Turn off your Propane while driving

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by float5

As I often say, any issue that is important to you should be looked at elsewhere, several places. Do not depend upon any one forum or only one or two sources for your information.

Yup. Search the web until you find the answer you want.

[float5]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Yup. Search the web until you find the answer you want.

Yep, those propane associations and others are really bad sources on propane. I guess to some.

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by ericw

I have a 2017 and plan to do a modifcation to fix this issue. As the video explains, this method allows for the "truck logic" such as "turn off the power to the 7 pin when the truck is off" to still work. I am doing it similarly to the video below except I am adding an additional part so I don't have to cut into any of the truck wiring and can just plug in the connections necessary. I have parts lists if you are interested. Also, for reference Escape uses an 8 gauge wire on the 21' from the 7 pin to the battery. YMMV.

Eric

Thanks Eric
I know this is off topic...but since I started this mess at least a few good things have come out of it.
My plan is to put the relay in the trailer that the truck will activate with the power of the stock system. I will leave the trail connector stock but add an extra two pin connector with the wire to the battery. I will make the new cable a little longer so I can charge the battery for 10 or 15 minutes while the truck is not directly connected to the trailer...if need be.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by float5

Yep, those propane associations and others are really bad sources on propane. I guess to some.

Hi Cathy don't you use the propane for your heater ? I guess if you have hookups you could plug a heater into 120 . The propane heater heats the trailer up real fast and gives off nice heat . We do have a portable heater also but really prefer the trailer propane heater . It will use the gas up faster then the refrigerator though . Pat

[thoer]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Yup. Search the web until you find the answer you want.

Confirmation bias It seems to be the modus operandi for modern society.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by float5

Yep, those propane associations and others are really bad sources on propane. I guess to some.

I did a search and could find nothing. What is are the names of these associations? It would seem they are just voicing opinion, as anyone online can do. I am a skeptic by nature, and take opinions without facts with a grain of salt. Give me absolute proof, and I am a believer.

I actually contacted the Departments of Transport, the ones who create the laws of the road, and they said it was fine. Do they not know what they are doing?

Originally Posted by Eggscape

I know this is off topic...but since I started this mess at least a few good things have come out of it..

Yes there has been. I look forward to trying to achieve better trailer battery charging from my truck.

[float5]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Hi Cathy don't you use the propane for your heater ? I guess if you have hookups you could plug a heater into 120 . The propane heater heats the trailer up real fast and gives off nice heat . We do have a portable heater also but really prefer the trailer propane heater . It will use the gas up faster then the refrigerator though . Pat

Yes, we have used the furnace but not much. We usually are using an electric heater because we have hook-ups. Expect to not have hookups on some other trips later and will use the furnace more. Of course, now we will be in the Texas area and it is much less likely that we will need the furnace.

If we use the propane, we then turn it off when travelling.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Yes there has been. I look forward to trying to achieve better trailer battery charging from my truck.

I sometimes wonder about "better" or "good" charging from the tug. It seems to me that the automotive system is basically a maintenance system. The alternator output and regulator are meant to maintain but not act in the same manner as a multi-step regulator. There are aftermarket alternators with two outputs allowing for two differing charging protocols that could be used but I don't see anyone doing that aside from emergency vehicles and boat owners. But, in the marine world, charging 12 volt systems etc. has been an never ending topic ( also refrigeration ) there's lot's of views.

I installed heavy cables directly from my tug battery to the 7 pin connector. It's more for emergency use as I never had any intent of running the fridge on 12 volt. But solar works so well for me I can't recall the last time I used power from the tug.

Ron

[float5]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I did a search and could find nothing. What is are the names of these associations? It would seem they are just voicing opinion, as anyone online can do. I am a skeptic by nature, and take opinions without facts with a grain of salt. Give me absolute proof, and I am a believer.

I actually contacted the Departments of Transport, the ones who create the laws of the road, and they said it was fine. Do they not know what they are doing?


.

I could just as well ask you if you think propane associations do not know about propane. Or ferries do not know about the danger of propane. Maybe the ferry operators are being ridiculous. And maybe propane vapors cannot ignite gas pumps and cause fires or explosions as they said.

I expect that the Department of Transport was answering on whether it was legal to travel with propane on, were they not? Which has nothing to do with the remarks I made on what associations said about vapors from propane appliances being able to cause fires or explosions at gas stations. Perhaps they told you that that cannot happen but I did not think you had such a discussion.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I installed heavy cables directly from my tug battery to the 7 pin connector. It's more for emergency use as I never had any intent of running the fridge on 12 volt. But solar works so well for me I can't recall the last time I used power from the tug.n

It would be well down on my list of things to do, as I agree it is not absolutely necessary, just a tweak I would like to make. As mentioned I have no reservations at all driving with propane on, I just like to tweak things. I will first run a few more trials on 12V as is to see how it works out. Maybe full sun in the south.

Thinking back on the fridge on 12V fail coming home from Salmon Arm last fall, it was more that the temp in the fridge dropped to levels below acceptable in 5 hours, than the voltage drop which was some but not enough for concern. This would indicate poor cooling on 12V while driving, as opposed to not enough juice from the batteries.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by float5

I could just as well ask you if you think propane associations do not know about propane. Or ferries do not know about the danger of propane. Maybe the ferry operators are being ridiculous. And maybe propane vapors cannot ignite gas pumps and cause fires or explosions as they said.

