New Propane Leak Or Eliminate Propane System

[Steven@147]

Just the other day I had to replace the single stage regulator because of a leak. Using my propane sniffer and checking the system I found the dual stage Fairview regulator is leaking slightly from the top of the selector valve. any propane leak no matter how small needs to be fixed. I just replaced it a little over a year ago for the same reason, leak from the top of the selector valve. This got me to researching propane regulators Fairview, Marshall Excelsior, Camco, Flame King, Cavagna. At least these are the brands most often recommended on RV web sites. But then again these web site seem to regurgitate all the same information, maybe from a single source. Researching further from owner reviews off like Amazon they all seem to suffer from the same complaint, new ones leak, don't work or don't have a very long life span. Doesn't matter where they are made, China, Italy, Mexico where ever. So what's the answer?

Friends of ours Stacy and Tom just got their new Newmar without propane. They installed a comprehensive 48V battery system and solar panels that cover the entire roof. The batteries are huge and take up a lot of storage space, but they don't need hookups or propane. Very expensive but they can boondock a very long time without hooking up. Now we don't boondock that much to use a system like that. I think @ Second Chance removed their propane cook top, Rob you going propane less?

Applause to you and others that are going their own way. Maybe I'll look into it. We do have electric frying pans, burners and convection ovens and could use electric heaters in the winter. At this point as long as we have look ups don't need propane. Never really used the fridge on propane.
I read where manufacturers are producing units without propane systems going complete electric. Maybe that's the answer, eliminate propane and the need to constantly replace components. And maybe these electrical systems have their problems too, I don't know. Tom's complete 48V system and solar sounds complicated to me. Well I don't know the answer but it just irks me that I have to replace the dual stage regulator again.

[Hoopy Frood]

Buying a new regulator every year or two is still magnitudes cheaper, and takes up less space, than the electrical setup to replace all the propane powered devices, unless you never are off shore power. But even then propane is faster to heat water, and faster to heat the trailer, and besides, electric won't run my smoker and Blackstone.

[fmartinmn]

Just the other day I had to replace the single stage regulator because of a leak. Using my propane sniffer and checking the system I found the dual stage Fairview regulator is leaking slightly from the top of the selector valve. any propane leak no matter how small needs to be fixed. I just replaced it a little over a year ago for the same reason, leak from the top of the selector valve. This got me to researching propane regulators Fairview, Marshall Excelsior, Camco, Flame King, Cavagna. At least these are the brands most often recommended on RV web sites. But then again these web site seem to regurgitate all the same information, maybe from a single source. Researching further from owner reviews off like Amazon they all seem to suffer from the same complaint, new ones leak, don't work or don't have a very long life span. Doesn't matter where they are made, China, Italy, Mexico where ever. So what's the answer?

Friends of ours Stacy and Tom just got their new Newmar without propane. They installed a comprehensive 48V battery system and solar panels that cover the entire roof. The batteries are huge and take up a lot of storage space, but they don't need hookups or propane. Very expensive but they can boondock a very long time without hooking up. Now we don't boondock that much to use a system like that. I think @ Second Chance removed their propane cook top, Rob you going propane less?

Applause to you and others that are going their own way. Maybe I'll look into it. We do have electric frying pans, burners and convection ovens and could use electric heaters in the winter. At this point as long as we have look ups don't need propane. Never really used the fridge on propane.
I read where manufacturers are producing units without propane systems going complete electric. Maybe that's the answer, eliminate propane and the need to constantly replace components. And maybe these electrical systems have their problems too, I don't know. Tom's complete 48V system and solar sounds complicated to me. Well I don't know the answer but it just irks me that I have to replace the dual stage regulator again.

Hi Steve. Same rig, same year, same problem. New regulator in the storage bay waiting for me to get to it. I noticed that "all electric class A's" are considered a "premium" over hybrid class A rigs. Maybe, they know something we don't? Let us know if you figure it out.

[SolarPoweredRV]

Just the other day I had to replace the single stage regulator because of a leak. Using my propane sniffer and checking the system I found the dual stage Fairview regulator is leaking slightly from the top of the selector valve. any propane leak no matter how small needs to be fixed. I just replaced it a little over a year ago for the same reason, leak from the top of the selector valve. This got me to researching propane regulators Fairview, Marshall Excelsior, Camco, Flame King, Cavagna. At least these are the brands most often recommended on RV web sites. But then again these web site seem to regurgitate all the same information, maybe from a single source. Researching further from owner reviews off like Amazon they all seem to suffer from the same complaint, new ones leak, don't work or don't have a very long life span. Doesn't matter where they are made, China, Italy, Mexico where ever. So what's the answer?

