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 > Propane stopped working...please help.

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archenki

charlestown, ri

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Posted: 11/04/09 11:29pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Hi, I need some advice about the propane tank. Tonight the alarm went off, we reset the alarm and it has not gone off again, but we could not light the stove or ignite the hot water heater. Checked the furnace too, no hot air. We tried turning the tank off and back on and also tried pouring warm water over the regulator cover. The temp outside was only around 45 at the time. Any suggestions?

Thanks


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vikx

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Posted: 11/05/09 12:09am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I'm assuming you have a trailer? Try turning the tank off and sloowly back on again. Sometimes the new OPD tanks shut off if turned on in a rush...Also check that your regulator is turned on to a tank with propane in it. Do you have propane? I hope this helps. VK

robatthelake

Vancouver Island

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Posted: 11/05/09 12:33am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Is The Battery Fully charged? Have You tried to light the stove?


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Golden_HVAC

Fulltime, CA, USA

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Posted: 11/05/09 12:38am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Hi,

My dog would set off the propane detector as well.

As stated above, the excess flow safety in the new propane tanks can trip if there is excess flow through the tank valve. So if the propane valve shuts, and then opens quickly (yes it does) it can cause the ball bearing to jump, stopping the propane flow. To re-set, you shut off the propane, and then turn it on slowly so the ball does not jump. Make sure that all appliances are off while turning on the propane flow.

If you have two tanks, turn on both just a small amount to pressurize the lines, then turn them both on. The automatic switchover valve will select the higher pressure tank, and then change to the other one if the pressure falls in the tank you are using.

At 45F, the tank should be about 100 PSI, that should be enough pressure. But if there is by-products in the propane, it can cause problems. If you tell the propane supplier, they can put something into the tank on your next refill, that will take the moisture out of the tank.

As for now, I hope that you have a electric back up heater!

You can always google your local Home Depot or other hardware store, and see if you can get another 5 gallon tank in the morning. This will be a good back-up, as well as usable for the BBQ, or to run a portable LP lantern or something else.

Good Luck,

Fred.

archenki

charlestown, ri

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Posted: 11/05/09 12:58am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Thanks, yes we have tried turning the valve back on slowly while everything was off. We are in a class A with one tank and, yes, it has propane in it. We do have two electric heaters but our hot water is propane only so, the biggest issue at the moment is hot water. Any other suggestions? Thanks so far!

archenki

charlestown, ri

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Posted: 11/05/09 01:01am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Oh, and yes, the batteries are charged and the stove will not light. We are plugged in to 50 AMPs at the moment.

Larry & Linda

Lansing MI/????

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Posted: 11/05/09 04:39am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

It sounds like you have an inline shut off valve that is controlled by the LP Detector and it needs to be reset or has failed.
Larry





SAR Tracker

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Posted: 11/05/09 07:28am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Pressure regulator broke?


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just me

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Posted: 11/05/09 07:40am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

SAR Tracker wrote:

Pressure regulator broke?


I had a pressure regulator go bad, the repair guy though it was a circuit board in the furnace. Changed the regulator and set it @ 11 inches of water column and every thing was rose again.
His suggestion was, light all the burners on the stove and see if you have GOOD flame on all burners, Regulator should be functioning OK. When we lite the stove we had a weak flame, hence the reg. check. And the lack of gas pressure to lite the furnace.


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archenki

charlestown, ri

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Posted: 11/05/09 10:09am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Thanks everyone, the issue has been resolved. It turned out to be very simple, the battery disconnect had somehow been switched off (probably by our 4 yr. old). When we are plugged in to shore power the light stays on so we had no way to know it was off. It was the comment about it being connected to the alarm that tipped my DH off. Thank you! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply!

~Becky

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