RV Propane Overview & Three Tests To Ensure Proper Propane Function (Hole size is a '#41' not an 'X'
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- IMPORTANT: HOLE SIZE SHOULD BE A '#41' NOT A SIZE 'X'!!!
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Certified Mobile RV Technician, Darren Koepp, gives you a lesson on why and how propane, aka LP (liquid propane), is used in today's RVs. Watch as he performs a lockout test, a 50% load test, and a leak test.
If you are in need of RV Repairs in the Olympic Peninsula area of Washington state, submit a service request on our website at myrvworks.com today!
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Topic: RV Propane Overview & Three Tests To Ensure Proper Propane Function
IMPORTANT NOTE: I was working on some 8020.net aluminum extrusion the night before I made this video and for that product you drill a size 'X' hole to tap for the threads. When I made this video I had size 'X' on my brain and mis-spoke. The correct size hole for this gig is a '#41'. Very sorry if I confused anyone.
Parts:
Auto Changeover Regulator - amzn.to/2kQhUJY
Two stage regulator - horizontal vent - amzn.to/2lsm6zZ
Tools:
Dwyer Slack Tube - amzn.to/2mtNMEV
Gas Pressure Test Kit - amzn.to/2mXYFPn
Digital Manometer - amzn.to/2kUdJNk
Gas Leak Detector - amzn.to/2lullXc
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Related Video's:
LP System Playlist - LP System
Film Date: 1/3/2019
Location: Port Angeles , WA
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16:9 FHD 1920x1080
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Music:
"My RV Works-Jam"
Composed by Steve Patry - Four Faces Band
![[Q & A] 10 Minutes With A Tech - Session 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Se7U1-owMI/mqdefault.jpg)
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I cannot thank you enough for your informative video. Our furnace quit in 2019. We live in the south so we just did without and added more blankets. I tried to get a mobile rv tech to come out but no one would. When my refrigerator and stove stopped working, I started searching the internet. Luckily I found your video. When I learned that furnace needed more pressure than stove or refrigerator, I bought a new regulator. Success!! Now all my propane appliances work and I didn’t even have to pay someone to fix it. Than you, thank you, thank you.
My motorhome just started doing the exact symptoms you stated. Started with the heat not working a few weeks ago. But with it it almost summer I didn't care much. Now that the hot water heater and refrigerator are out, I have to find a regulator that will fit my old motorhome.
Thank you very much Darren for sharing, I have learnt a lot from this detailed video. You have inspired me to get some of the basic RV work done without taking the RV to the dealer.
Accurate, comprehensible, and immediately applicable!
Another informative video from a master technician. Your videos fill my need to learn and understand the technical aspects of the systems found in my RV. Thank you very much.
DARREN, YOU ARE THE "KEYSER SÖZE" OF RV REPAIR/MAINTENANCE!
This guy makes the best videos! Straight to the information, clear and concise!
Thank you
Hey Darren,
RVIA Spec says-
Lock Up should be 14WC
50% load is 11WC
For leak test spec says to shut off propane tanks. Drop WC to 9wc. Then leave it for 3 minutes.
Also the drill hole is 3/32 or #42 or a 75,000 BTU Orifice
I understand what RVIA says, but let Darren’s experience teach you. In some RV’s, the furnaces like 10-10.5” wc. Set that lockup too high (like 14” MAX allowable everywhere) and could keep furnace from firming up.
All depends on the systems. If it's got a truma combi, you need 13"wc.
This guy needs to move to Vancouver Island so I can hire him. Grateful he shares his vast knowledge, truly a master of his trade. A+++
Thank you. This was better than Netflix. Great information
I really enjoyed the video, I used to train people in the use of handheld gas sniffers, the number one mistake made by professionals such as haz - mat personnel is they sometimes don't "zero" the detector in outside air. There have been cases where a location has been cleared as "safe" only to have an explosion because the detector was turned on and zeroed in the presence of combustible gas. Make sure it is turned on, warmed up briefly and zeroed outside the coach.
Darren, Thanks for presenting this video and following it I found a propane leak I didn’t know I had. I’m a DIY mostly automotive and making the test rig was easy including a U-tube. I removed the HW burner to gain access to the line, attached and started measuring including a flow test. When I did the leak down, I could just about watch the water column drop. I was losing pressure. Soap bubbled all connections that had access, no luck. Then I decided to disconnect and cap appliance service lines one at a time and repeat the leak down. The last one was the Atwood furnace. As soon as I capped it, no more leak down. Then I rigged propane service to the removed furnace valve, turned gas on and a tiny bubble formed at the gas orifice. Ordered new valve, R&R. Furnace works and repeated the same leak down test starting at 9”WC after dropping pressure as you demo’d. It held 5 min w/o any drop. And during the new valve installation I found several tiny insects had found their last resting place behind the orifice. And now I have a service tool to assist friends with, carefully. Thanks, Gary
This is your calling. Teaching others. Thanks for this.
