vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Camper propane troubleshooting help please.
The camper sat for a few months on an empty tank. (valve on) I've just attached a fully loaded tank, and got the fridge to fire up, but only one
burner on the range will stay lit, and it is on a very low flame. If I try to light all three there isn't enough gas to keep them going! Never
happened in the last 12 years. The temps have been single digits, and still below freezing. Doesn't seem like cold propane would have anything to do
with it, buy maybe the regulator is out of whack. I suppose there could be frozen condensation in a line somewhere, but I don't want to drive to a
warmer climate to find that I still have a problem! 
Any ideas from the experts?
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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k-rico
Super Nomad
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Location: Playas de Tijuana
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I just replaced the regulator ($8.00) between my tank and house heater and now it works great. Before I replaced it the pilot would light but as soon
as I turned on the burner (very weak flame) the pilot would go out and it would shut down.
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 11-15-2004
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You are on the right track, frozen condensation in a line or in the regulator sounds likely.
You may only getting the pilot to light on the refrig if it's too cold to kick on.
Have you tried to fire up either the camper heat or hot water ?
If these work well then the issue is probably not the regulator but condensation in the line to the stove.
If you don't find the problem, I would pick up a spare regulator and hope the lines unfreeze when you get south.
Or maybe a heat coil ?
[Edited on 12-23-2008 by Diver]
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bajaguy
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I know my propane BBQ does not work well when the temps get below 30 degrees
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davnjo
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: 11-22-2003
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Hi:
propane won't freeze unless the temp is 40 below. If it is butane (which it could be) it will freeze at 32. Freeze in this sence meens it won't
vaporize, therefore won't produce enough vapor to run everything. Turn off everything and see if 1 burner at a time will run on your stove. If you
can't run anything, try pouring hot water on the regulator so that if it is a condensation freeze (condensation in the reg.) it will thaw out.
Good luck,
Dave
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
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Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Thanks Diver, this is the econo model without heat or hot water. Maybe a spare regulator would be a smart idea. The fridge is running OK so far
though.
Man this trying to get away in the snow is a hassle, as you know! At least I can drive in and out of my driveway!
Ah, more good ideas as I typed. This is like a chat room right now.
[Edited on 12-23-2008 by vgabndo]
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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freediverbrian
Senior Nomad
Posts: 617
Registered: 2-24-2007
Location: Papas Gonzaga Bay
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spider webs
I have had the same problem with a heater, will light , but will not burn hot. Found spiders love the smell of propane and make nets in the jets .
take an air compresser and blow out the burners. jets pilot lights and relight good luck
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SteveD
Nomad
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Registered: 11-29-2007
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Check for spiders in the jets. You have to remove the jets and blow them out. The propane is very low pressure after the regulator (less than 2 psi)
and won't blow out their bodies through the small hole. I've had it happen to our old floor furnace, my neighbor in his BBQ and my brother in the
water heater in is RV.
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postholedigger
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Here's something I found when my bbq was doing essentially the same thing. Try this before springing for a new regulator or shooing spiders out.
1.) Turn the burner knobs to the off position andTurn off the gas at the tank
2.) Disconnect the gas tank from the stove/BBQ
3.) Turn burner/BBQ knobs to High
4.) Leave it for a minute
5.) Turn the burner knobs to off
6.) Reconnect the propane tank
7.) SLOWLY turn the tank on
8.) Light your burner
I read that regulators are alot stickier than they used to be and that a slight imbalance or wrong pressure will make the regulator release gas at a
very slow pace until they are "reset" using this method. I was pretty happy with not having to pay anything to make my BBQ work again.
If it doesn't work then by all means shoo spiders and buy a regulator.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
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Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Well...as fun as it would have been to have discovered the nefarious Propane Spider, or some other web of entanglement, it appears that it was simply
a matter of a hypothermic regulator. Once things got warmed up a little bit the camper came back to life as usual. My vintage Lance is like a member
of the family. It has sheltered us in a lot of different conditions in a lot of different places. I'm sure there are many who can relate to that
feeling of security when one is out of their comfort zone.
Thanks to all.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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daveyjoans
Junior Nomad
Posts: 31
Registered: 12-24-2008
Location: wrightwood, ca.
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Hola, long time lurker, first time poster. I thought that this would be the perfect time to finally log on and post. I too have a lance camper and had
a problem with low propane pressure. When the line comes out of the regulator it goes into a double brass elbow creating a U. Over time a oil residue
builds up in the U as it is a low point after the regulator. Disconnect the fittings and the oil will run out. In cold weather this oil will be thick
and reduce the line volume. I drain this once a year and that fixed my problem. Hope this helps you.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Hey Welcome aboard.
LOVE YOUR HANDLE. I'm just re-reading the Dana, "Two years before the mast". (1840 California) It has me thinking like a "jack" in the foc's'l.
Thanks for the tip, I'll check that out the next time I belay the tank.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Vag--------don't know if you have a brass "splitter" on the line where it comes out of your propane tank, but if so you might have a mal-functioning
splitter------apparently there is some sort of safety device within the splitter that sometimes hangs up and won't permit anything but a tiny amt. of
propane thru it. I had to replace mine (the store took it back and gave me another one for free-----ACE hardware).
Just a thought.
Barry
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