Strange Propane Tubing in European Travel Trailer

[TheLostBoy]

My wife and I bought an older travel trailer that we are fixing up and we've run into (well many) a snag. We're guessing that it was originally built in Germany judging by all the labels in German.

The original propane fridge was ripped out and the propane line was just cut and crimped (jerks!) and we finally purchased a replacement just this week. I thought that it was just copper tubing that I could flare and attach a compressing fitting to end up with a male 3/8 flare fitting. Unfortunately, the tubing doesn't seem to be a North American standard.

Existing Tubing:


Looks like steel, and VERY thick:


Has about an 8mm diameter with a 5mm diameter core:


Or 5/16" and 3/16":


I originally tried using the flaring tool but it was way too loose for the 3/8 tubing holder:


And it was too tight for the 5/16 holder:


I tried forcing it in at 5/16 and no matter how much I tightened, it just wouldn't flare (too thick, I guess).

The old propane heater was torn out as well so I thought I would try to find the old line/connector for that. I was lucky and it was intact, but I have never seen a fitting like this:

It looks almost like there was a compression ring put on it like a fitting for a copper water line. Has anyone ever seen anything like this before, or might know of a way I could find a fitting that would work on this line which would allow me to end up with a 3/8" male flare connection? I'm at my wits end with this camper.

Thank you,

Kevin

[TheLostBoy]

*FINAL UPDATE*
I've been trying to find a fitting for this pipe for months and couldn't find any supplier who had anything that would fit this pipe. Most of the ones I talked to said it would be easier to re-run the line with new and STANDARD fittings, which is exactly what I did. Took my only two evenings (was pretty simple actually) and a couple trips to a plumbing shop and as of yesterday evening, my propane fridge is up and running!

I REALLY wish that I'd had just done this from the start as it was much faster and simpler. Thanks to everyone for your great tips and feedback.

TLB

[TheLostBoy]

John Wayne wrote:
I'd take it or a piece of it to a propane Dealer he may be able to come up with some thing. Can you maybe thread the inside of the pipe Then thread in pipe nipple. Or threat the out side of the pipe???

Hmm, this might be a solid plan. I have the sample I cut, I just need to find a propane shop that might be able to do that. Thanks!

[TheLostBoy]

TurnThePage wrote:
I think I can see your skin cells dividing! 🙂

HAHA! Yeah, you can sure tell that I need to use some moisturizer. If anyone sees any abnormal growths, let me know so I can get them checked out!

[TheLostBoy]

johntank wrote:
I would think with the trailer being made in Germany the tubing would be metric in size and looks like to be a aluminium alloy.

Jeeze, I never thought of Aluminum. That's probably why they were able to crimp the end. That might make it harder to find a proper fitting (everything I find is for steel or copper).

[TheLostBoy]

RJsfishin wrote:
Forget the pictures !
If you don't like it, replace it w/ hose and barbed fittings.
There is nothing special about propane hose, infact in some cases it has been known to be of very poor quality.
Anything after the regulator, I use automotive fuel injection hose. There is no higher quality. For the long runs to my Cat heaters, I use the clear vinyl hose found at any hardware store. Don't be fooled by that expensive low quality "propane hose"

If the range didn't have some strange fitting as well, I'd probably just replace the entire system, but the range is also some strange European standard for it's fitting.

Can you use flexible hose like fuel injection hose? What sort of connectors do you use to get it to attach to a fitting? I thought you would want to use copper?

[TheLostBoy]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Each post has an "Edit" button at the far upper right that only the original poster or a moderator can see.

Ah! There it is. I don't know how I missed that. Probably because it was 2 miles to the right due to the photos. I probably could have searched the page for "Edit" as well. Dur!

Now I've got two identical posts (hot topic here: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29338297/gotomsg/29338500.cfm). I'll see if I can get an admin to delete this one.

[John_Wayne]

I'd take it or a piece of it to a propane Dealer he may be able to come up with some thing. Can you maybe thread the inside of the pipe Then thread in pipe nipple. Or threat the out side of the pipe???

[TurnThePage]

I think I can see your skin cells dividing! 🙂

[johntank]

I would think with the trailer being made in Germany the tubing would be metric in size and looks like to be a aluminium alloy.

[2oldman]

You can't see the Edit link because your pictures are so huge they're blowing out the margin.

[RJsfishin]

Forget the pictures !
If you don't like it, replace it w/ hose and barbed fittings.
There is nothing special about propane hose, infact in some cases it has been known to be of very poor quality.
Anything after the regulator, I use automotive fuel injection hose. There is no higher quality. For the long runs to my Cat heaters, I use the clear vinyl hose found at any hardware store. Don't be fooled by that expensive low quality "propane hose"

[Dutch_12078]

Each post has an "Edit" button at the far upper right that only the original poster or a moderator can see.

[TheLostBoy]

time2roll wrote:
put a space and then the text "width=600" right after the .jpg

Yeah, but can I edit the post after the fact? I don't seem to see any way to edit or just delete this thread and start from scratch.

[rbrand]

FastStone PhotoResize is free and an easy way to resize photos.