Excellent explanation, very useful, practical lesson, to the point, much appreciated !
You are an awesome teacher! Professor Superdave
Once again you are one awesome instructor. I had looked all over for how to set the regulator in you tube videos and found nothing. And I have watched a numerous amount of yours and again yours is always the best! Why I didn't see yours first is beyond me. Keep up the awesome videos. As others have said...You Rock!!!
Excellent. !
Very good !! Easy to follow , understand...
Darren, the NRVTA also taught us to pull the center burner out and test from that port. Their argument was 1) not having to break into the gas line, and 2) any variance in WC pressure would be reflected through the stove top's regulator. I asked about this and was "shot down". I can see the 50% load and drop test being able to be read through the stovetops regulator, but I agree with you that the stove's regulator could mask an overly high lock out pressure as you show in this vid. Well done, Sir!
Darren you Rock, your an Awesome Teacher, Thanks so much. God Bless.
Just found your videos... and they/you are awesome. Keep up the good work!
Hey there, Thanks for the kind comment. Welcome! I will keep sending them out to ya'.
Cheers,
Darren
By the way - propane is heavier than ambient air - open the door to allow it to leave the coach. (Old LP truck driver)
Thanks again Darren!
Darren, love your videos. I believe that all RV appliances recommends 11” WC but the range and stove used 10” WC because the second regulator counts for 1”WC which adds to 11” WC. Keep up the good work.
I9😊LLC LLC most recent version 9 I 🕉 of 999😅😅😅😅😅😅8😅and 99😅😊😮9999o😅999😅 2:02 2:02 😊
Nicely done! Very good presentation. Stage-1 in most 2-stage regulators will bring down the pressure to around 10 psi not 30. I prefer to test in series with the main line usually somewhere around the ASME tank. Less issues with venting the propane outdoors. As for the tool, a #36 orifice (~0.1065" diameter) will purge the equivalent of 80,000 BTU (at WC 11) or 55% load on the regulator. Close enough!
Hey Daniel, Again I appreciate your technical savvy! Keep me straight...
Cheers,
Darren
what size drill bit would I need to drill out a #36 orifice.
@@anthonylink4330 #36 (.1065)
You would make a excellent teacher even for high school English. I failed it and need it so bad!
Great tutorial and THANKS for saying Water Heater instead of Hot Water Heater!
Very informative and very well presented vIdeos, thank you.
Fantastic video. I've been having some issues with my propane system. Although I'm going to preemptively replace the regulator since all indicators point to there but I'm going to run the tests before to have a better understanding of what was going on. In my case three symptoms. The fridge will often fail to light, especially if the furnace is running. The furnace on a campout last weekend would fire up but at some point reach a limit where it shut down and we'd have to turn it off and back on to reset, and the stove does not get enough gas pressure to even light one cook top burner if the oven is running.
WC = water closet = toilet
Thank you so much for an excellent tutorial.
That's where I went, Lol
An Old joke also refers to a mix-up of WC vs Wesleyan Chapel lol
THANK You Sir.
Great video and my new fave to learn from. Just wish the link to your homemade tool wasn't dead. I'd like to make that tool.
you said: "top of the meniscus" - but I thought measurements should always be taken at the bottom of the meniscus. As i recall, the reason is that the capillary effect draws the fluid up the side of the tube, but the real level is at the bottom of the meniscus. I was wondering how you came to learn that you should measure from the top of the meniscus.
Thanks, really enjoyed your vid, and it helped me set up to do my own propane system tests every season.
Fantastic teaching! 😀
Awesome Videos Thank You
Great vids
Hi Rick here I have a 5500 propane gen in my 5th wheel that hasn't worked in 3 years start and die wich was my fault for not starting it yearly but anyway I had a factory tech come out and diagnose it he said it needed a mother board 500 to 700 dollars wich I didn't have at that time then I had a friend suggest that if the moter doesn't run its probly not the moter board then I found your video's on how to diag a heater wich I also had problems with so I made the set up to ck the fuel pressure and sure enough it had 11 water pressure when I turned the gen on it went to 0 so I blew out all the lines still the same thing so I replaced the regulater and re ck the pressure is good and the gen runs it only drops 1 water lb Thank you Jesus
THANK You for your video's it saved my lots of $$$$
Keep the videos coming. So informative. Thank you
I A l m o s t made this comment on your last video (I was not 100% convinced, yet...), but I'm now 100% convinced. As soon as I can afford it, I'm bringing my 23 year old coach to you for a head-to-toe, stem to stern retrofit, update, calibrate, fix, patch, repair & refurbish. I'm driving from Texas, but I know it will be worth it ;)
Also, thanks for sharing your bountiful knowledge.