Friends of ours Stacy and Tom just got their new Newmar without propane. They installed a comprehensive 48V battery system and solar panels that cover the entire roof. The batteries are huge and take up a lot of storage space, but they don't need hookups or propane. Very expensive but they can boondock a very long time without hooking up. Now we don't boondock that much to use a system like that. I think @ Second Chance removed their propane cook top, Rob you going propane less?

Applause to you and others that are going their own way. Maybe I'll look into it. We do have electric frying pans, burners and convection ovens and could use electric heaters in the winter. At this point as long as we have look ups don't need propane. Never really used the fridge on propane.
I read where manufacturers are producing units without propane systems going complete electric. Maybe that's the answer, eliminate propane and the need to constantly replace components. And maybe these electrical systems have their problems too, I don't know. Tom's complete 48V system and solar sounds complicated to me. Well I don't know the answer but it just irks me that I have to replace the dual stage regulator again.

While it is possible to replace or convert your fridge to a 12v compressor fridge or even a residential unit, none of us have enough money or battery storage space to replace the Propane furnace. Our furnace puts out 35,000 btus worth of heat and that amount of energy is simply too much energy to conveniently store in our RVs. Yes, you could rely on the heat pump unit, but, the heat pump only produces enough heat when the Temps are above 40 degrees, below that temp the heat pump can't keep up with the thermal losses from the RV itself (they just can't build them that air tight).

I live in Florida and I have camped in the mid 20's inside the State, so, at some point there is a pretty good chance you could get caught in colder weather than you expected.

Additionally, it takes about 100ah per hour to run your A/C or heat pump unit, so buying a large enough battery bank to support a 100 % electric coach will get very pricey real fast.

The only way that the big Class A motorhomes can pull off being 100% electric is by using the on board Diesel generator as a backup to the battery system.

[Steven@147]

The wife and I got to reminiscing and laughing about the first RV we bought way back in the day. It was a 70's Carriage 18 ft single axle. That thing had copper water lines and a metal fresh water holding tank. Didn't even have an electric demand pump, you had to charge the water tank with air to get the water to flow, but had a campground water connection as well as a manual fill tube. Back in the day they had never dreamed of a Nautilus panel!
Had a full kitchen and full bathroom with sink, shower and stool. Had an electric or propane fridge and propane furnace. It was a tank to tow as I remember. In all the years we had that thing I never once greased the wheel bearings, inspected the brakes, replaced the tires or replaced any propane appliance. We sold it to a guy that placed it on a permanent site at a fishing lake. Was out of the RVs for little awhile but then had an Skamper canvas side pop up and then an Apache hard sided popup we nick named the green goose! Boy those were the days, camping!

[Steven@147]

I think I have found why our main 2 stage propane regulator started leaking again after replacement a couple years .
Lets go back a little. Our rig is a 2019. Back in Aug 2020 I replaced our 2 stage regulator (drivers side), it was leaking propane out the top by the selector valve. It is a Fairview regulator.

Just this month I had to replace our single stage regulator (pass side) for the first time because it started leaking propane. I noticed it had an oily residue on the outside of the regulator. After replacing the single stage I used our propane sniffer to check the pig tails of both tanks and also the 2 stage regulator. I found the 2 stage regulator leaking propane again out the top around the selector valve. While replacing the 2 stage yesterday I noticed oil dripping out the bottom output connection, just a few drops. I finished replacing the 2 stage and then used our sniffer and found no propane leaks.

Recap - Our single stage regulator on the passengers side as gone 3 years before leaking. Our dual stage regulator went 2 years after 1st replacement before it started leaking again. My conclusion is that we have oil contamination in our propane system, maybe not a lot but enough. The oil contamination is causing the diaphragms in the regulators to go out and then they start leaking propane. My conclusion is based on reading articles about RV oil contamination in propane systems like this one. https://thecampingnerd.com/what-does...egulator-mean/

I think the main reason for the oil contamination is because several times I've noticed when refilling our propane tanks the tank operators at various places have been filling the tanks until their pump makes a binding noise and only then shut off the pump. They don't fill the tanks by weighing them. So when I have paid for the propane I am paying for 7.3 - 7.5 gallons. 30# propane tanks should hold 7.5 gallons of liquid propane when completely filled.

In other words they are filling the tanks too much. So if completely empty the operators should only be refilling the tanks with @ 7 gallons or there about. From my reading, propane tanks should only be refilled to 80%. This allows enough room in the tank for the liquid gas to turn into a vapor gas before entering into the propane system. Without this space in the tank for vaporization to occur its forcing oil that naturally occurs in propane and settles in the tank, is forced out of the tank and into the propane system.

Am I all wet here people, am I thinking correctly? Is oil contamination causing the regulators to fail prematurely?

[el Rojo]

I think I have found why our main 2 stage propane regulator started leaking again after replacement a couple years .
Lets go back a little. Our rig is a 2019. Back in Aug 2020 I replaced our 2 stage regulator (drivers side), it was leaking propane out the top by the selector valve. It is a Fairview regulator.

