User Tag List

Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    37
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    What kills propane regulators and gas valves?

    Our imagine 2400BH is only one year old and both the propane regulator and water heater gas valve failed after our 2nd trip this year. Since they both failed at the same time I think it must be related but I am not sure how. Can you get a bad tank of propane?

    The last thing I did before it failed was hooking up a new grill to the quick connect at the outside kitchen and sprayed some dry lube on the outside of the quick connect after disconnecting as it was not working well. It then sat for a week before we took it back out and noticed the propane was not working.

    I replaced the regulator and gas works to the furnace, stove, fridge, and outdoor kitchen. I have bench tested the water heater valve and know it is bad. The solenoids ohm out at 40 per spec and each moves when given twelve volts but gas does not pass through when both solenoids are open. So it is the valve that is bad not the solenoids. This leaves me to believe whatever damaged the water heater gas valve is the same thing that damaged the regulator.


    2020 Imagine 2400BH
    2019 Ford Expedition

  2. #2
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Wherever...
    Posts
    9,016
    Mentioned
    187 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Regulators fail at times - for no apparent reason. But since you have had two failures at the same time, I would start to suspect contamination. This is usually oil contamination in the propane. Have you noticed oil in the outlet of the propane tank(s) or in the line(s) going to the regulator? I think there have been a couple of threads on this. You might use the search function and search for "propane" and "oil."

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  3. #3
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    37
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Second Chance View Post
    Regulators fail at times - for no apparent reason. But since you have had two failures at the same time, I would start to suspect contamination. This is usually oil contamination in the propane. Have you noticed oil in the outlet of the propane tank(s) or in the line(s) going to the regulator? I think there have been a couple of threads on this. You might use the search function and search for "propane" and "oil."

    Rob
    Yes, there was a small amount of brown fluid at the water heater. The regulator had clear fluid at the output that bubbled off, I think that would be propane but was surprised it was still liquid at that point. It smelled a little closer to gasoline than propane though.
    Last edited by wsterling; 06-29-2021 at 06:17 PM.


    2020 Imagine 2400BH
    2019 Ford Expedition

  4. #4
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Wherever...
    Posts
    9,016
    Mentioned
    187 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by wsterling View Post
    Yes, there was a small amount of brown fluid at the water heater. The regulator had clear fluid at the output that bubbled off, I think that would be propane but was surprised it was still liquid at that point. It smelled a little closer to gasoline than propane though.
    I can't say what those two substance were, but it sounds like it might be contamination, then.

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    492
    Mentioned
    7 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by wsterling View Post
    Yes, there was a small amount of brown fluid at the water heater. The regulator had clear fluid at the output that bubbled off, I think that would be propane but was surprised it was still liquid at that point. It smelled a little closer to gasoline than propane though.
    I had oil in my propane last winter. It started on the passenger side and made the low pressure regulator fail. It was a brown oil. I replaced the low pressure regulator, both pig tails to the tanks and both tanks since I didn’t know which one was contaminated. No problems since the initial problem. I did a lot of research and the internet thinking was contamination in the propane, over filling the tanks and laying tanks on side during transportation. In bad cases the oil would flood the flame in the furnace but I don’t recall any reports of bad valves from it. The guy at the rv store in Quartzite AZ told me oil in propane is a common problem. If you have oil then there is a propane problem. Take your pig tails to the tanks off and hang them up and see if they drip oil.
    2020 Reflection 337RLS
    2020 F350 Dually

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Texas Fulltimers
    Posts
    2,551
    Mentioned
    32 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Contamination has never happened to us (yet?) but we did have a main regulator go bad (leaking internally) I found it by using my propane sniffer.
    I have read a few stores from others that had the oil contamination problem. In some cases I read the owners took the lines apart from the regulators and other appliances and blew them out using air pressure to get rid of a lot of the oil. Reconnected all the lines then checked for leaks. In one case when the owner reported back it fixed their problem and I believe in their case they started having problems with their water heater on propane.

    I confess I don't know much about the propane industry and how oil gets into propane tanks in the first place. Is it a natural phenomena or is the oil a part of the process when added to the propane to make it smell so humans can detect it?
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  7. #7
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Wherever...
    Posts
    9,016
    Mentioned
    187 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Steven@147 View Post
    ...Is it a natural phenomena or is the oil a part of the process when added to the propane to make it smell so humans can detect it?
    No. A chemical odorant is added to propane to make it smell - and that odorant, as you know, smells much worse than oil.

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  8. #8
    Fireside Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Sierra Vsta, AZ
    Posts
    42
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Contamination or Butane

    Quote Originally Posted by wsterling View Post
    Yes, there was a small amount of brown fluid at the water heater. The regulator had clear fluid at the output that bubbled off, I think that would be propane but was surprised it was still liquid at that point. It smelled a little closer to gasoline than propane though.
    It could be contamination. However, in my 10-years with a propane company, we never had a contamination issue. I did hear of issues with a few companies cutting their propane with butane during the summer months.

    Brown liquid could be oil or ethyl mercaptan (the stuff added to make it smell like rotten eggs). I'd suspect either of these only if your cylinders were filled from a tank that was almost empty. Hard to determine that at this point.

    The clear liquid that bubbled off was propane converting to vapor and dissipating. As stated before, it's odd that you would have liquid at this point. It should have been vapor in the line. It's been 15-years since I was in the LP business, so there may be a reason for a few liquid drops...I just don't recall that.
    2019 GD Imagine 2600RB
    Maxxis M8008 ST Radial 225/75R-15 E 10-ply tires
    MoRryde CRE2-35 CRE3000 w/ wet bolt kit & X-Factor cross-member
    Furrion Observation camera with 5-inch monitor
    Equalizer WDH 1,000/10,000

    2018 Toyota Tundra SR5 Extended Cab
    Michelin Defender LTX E-rated tires
    RoadMaster Active Suspension (in lieu of TRD sway bar and airbags)
    BakFLip MX4 hard-folding tonneau cover
    Putco Blade LED Tailgate Light Bar
    Westin stainless R7 running boards

    Southern Arizona - We're close to Tombstone and can see Mexico (Mt. San Jose) from our backyard.
    US Army, Retired

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.