Outstanding video Darren! You should sell that kit with the 4-way valve and all the caps.
Hey Darren, I have been impressed with your teaching style and variety of RV Tech Task that you cover. I'm interested in making your brass valve setup for hooking the slack tube and LP gas line and 50% load, is there a description somewhere on the parts needed to create it?
You can buy the kit from RVTI
You made an excellent video!! Thanks
i have been impressed with your videos
Excellent video! When I was doing the sealed test, I turned off the gas at the tank and the pressure held for about 1.5 to 2 minutes, then it suddenly dropped to zero. It was rock sold for those first two minutes, then it completely dropped out all at once, in 1 or 2 seconds. Do you know what would cause that? This is on a 1987 Airstream Excella.
Excellent...........
This was a very good video for me. I have a truckbed camper that has this type problem, I believe. The stove will light but it has a yellow flame that rises high. Also the furnace will light but only burns for about a minute or so. It make sense that it is a regulator problem. I can see the regulator underneath the sink but it is a fixed pressure regulator (doesn't have the part that you can adjust the flow/pressure. I guess my only option is to replace the regulator. Any thought?
Thanks for all the information you share. I always look through your videos to help me troubleshoot problems. Always use a backup wrench on fittings✔️ I have a question about measuring LP. Can I put a permanent gauge after the regulator to see my PSI?
Could you just turn on one of the stove burners and the frig or the water heater for the 50% test.
Darren talks a little bit more about the 50% load test in this video: th-cam.com/video/BIwB8q4Em3I/w-d-xo.html
Hello Darren, first thank you for all your teachings, when you did the 3 minute test, I understand you bled off into your tube with tank off. After the 3 minutes did you did you bleed off into your tube again to determine if the was a leak? Also I would really like to have info on your shut off valve assembly. Thank you for your time and consideration
Gary
Propane expands 270 times when it changes from a liquid to a vapor.
Darren my Class A has a propane outlet for a propane grill which is I guess low pressure. Not regulated on grill so is uses the RV regulator. I think I can do the test from there by adding a quick connect to the tester. Is this correct?
When our propane guy filled my 30 lb tank ( type fastened to the rv) it leaked when he took off his filling hose. He tried to fix it by tapping the valve but it continued to leak so he put on a safety cap. What should I do next. Dave
do the pressure settings/tests change above 6000 ft of altitude?
I wanted to add an LPG outlet to connect my BBQ grill at a location outside the RV, what do I need to do it safe and legal? Can I just tap into the LPG line anywhere? Thanks.
PSI is pounds per square inch. Ounces per square inch is what your gauge is reading. It’s ounces of pressure, not ounces of PSI. So 16 ounces of pressure....1 PSI, should equate to 27.7 inches of WC.
You are correct! I just went out and looked at my gauge manometer that I use in the winter time when my slack tube water freezes. So instead of saying PSI I should be saying OSI! Or I'll just stick to inches of water column and nobody gets hurt... LOL. In my future videos I'll give a nod to you when I'm explaining LP pressure. ;-)
@@MyRVWorks i wound up putting a whole new suburban furnace in my t.t. and its doing the same thing my 20 year old 1 was.it lights 3 times and the flame goes out.then it goes to lockout.i reset thermo and it does the same thing.i wonder if my regulator is bad and if it is would my stove and frig and tankless water heater still work but the furnace wont.
00:22:07 For test #3, what if there is a leak in the service valve and also a leak in the system that their effect would cancel each other out? Do you check all the connections with soap and water or leak test liquid?
on/off handle on my on board propane tank will not turn on or off. any ideas???
Hey Darren two brief questions... When you check the water column reading on a NORCOLD N306RM8 rv refrigerator with a low, med, hi temperature selector dial where is the best place to hook up to get an accurate reading? Second to blow out any contaminants in lp lines in a travel trailer would you disconnect the output LP hose from the regulator and then blow compressed air from an lp line on the far side of the RV such as the stove or refrigerator? Thank you.
I really like your videos. Having been the victim of a propane explosion so I'm super afraid of it, although you feel it is very safe. When you do the 50% test, it appears that you are not worried about the propane escaping into the area? Also, when you put the fittings together, do you use any type of thread sealant. Thanks from a fellow Louisianan!
Hey Darren, I want to build that tool that you built. Would I be able to get all of those parts at a Lowes or Home Depot? If you have the means and/ or the time could you supply the names of those parts/ sizes so it's not such a mystery hunting the pieces at the store?
