wait for the tank to warm back up, and the liquid propane inside it to boil off to vapor again and build up pressure inside the tank.
The 30 lb. horizontal cylinders in my truck camper have gauges built in to the cylinders, and these are real float actuated gauges, not pressure. These dang cylinders are over $200 each, and even they aren’t linear in their representation of the level of propane inside the cylinder. From full, they tend to drop fairly quickly to half, then even quicker to empty, but then it will be a long, long time before the auto-switch regulator changes over to the other cylinder. But once the regulator switches, the cylinder is truly empty. I’ve checked, and there’s not enough left in there to worry about.
:):)
