Propane regulator replacement

[thumper-tx]

Is there a "upgrade" replacement for the factory regulator? I wand to change mine out and keep the old one for an on the road spare. Itt is going in a 2016 21 footer.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I used these with very good results...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KPR9Q30/
and 2 each...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005BNEVT2/

top quality, made in USA and the failover valve has worked perfectly ever since (my old one would fail over but the indicator never showed it).

[diannelgraham]

Originally Posted by thumper-tx

Is there a "upgrade" replacement for the factory regulator? I wand to change mine out and keep the old one for an on the road spare. Itt is going in a 2016 21 footer.

I just replaced my regulator with the same Marshall John did. I decided to also replace my pigtail but I went with the braided metal type.

[Iowa Dave]

X2 and don’t forget the longer single hose from regulator to gas piping under the trailer. Then you’re set all around.
Iowa Dave

[diannelgraham]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

X2 and don’t forget the longer single hose from regulator to gas piping under the trailer. Then you’re set all around.
Iowa Dave

I never replaced the long one but tested for propane leaks. Should that one be replaced also or just if you notice any cracking? If so can you buy it or do you have to make it out of a length of tubing.

[Iowa Dave]

When one of my pigtails (short hose from the tank to the regular) cracked on the 19
and the regulator didn’t want to reliably switch over from an empty to full tank I bought a new marshal regulator, two new pigtails ( one on each tank) and because the hose with fittings from the regulator to the hard piping ( metal piping) under the trailer was the same age, I replaced it too. Gave me the “complete” upgrade because I like the feeling of “now that’s all done and I’ll be good for a while”. There’s not the short bend on the longer supply hose like there is in the pigtails so it would logically last longer, I’m just a “do it all” sort of person. I change the water filters (I have two) each spring. I change the anode before the old one is clear gone), I never tried to save grease seals, just get new. I will trade what some see as wasting money for the peace of mind I get from close examination and new parts. But I will pick up nickel soda cans and beer bottles in Iowa and cash them in when I go to the grocery store. I am 1/2 Bohemie and proud of it. We can save money or work for more money but we don’t feel bad when we spend it if we get good products including beer and spirits. Some times I take in maybe 100 cans and bottles. The $5.00 I get on the credit slip added to the $5.00 I have in my pocket makes me feel like my six pack of good beer only cost $5.00. I always say to the clerk when she tells me I need say $4.85 in cash “Only $4.85? Man this is like perpetual motion.” She gives me a strange look and I’m gone.
Iowa Dave

[CharlesPou]

Dave, good comments, I buy 12 packs, saves $'s, just saying lols cheers

[CharlesPou]

so, anyone test their inH2O for 11" when they replaced regulator? I just got my new manometer in, but need some lesson on how to use it. mainly, where do I connect it to take reading? cheers

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Charles.
On the older Escape Dometic refrigerator models, ours is an 8555, there is a fitting that is on the propane supply piping in the refrigerator compartment accessed from the outside panel. You take the small fitting out, screw in a provided fitting that the hose on the manometer fits on. Then with propane on and the adjustment screw on the regulator accessed, the manometer will show the propane pressure. With another appliance running (like the burners in the stove the pressure is adjusted so that the reading to the refrigerator stays at 11 inches. With the stove off, pressure will be something like 11.8 inches or close to that. All that said and I’m going by my experience, I’m not sure if new model refrigerators have the port located in the same place as ours is. You’d have to ask form members regarding your model number who are familiar with your model where the access port is.
Iowa Dave

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

X2 and don’t forget the longer single hose from regulator to gas piping under the trailer.

At a minimum the main line should be inspected where it passes through the hole in the propane tank tray. The metal edge can wear on the rubber tubing over thousands of miles. I took another piece of reinforced rubber hose and wrapped it around that section and zip tied it tight.

[CharlesPou]

thanks Dave. my manometer came with an adapter that hopefully screws into the furnace somewhere,so I can take a reading. as I understand it, can use any location to test propane pressure: furnace, refrigerator, stove, oven, water heater. and, there is only one place to adjust the pressure at the top of the regulator. I should be all set, I have new furnace circuit board, manometer, and regulator on the way. cheers

[Bill and Earline]

Charles,

Iowa Dave helped me adjust our regulator with his manometer a while ago.

As this becomes more common, the question has come to me, is there a down side to having it set a little bit to the high side? Those manometers are pretty sensitive. What would be wrong with a little higher than recommended?

Bill

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Bill
I’m not sure how much pressure is too much but I think it’s reasonable to assume that the 11.8 inches that I’ve seen and been happy with is reasonable. In a situation where cooking, refrigerator needs, and perhaps the furnace are all happening at the same time, some starvation appears possible. Or a situation where the exterior quick hookup is being used for campfire in a can or for cooking to avoid heat in the trailer and the refrigerator is being taxed.