Again, appreciate all the hard work you put in for the benefit of others! Thanks!!
I have a sheet that is in a word document format. This is what I used to get the idea and used artistic license when I built mine. Send me an email message to Darren@myrvworks.com with your return email address and I will send the doc to you.
@@MyRVWorks Darren great video sent you an email to get the propane cross parts list.
Hi Darren. I’ve learned a ton of info watching your videos. I just did a test on my LP system and am wondering if a 1/4” pressure drop in 15 minutes is acceptable.
Can you put this testing method anywhere on the system or it has to have certain conditions to be most ideal?
A slack tube is a true manometer. Any liquid filled "U" tube pressure instrument is a true manometer. Digital manometers and dial manometers (pressure gauge) are not true manometers. They are only called manometers because of the low pressure range they measure. They are always calibrated against a true "U" tube manometer. Otherwise, a good video.
size hole should be a size 41 drill bit .o96 measurement fact checed several ares
Good video. Just one thought about your air cleaning of the propane line. Draw a vacuum on the propane line instead of pressurizing it. Too much air pressure can damage the diaphragm in regulators that are still connected.
PS. I’m a 35 year master plumber.
Thanks for the pro tip, When we blow the lines out the supply line is disconnected from the regulator.
Do you have to test every time you change elevation and temps?
No you do not. It's a gas-tight system and is not really affected by elevation as much as it is by temperature. Your regulator has a vent on it that will make adjustments to the different temperatures and pressures that you are experiencing when you change altitude. So you would want that regulator vent to always be exposed to outside air, and you would want to make sure that your propane system is inspected and adjusted, if necessary, at least once a year.
@@MyRVWorks thanks!
My system is not emptying tank regulator?
👍👍👍
#36 orifice or a #41 what one is it for proper test ?
# 41 is a standard size in the RV industry according to NFPA 1192. You can do a web search or if the size for propane gas and get an entire listing of the orifice with respect to BTU flow rate. If you want to be super accurate, you can gather all of the BTU input information from every gas burning appliance, then divide that number in half. But remember that when we do this test we're venting to the outside air and that is not how the propane system is consumed in an RV, also as the temperature changes or the RV goes into different altitudes the gas pressure will change as well. So the #41 is a close enough test for us to set our regulator lock up pressure and operating pressure.
Great video. Is that mamometer a Dwyer 1211-16? They have a bunch of models just want to make sure I get the right one.
What I use is a Dwyer 1212 Kit for my RV LP work. Never needs to go over 16" W.C. so I opted for that one.
If you are going to get one from Amazon here is a link to my affiliate account so I get some bling for the sale!!! Wohoo!
amzn.to/2XqVUqz
Cheers,
Darren
Hi Darren,
We sent you an email a while back about the document you have with the list of parts to build your propane test device. We haven't heard back. We'd love to know how to build this test device.
On our website / resources tab we have a listing of manuals. Sort that by 'LPG' and you will find a link for the lp test jig there.
myrvworks.com/manuals/
@@MyRVWorks Thank you so much. Where did you get the slacktube quick-release connector (it's a small white connector)?
I think I found it. The plastic tubes that come with the slack tube are 3/16" ID and 5/16" OD. So we would need a 5/16 x 5/16-inch OD quick connect like this one:
www.amazon.ca/19-6043-Coupling-Fitting-16-Inch-Plastic/dp/B00ITPFC8S/
A propane related question. All our propane appliances work just fine. The RV was supposedly leak-tested before we bought it. It’s a Class A 2016 Winnebago 26HE. The propane tank was full during our PDI. We’ve had to refill the tank three or four times since we bought it. All at different fill stations. The tank filled ok, but no gas vapor ever came out of the little 80% fill valve. In fact, no gas vapor has ever came out of that 80% valve. No change at all with the 80% fill valve open or closed. I’ve called a few propane suppliers in the area and none of them will work on an RV. Do mobile RV techs do this kind of job? I’m comfortable working on nearly everything in our RV, however I’m not wild about working on the propane tank on our RV. Any suggestions?
I would assume that most mobile RV techs are trained in working with LP systems since so many systems in your RV do work on LP. If they are certified RV technicians then they are definitely qualified to work on LP since many of the questions on the certification exam cover LP systems. If you're in Texas, and a few other states, they have to be licensed with the state.
All the research I’ve done says size x is .397 inches. More than a 1/3 of an inch. Yours looks much smaller
The hole size is a #41
Any chance you could tell me the parts for the 1/2 and 3/8” gas connector setup you made?
👍
Lol ya get no love from Darren. Hahaha
Legend.