I expect that the Department of Transport was answering on whether it was legal to travel with propane on, were they not? Which has nothing to do with the remarks I made on what associations said about vapors from propane appliances being able to cause fires or explosions at gas stations. Perhaps they told you that that cannot happen but I did not think you had such a discussion,

I think it is best that you do what you think best with the knowledge you have, and I will do the same with what I know. No sense debating where there is no positive outcome. I put the facts out there, others can decide for themselves too.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by float5

Or ferries do not know about the danger of propane. Maybe the ferry operators are being ridiculous. And maybe propane vapors cannot ignite gas pumps and cause fires or explosions as they said.

Huge difference between the two situations. There's no argument that a propane leak in a sealed area is a potential explosion hazard. But a small semi-enclosed pilot flame, out in open air, is quite a different situation. But as Jim says, do what makes you comfortable.

And, yes Jim, it seems to me running on propane cools better. But there's a lot variables involved so who knows for sure.

Ron

[Iowa Dave]

I have a good propane story that involves a farm disc, a 1,000 gallon propane tank, a pair of vise grips, and my old friend Ralph “Shorty” Ulmer from Soldier Iowa. Ask me about it at a rally when we’re out of topics sometime. Best word I have is “unpredictable”.
Dave

[dfandrews]

Here's the discussion from over 2 years ago.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...pane-6419.html

Here's my comment on that thread (done while I still worked in a fire prevention bureau, and had access to the Codes and Standards):
National Fire Protection Association has indeed conducted testing. Their standards are based on real-world testing of a variety of scenarios, staged accidents, etc., that are much of the basis for their standards (they burn up lots of stuff!).

NFPA 30A (Motor Fuel Dispensing..) and 58 (LP Gas Code) are among them.
Neither mention shutting off tank valves, but both address removing ignition sources within 20 feet of dispensing. The most obvious hazard is fuel spills. I have seen modern, automatic shut-off dispenser nozzles fail to shut off, with 1 or 2 gallons of gasoline on the ground; so it is a real possible hazard.


By the way, the International Fire Code, the model Code for many jurisdictions in North America, references NFPA 30 and 58 as standards.

[Santiago]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

NFPA 30A (Motor Fuel Dispensing..) and 58 (LP Gas Code) are among them.
Neither mention shutting off tank valves, but both address removing ignition sources within 20 feet of dispensing. The most obvious hazard is fuel spills. I have seen modern, automatic shut-off dispenser nozzles fail to shut off, with 1 or 2 gallons of gasoline on the ground; so it is a real possible hazard.

I don't see leaving the LP tank valves on as an issue when re-fueling. Based on industrial practices, electrical boxes that have the potential to spark use vapor tight boxes (explosion proof rated) or drowned in epoxy like material when flammable conditions exist (gasoline pumping in this case). The refrigerator's boiler is powered by a flame burning propane, that and the auto igniter are both ignition sources. The LP tanks left on are not the issue in my opinion. I must admit that in earlier years when I used propane refrigerator due to pain of re-lighting I did not turn refrigerator off while visiting the gas station. I did many things in my youth I would not do now.

[dfandrews]

I make a practice of using the right end pump, so the frig. vents are far away and on the side away from the pumps. Frig. stays on propane.
When forced to use the front pump and middle islands and the frig. vents are next to a pump, I'll turn the frig. off for the few minutes I'm there. It's easy enough to do.

[Klem]

Sorry I don’t have more time but check out AES

FYI

http://rvrefrigeratorrepair.com/wp-c...ervice-AES.pdf

Page A6-8 explains shut down of propane at filling stations.

And notice every time the ignition is switched off.

There has been some evolution of operation and you should check your specific refrigerator model number.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Supposedly there are rules on website designations, those ending with .gov are government, others are not?

Only in the United States. The top-level domains ".gov" and ".mil" are restricted to U.S. government and military (respectively) sites only; remember, the internet grew out of a U.S. military network (ARPANET). Government and military sites of other countries are generally within the country-specific top-level domains (which are for the use of any person or organization in that country); that's why the federal Government of Canada's sites are all in ".gc.ca". Within Canada there are provincial domains (such as ".ab.ca" for Alberta and ".bc.ca" for British Columbia), which are also not restricted to governments.

DriveSmartBC.ca is within the Canadian domain, but not within the B.C. domain... a first hint that it is not a government of British Columbia website. Anyone could register "AllOfficialKnowledgeOfCanada.ca", and that name wouldn't give the website any authority. Another hint is the opening statement of the DriveSmartBC.ca "About" page:

DriveSmartBC is a community web site about traffic law and road safety in British Columbia that I run as a hobby.

Bizarrely, the BC Laws site (bclaws.ca) is an official site of the B.C. government, but not under the general BC government domain (gov.bc.ca).

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by float5

... What the associations said was that tanks should be off. (No, I do not have the links.) They said that, at gas stations, the vapors from a refrigerator on gas or other appliances can cause a fire or explosion.

There is no explosive vapour coming out of an RV appliance; the risk is that the RV appliance can be an ignition source to start a fire or explosion of the gasoline vapours (as others have already explained). That's a reason to have appliances not running (no flame, no ignition source) while in a fuel station; it is not a reason to close propane valves.

[sunrisetrucker]

It seems to me that some people just don't want to believe that propane is a safe fuel to travel with. For those people, I suggest you sell your gasoline powered TV ( gasoline is far more dangerous than propane) and buy something diesel powered.