Dual Propane Tank Setup

[Codejockey]

Hello, I'm new here.  I just purchased a used (but in very good shape) 1998 Coleman popup camper.  Everything on it works and is in great shape.  I only have one small issue.  It was originally setup with 2 propane tanks, but only had one on it.  The hoses were routed such that it had a high-pressure regulator plugged into the tank, with a Y on the output.  One one of the Y connectors was the high pressure line.  The other was teh low-pressure regulator which went to the rest of the gas appliances.

I want to put it back the way it came with two propane tanks.  I have a spare tank in my garage, and I was able to get it mounted, but there isn't a way to have them both hooked up, and I feel confident that I need to buy a few additional components to do the thing right.  Does anyone have any pics or a list of what I need to get it back to the factory setup with 2 tanks?  I tried the search feature (both here and google) but didn't get too far.  TIA.

[Alaskansnowbirds]

Without seeing the regulator you have, I can't tell you if you can hook up a second tank or not. You can put a tee on the input of the regulator and then run a line to each tank. Only turn on one tank at a time.

If you want a regulator that would switch from the empty tank to the full one automatically, here is one that you could get. A tank hooks to each connector and your RV hooks up to the regulator output. I did a google search "auto switch propane regulator". There are a lot of them out there, this is just the first one that came up.

[Codejockey]

Thanks for the reply.  I looked that up, and that looks pretty good.  Since my camper has both a low-pressure line and a high-pressure line, I'm thinking I need to find one with a high-pressure regulator (b/c the one in the pic seems to be a low-pressure regulator). Then I could put a Tee on the output of the high pressure regulator to which I'll attach the high pressure line and a low pressure regulator to which I'll attach the low-pressure line.  Does that seem right?

[Alaskansnowbirds]

I'm not familiar with your RV but I can't think of anything that would use high pressure. We have a 38' motor home and everything on it uses low pressure, 11" WC.

What does the high pressure line go to?

[RV Roamer]

I've never heard of a high pressure regulator for RV or home use.  There may be an unregulated line that is used to feed appliances that have their own built in regulator (e.g. a portable BBQ grill), but high pressure regulated lines are typically for industrial equipment.

The usual set-up is a crossover (aka changeover) valve that has two inlets and one outlet, which goes to a standard low pressure regulator.  Most of these are integrated valve and regulator, but you might find them as two separate parts if you hunt around. With two separate components, you could insert an Extend-A-Flow tee between the changeover valve and the regulator to provide a high pressure tap to feed a BBQ or other appliance that has its own regulator. If you can't find the separate valve and regulator, you could insert the tee in one of the tank outlets - or one in each if you wanted access to both.

Integrated changeover & regulator: http://www.tweetys.com/automaticchangeoverregulator1cd.aspx

Manual changeover valve: http://www.outdoorbits.com/gaslow-manual-propane-changeover-valve-011630-p-731.html

Tees for second appliance:
http://www.tomraperrvparts.com/parts/home.php?cat=459
http://www.tomraperrvparts.com/parts/product.php?productid=1862&cat=452&page=1:

[Codejockey]

It has two cookstoves.  One is inside, and it, the furnace, refrigerator, and hot water heater are all fed by the low-pressure line.  The only thing fed by the high pressure line is the outdoor cookstove.  It is labeled as high-pressure.

[RV Roamer]

Your outdoor cookstove expects unregulated LP pressure because it has its own built-in regulator. Just don't try to feed it from an already regulated (low pressure) line.  The tee before the regulator that i described previously will do the job fine.