We had a “canning stove” in the basement when I was a kid. My dad had a good friend who worked for the gas company. He came out to install this used unit and adjust it properly. My dad wanted a pretty good flame to heat up the big pot of water for scalding in a minimum amount of time. Big Don Gogg adjusted the flame pretty strong. When done, my dad was a little intimidated by the flame. He asked his friend to show him a term I never heard before. “What is a “burner out of control” he asked.
With that, Don turned a screw or valve and relit the burner and turned the knob all the way open. A flame about a foot or 15 Inches high blazed up. “Now that’s a burner out of control” he said. Scared Hell out of me. Then he readjusted the flow and all was good. I used that stove off and on for the next 30 years as I bought the home place from my mom and lived there till 1992. That old Roper is probably still in the basement, it was built to last. So I feel comfortable at 11.8 inches WC and with the results I’m getting. Don’t need no “burner out of control” my temper is bad enough.
Iowa Dave

[CharlesPou]

Bill, IDK but think if your stuff is working OK, don't mess with it. my furnace doesn't work above approx 7500', and I camp there or higher from time to time. others have said their furnace works fine at high altitude, so I'm trying to get my furnace to work better. my water heater maybe has issues too, so it's next on the list.

one question I have is: how does altitude effect regulator pressure? IDK, but seems would increase inH2O at higher altitude, because less air pressure, and decrease inH2O at lower altitudes. can someone verify this?

I think you turn the regulator adjustment screw clockwise to increase pressure, counter clockwise to decrease pressure. I'm thinking maybe I could have experimented by just adjusting the regulator pressure when I'm camping at high altitude and furnace doesn't work. I decided for not much $'s to get a manometer, maybe a safety issue? cheers

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by CharlesPou

so, anyone test their inH2O for 11" when they replaced regulator? I just got my new manometer in, but need some lesson on how to use it. mainly, where do I connect it to take reading? cheers

one easy place is to remove your stove top, remove a stove burner assembly, and get a vinyl hose that will fit snugly over the gas jet (5/16ths ID?) and connect to your manometer, then turn on that burner... but this only works if the stove doesn't have its OWN regulator.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by CharlesPou

one question I have is: how does altitude effect regulator pressure? IDK, but seems would increase inH2O at higher altitude, because less air pressure, and decrease inH2O at lower altitudes. can someone verify this?

I think you turn the regulator adjustment screw clockwise to increase pressure, counter clockwise to decrease pressure. I'm thinking maybe I could have experimented by just adjusting the regulator pressure when I'm camping at high altitude and furnace doesn't work. I decided for not much $'s to get a manometer, maybe a safety issue? cheers

regulators are relative to atmospheric pressure, not absolute. So 11" of water at 10000 feet is a bit lower absolute pressure than 11" of water at sea level. since there's less air per unit of volume, it all works out.

[fudge_brownie]

I am currently and have been camped at 9,000 feet for about 10 days. Elevation does have a substantial effect on refrigerators, but so does temperature, model of refrigerator and the day of the week it was made. It you want to be sure your refrigerator will work at elevation be sure you have an electric site. The propane is the issue and there are too many variables to predict success.

Some refrigerators will succeed up to 11,000 feet on propane. Dometic says theirs is only reliable up to 5,000.

It does not seem to matter how you set your column inches, at least with my refrigerator. It must have been made on an “off” day. I have tried settings at 9.7 and 14.0 column inches. Near freezing temps and I have not been able to keep the refrigerator running overnight. It flames out and alarms, it will not restart till things warm up in the morning.

I have tried every trick I could find on the web. Others seem to have success so you maybe lucky. I have an RMD 8555.

Originally Posted by CharlesPou

Bill, IDK but think if your stuff is working OK, don't mess with it. my furnace doesn't work above approx 7500', and I camp there or higher from time to time. others have said their furnace works fine at high altitude, so I'm trying to get my furnace to work better. my water heater maybe has issues too, so it's next on the list.

one question I have is: how does altitude effect regulator pressure? IDK, but seems would increase inH2O at higher altitude, because less air pressure, and decrease inH2O at lower altitudes. can someone verify this?

I think you turn the regulator adjustment screw clockwise to increase pressure, counter clockwise to decrease pressure. I'm thinking maybe I could have experimented by just adjusting the regulator pressure when I'm camping at high altitude and furnace doesn't work. I decided for not much $'s to get a manometer, maybe a safety issue? cheers

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

At a minimum the main line should be inspected where it passes through the hole in the propane tank tray. The metal edge can wear on the rubber tubing over thousands of miles. I took another piece of reinforced rubber hose and wrapped it around that section and zip tied it tight.

Me too Dave . Someone had posted that awhile back and took care of it . It was pretty sharp metal where the hose went through . Pat

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by diannelgraham

I never replaced the long one but tested for propane leaks. Should that one be replaced also or just if you notice any cracking? If so can you buy it or do you have to make it out of a length of tubing.

The output line from the regulator to the trailer is hose, not metallic tubing. You probably can't legally make your own propane hoses - you buy them. In some cases you screw adapters into the ends to get the right fitting types, but in this case you should be able to just buy the hose with the right ends.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by CharlesPou

I think you turn the regulator adjustment screw clockwise to increase pressure, counter clockwise to decrease pressure. I'm thinking maybe I could have experimented by just adjusting the regulator pressure when I'm camping at high altitude and furnace doesn't work. I decided for not much $'s to get a manometer, maybe a safety issue? cheers

Correct. Clockwise to increase pressure and counter clockwise to decrease. I would not suggest just experimenting without a manometer. On the regulators I have adjusted it was not proportional to how much I turned. You could make the situation worse or end up with a much higher pressure than you need. I would hook the manometer up to the refrigerator test port as I had described in another thread.