Where is all the propane going??

**UnMayor** · 01-06-2022, 05:08 PM

I'm working on my new member post, but I wanted to ask this before I forget again.

So we took delivery of our camper last June, and it has been kept at my parents' house hooked up when we're not using it. Periodically I will take one of our kids over for a campout, and that has been done about 4 times. In that time I have used the gas heat twice, as it has only recently been cold enough to warrant turning it on. During the middle of the night on our last campout I woke up cold, and discovered the gas heat had quit working, though the fan was running. The next morning I discovered why: both 30lb tanks were empty.
About one month ago I had to fill one of the tanks, which I didn't quite understand why it was down but just chalked it up to possibly not being full from the dealer. I'm still not sure why so much propane has been used unless I am grossly underestimating the usage of the gas heat.
When we were camping, only electric heat was used inside and for the water heater. While it's been at my parents, only the electric heat has been set to maintain interior temps when not in use.
I'm going to check for leaks this weekend, but I wanted to get some thoughts on it.
One thing I am curious about is the underbelly heat. Is that controlled by a separate thermostat and is that gas heat? Because if that kicks on when it gets cold enough, that might be what I am missing.
Thanks!

**SMXChris** · 01-06-2022, 05:22 PM

What do you use for electric heat?

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**Hoopy Frood** · 01-06-2022, 05:24 PM

Do you know if both tanks were full? When you had the one tank filled, did you check to make sure it was full, i.e. weigh it? What kind of electric heat are you using? Are you sure the furnace hasn't been running when no one was aware of it, perhaps the thermostat was set so that it only came on at night when it was cold enough. Two days of running the furnace shouldn't have emptied a 30# tank, unless it was running constantly.

The tank heaters are electric, on a separate switch, and thermostatically controlled. Regular underbelly heat is by the furnace, and usually just has a vent hose coming off the plenum of the furnace.

**UnMayor** · 01-06-2022, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by SMXChris

What do you use for electric heat?

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The middle ac unit in ours has a gas or electric heat option, and I had been leaving it on electric.

Originally Posted by Hoopy Frood

Do you know if both tanks were full? When you had the one tank filled, did you check to make sure it was full, i.e. weigh it? What kind of electric heat are you using? Are you sure the furnace hasn't been running when no one was aware of it, perhaps the thermostat was set so that it only came on at night when it was cold enough. Two days of running the furnace shouldn't have emptied a 30# tank, unless it was running constantly.

The tank heaters are electric, on a separate switch, and thermostatically controlled. Regular underbelly heat is by the furnace, and usually just has a vent hose coming off the plenum of the furnace.

Initially from when I picked it up, I do not know if they both were full. The one I had filled the first time certainly felt full to me, but I did not weigh it. One thing I did notice the first time I camped with one of our kids is the next morning when we went to leave, I turned the electric heat down low and once it kicked off, I could hear a fan running. I now know that what I was hearing was the fan for the furnace. That's when I had wondered about the underbelly heat, either circulating the warm air in the camper, or kicking the furnace on to keep it at a certain temperature.

I'll be over there tomorrow and will check the tanks and see if they feel any different. It's been cold here so we shall see....

**UnMayor** · 01-06-2022, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by Hoopy Frood

Regular underbelly heat is by the furnace, and usually just has a vent hose coming off the plenum of the furnace.

I just re-read your comment, are you meaning the underbelly is heated by the furnace? That makes the most sense as the there are no ducts from the ceiling to the floor, I just didn't know if air was circulated from the interior to the underbelly.

**goducks14** · 01-06-2022, 06:21 PM

I would fill both tanks to start with then go from there. It's easy to get turned around by thinking one or the other was full/empty, etc. BTDT. Ran out of propane one time right at dinner time when trying to start the RV's stove. Luckily there was a gas station a couple miles up the road that sold propane. I swore that I had one full and one partially full tank when we left on the trip. Guess not.

**Hoopy Frood** · 01-06-2022, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by UnMayor

I just re-read your comment, are you meaning the underbelly is heated by the furnace? That makes the most sense as the there are no ducts from the ceiling to the floor, I just didn't know if air was circulated from the interior to the underbelly.

Yes, the furnace heats the underbelly, just a small vent hose, 2 inch maybe.

**Hoopy Frood** · 01-06-2022, 06:34 PM

It might be that the thermostat for the middle AC also keeps the furnace on too. I dunno, that's unknown territory for me.

**llr2800** · 01-06-2022, 07:22 PM

Probably a leak. My prior trailer had the same issues. Took it to the dealer and they couldn't find it. I bought a leak detector and it was the tank connection hose fittings.

I replaced both the hoses and it lasted less than a year. Then I replaced with longer hoses to reduce the stress on the fittings, when I sold it about 2 years later it was still good.

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**UnMayor** · 01-06-2022, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by goducks14

I would fill both tanks to start with then go from there. It's easy to get turned around by thinking one or the other was full/empty, etc. BTDT. Ran out of propane one time right at dinner time when trying to start the RV's stove. Luckily there was a gas station a couple miles up the road that sold propane. I swore that I had one full and one partially full tank when we left on the trip. Guess not.

I just filled them both Monday, so now I know I'm starting off on level ground. Plus with the price of propane, this is not something I want to make a routine of if I'm not even staying in the camper!

Originally Posted by Hoopy Frood

It might be that the thermostat for the middle AC also keeps the furnace on too. I dunno, that's unknown territory for me.

So could it stand to reason that whatever I have the thermostat set on, it could be trying to keep the underbelly the same temp?

Originally Posted by llr2800

Probably a leak. My prior trailer had the same issues. Took it to the dealer and they couldn't find it. I bought a leak detector and it was the tank connection hose fittings.

I replaced both the hoses and it lasted less than a year. Then I replaced with longer hoses to reduce the stress on the fittings, when I sold it about 2 years later it was still good.

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I'm going to check what fittings I can this weekend. The hoses at the bottles have plenty of slack, but that's not to say somewhere snaked through the structure there's tension causing an issue....
I will also try turning the thermostat down lower and seeing if that makes a difference if the furnace is running and I'm not realizing it.