FullTiming-propane not happy with cold weather

[skiman]

I like the Cpaharley's solution in the 21'. Nothing to trip over and much quieter than the strip in the AC. Had the strip in the Casita but very noisy.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

If you have to plug these propane blankets in, why not just plug in an electric heater?

The tank heater would take very little electrical power compared to the heat output of the furnace. The size of Powerblanket® for a 20-pound tank uses 120 watts at peak; an electric heater to match the heat output of an Escape's furnace would use about 2400 watts.

[hughharden]

Putting a heating blanket on the tank when the regulator is frozen up won't do anything. It will just increase the pressure in the tank but it still won't be able to go anywhere.

[gbaglo]

And my point being that running a furnace on propane would cost more than running an electric heater.
I doubt the propane will suffer if it gets a chill.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

And my point being that running a furnace on propane would cost more than running an electric heater.

If you're not paying for the electricity (or only paying a flat rate), electricity would certainly be cheaper than propane. I assume that making propane heat work in very cold conditions is more about the availability of sufficient power than the cost.

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I doubt the propane will suffer if it gets a chill.

The propane won't get hurt
It also won't be useful if its pressure drops too low, which is a real problem, but not at the temperatures that Escape trailers normally encounter during use.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by hughharden

Putting a heating blanket on the tank when the regulator is frozen up won't do anything. It will just increase the pressure in the tank but it still won't be able to go anywhere.

I agree. At not much below freezing (the originally reported condition), the problem is in the regulator or another plumbing component - not a lack of tank pressure.

[gbaglo]

My buddy put in a propane fire place for the frequent power outages where he lived.
I wonder if you can get that Propane Blanket powered by propane?

[thoer]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I doubt the propane will suffer if it gets a chill.

I hope not, otherwise those of us who use LP to heat our homes in the winter would be in big trouble!! My home LP 500 gallon tank has seen temps as low as -30F and its never affected our furnace.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I wonder if you can get that Propane Blanket powered by propane?

No, but propane-fueled motor vehicles normally take the propane from the tank as liquid, and vapourize it in a heat exhanger using waste heat from the engine's coolant... which is produced by burning propane. A fixed tank on an RV could be heated by the RV's space & water heating system (although I've never heard of anyone doing that), but it doesn't seem so practical for the portable cylinders used by travel trailers.

Originally Posted by thoer

My home LP 500 gallon tank has seen temps as low as -30F and its never affected our furnace.

Size is important here: a big enough tank (in this case one hundred times the size of a typical Escape's cylinders) has enough surface area to absorb sufficient heat from the air to keep up with the chilling from vapourization. There are industry-standard tables specifying the tank size needed to keep up with various rates of propane consumption. A smaller tank has more difficulty, and is more likely to need help... again, at temperatures more extreme than travel trailers normally see.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

My buddy put in a propane fire place for the frequent power outages where he lived.
I wonder if you can get that Propane Blanket powered by propane?

I have done just that when working with Tiger Torches at -20°C, and colder, we often heated the tank up with the torch in order to get it to pressure up good enough.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

I can't add much to solve Kelly's problem - but his description seems to indicate a regulator issue, and that in turn prompted me to purchase a spare regulator on EBay a few minutes ago.

If having a spare part in advance has the normal effect on the universe - I will never have a regulator failure...

--
Alan

Which one did you buy? Ratings for many aren't so great.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Which one did you buy? Ratings for many aren't so great.

I found an identical unit that matched the ETI original, on Ebay.

Here is the text of the item listing:
"Propane Regulator 2 way Automatic Changeover LP Gas RV Trailer Grill Parts"
About $40 USD plus shipping.

I don't know if there are better (or worse) regulators out there. I'm counting on the Karma of the Universe to prevent a failure now that I have a spare.

--
Alan

[gbaglo]

The gauge looks different than mine.

[Rossue]

Thanks Alan- that is the same one ETI used on our 21. Can't make out the Mfg. trying to read the logo- maybe with a magnifying glass.

Edit: It looks exactly like Marshall Excelsior MEGR-9984 2-Stage Automatic Regulator I see on Amazon for $52; on Ebay it is $47. Both include shipping.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Thanks Alan- that is the same one ETI used on our 21. Can't make out the Mfg. trying to read the logo- maybe with a magnifying glass.

Just took a very close look - the manufacture is "Fairview", model is "Gas-Flo".

--
Alan

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

The gauge looks different than mine.

I have a hunch that any auto-changover regulator will work. My objective was to find one with matching mounting holes and matching fittings for the hoses.

--
Alan

[Rossue]

Am with you on the Murphy's Law approach to spares- have one & will probably not need it. That said am considering installing the new spare to be sure it works after reading reviews.

Wondering what make Baglo's(spell checker Bangkok!) is as I don't remember all the noise from the regulator on our 2010 17B that I hear with now on our 21.

[gbaglo]

It's dark out.
And cold.
I'll take a pic tomorrow.

[kmart]

Update on the full time adventure:
I called around yesterday and got quoted the same price at a few places, around $65-70 for a regulator. A bit pricey but I need it now since the forecast for the next few nights is still below freezing. So I went to the local RV repair shop and picked one up this morning. Bought some teflon tape that was rated for gas connections, got out a few wrenches, and went at it.
Getting the first pigtail off was a bit of a challenge simply because I couldn't get a good grip on it. Got a wrench with a narrower grip and was good. The second one came off much easier. And the main line was no problem.
Cleaned up all the old yellow tape and wrapped on fresh. Put it all together in reverse order, reconnected the propane tanks, opened them up slowly and checked for leaks.
I boiled some water to make sure I got all the air out of the lines and then fired up the furnace. It has been working just fine ever since.
In fact, the air coming out of the furnace is actually hot, not just warm like it had been for the past few weeks. Makes me realize that the propane flow had been restricted more than just at night when the temperature was below freezing.
The Pirit Heated Hose that I installed last week is doing its job, keeping the water flowing into the trailer. I put on a brass right angle at the trailer connection and insulated it. I also used my brass pressure regulator on the main water line connection and wrapped it in a section of pipe insulation. I am going to put some more insulation under the bed on the walls where the water lines run for a bit more comfort and protection for the water lines.
Since I pay for electricity (metered sites) I thought it would be cheaper to use the propane furnace most of the time. But since I had to rely upon the electric heater this past week I'll find out when I get the monthly electric bill next week just how costly electric heat is.

Thanks to all for the advice. I'll keep you updated on how things go for the next few months.

Kelly

[float5]

Good that you have that all fixed up! Sounds as if it is a big improvement.