Propane issues

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J

jhopper

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Jul 7, 2015
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We refilled the propane tank on our 5th wheel, now the stove/ho****er heater won't light.
We were told it was the regulator,,,so we replaced that. Still no propane to the stove/ho****er heater.
We tried leaving the burner on,,,for quite a while,,,and the stove burner would light,,but just for less than a minute, and then go out. 
What could possibly be the problem?
 
Sounds like your advisor was a plug and play around person. Many service technicians simply replace stuff and try to move on quickly...helps them to hide their lack of knowledge.

Safety is number one with propane. My advice is to have a service technician troubleshoot your system and then make sure there are no leaks.

A service technician with a sniffer can verify if any propane is coming into your stove or furnace. Since both are not working your problem sounds as if it is close to the propane cylinder. You probably do not have an ASME tank on your 5th wheel.

One of the local technicians I know mentioned that on older 5th wheels he has discovered water in the propane lines. So you may have a bit of work to do or less.

What is really strange is that some rv owners on the forums seem to allow repair technicians to hand them back the unit, then go on their way with their rv, without confirming, carefully, the issue was resolved and holding off payment until verified.

If all was working before you refilled, this should be easily resolved.
 
This happened to me recently when hooking up a freshly filled tank.
There is a pressure valve in the connector, that was stopping the flow.
Try opening the tank very slowly.
You may even hear a click as it releases. Worked for me.
 
I'll echo what byrogie said.  Turn the tank valve on very slowly.  On my first trip in our new trailer, everything worked just fine until I shut off the tanks.  When I went to turn them on again, I just cranked them open quickly.  I got virtually zero gas flow.  It wasn't until after my trip that I came here seeking guidance.  I was advised to try turning the tank valve on very slowly.  When I tried it, it worked beautifully.  Folks here seem to know their stuff!
 
Is this a mounted tank or a luggable? did you lug it?

First, turn the tank valve off.. now wait.. If you can brew coffee now would be a nice time to enjoy a cup.

Now SLOWLY turn it on.. IF you hear gas flow (listen closely) STOP.. When you no longer hear go back to the start of this line..

When you get to FULL ON.. try the stove.
 
What John is talking about is the Excess Flow safety feature of the DOT portable tank valve. It is design to detect and shut off a rushing escape of gas. Sometimes when you open the valve quickly on an empty gas line, enough gas rushes out into the line to trigger the excess flow safety valve. Closing it for a minute or two and then opening again slowly usually fixes that.

If that doesn't do it, disconnect the gas line at the outlet of the regulator. It's safe enough - the pressure should be very low, about 0.5 psi. See if you get gas that far. Use an LP sniffer or your nose (LP gas stink) or even a finger over the outlet to feel for pressure, but don't light a match! If you have gas there, the blockage is in the lines somewhere, If not, it's either the tank valve or the regulator (and that's new, right?). Let us know what you find and we can go on from there.
 
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