Just this month I had to replace our single stage regulator (pass side) for the first time because it started leaking propane. I noticed it had an oily residue on the outside of the regulator. After replacing the single stage I used our propane sniffer to check the pig tails of both tanks and also the 2 stage regulator. I found the 2 stage regulator leaking propane again out the top around the selector valve. While replacing the 2 stage yesterday I noticed oil dripping out the bottom output connection, just a few drops. I finished replacing the 2 stage and then used our sniffer and found no propane leaks.

Recap - Our single stage regulator on the passengers side as gone 3 years before leaking. Our dual stage regulator went 2 years after 1st replacement before it started leaking again. My conclusion is that we have oil contamination in our propane system, maybe not a lot but enough. The oil contamination is causing the diaphragms in the regulators to go out and then they start leaking propane. My conclusion is based on reading articles about RV oil contamination in propane systems like this one. https://thecampingnerd.com/what-does...egulator-mean/

I think the main reason for the oil contamination is because several times I've noticed when refilling our propane tanks the tank operators at various places have been filling the tanks until their pump makes a binding noise and only then shut off the pump. They don't fill the tanks by weighing them. So when I have paid for the propane I am paying for 7.3 - 7.5 gallons. 30# propane tanks should hold 7.5 gallons of liquid propane when completely filled.

In other words they are filling the tanks too much. So if completely empty the operators should only be refilling the tanks with @ 7 gallons or there about. From my reading, propane tanks should only be refilled to 80%. This allows enough room in the tank for the liquid gas to turn into a vapor gas before entering into the propane system. Without this space in the tank for vaporization to occur its forcing oil that naturally occurs in propane and settles in the tank, is forced out of the tank and into the propane system.

Am I all wet here people, am I thinking correctly? Is oil contamination causing the regulators to fail prematurely?

My tanks only hold 7.0 to 7.1 gal when empty.

About your buddy's MH. He most likely has an AquaHot unit to heat the coach and water. These run on diesel and are nice...until time for the annual maintenance, it's expensive. They are also very loud when running.

[Always Learning]

Am I all wet here people, am I thinking correctly? Is oil contamination causing the regulators to fail prematurely?

Since propane regulators are designed for gas and not oil I would think the oil is causing early failure of the regulator but that is only my opinion. Last year I had oil in my propane and it killed the passenger side low pressure regulator. I did a lot of research on oil in propane and did not find a clear cut reason for the oil. Some say over filling tank or too much oil left from processing, heavy ends or other contaminates. I replaced both my 30# propane tanks just to eliminate any possible contamination in the tanks.

Where did you get your Fairview replacment regulator?

[SGT ROC]

I think I have found why our main 2 stage propane regulator started leaking again after replacement a couple years .
Lets go back a little. Our rig is a 2019. Back in Aug 2020 I replaced our 2 stage regulator (drivers side), it was leaking propane out the top by the selector valve. It is a Fairview regulator.

Just this month I had to replace our single stage regulator (pass side) for the first time because it started leaking propane. I noticed it had an oily residue on the outside of the regulator. After replacing the single stage I used our propane sniffer to check the pig tails of both tanks and also the 2 stage regulator. I found the 2 stage regulator leaking propane again out the top around the selector valve. While replacing the 2 stage yesterday I noticed oil dripping out the bottom output connection, just a few drops. I finished replacing the 2 stage and then used our sniffer and found no propane leaks.

Recap - Our single stage regulator on the passengers side as gone 3 years before leaking. Our dual stage regulator went 2 years after 1st replacement before it started leaking again. My conclusion is that we have oil contamination in our propane system, maybe not a lot but enough. The oil contamination is causing the diaphragms in the regulators to go out and then they start leaking propane. My conclusion is based on reading articles about RV oil contamination in propane systems like this one. https://thecampingnerd.com/what-does...egulator-mean/

I think the main reason for the oil contamination is because several times I've noticed when refilling our propane tanks the tank operators at various places have been filling the tanks until their pump makes a binding noise and only then shut off the pump. They don't fill the tanks by weighing them. So when I have paid for the propane I am paying for 7.3 - 7.5 gallons. 30# propane tanks should hold 7.5 gallons of liquid propane when completely filled.

In other words they are filling the tanks too much. So if completely empty the operators should only be refilling the tanks with @ 7 gallons or there about. From my reading, propane tanks should only be refilled to 80%. This allows enough room in the tank for the liquid gas to turn into a vapor gas before entering into the propane system. Without this space in the tank for vaporization to occur its forcing oil that naturally occurs in propane and settles in the tank, is forced out of the tank and into the propane system.

Am I all wet here people, am I thinking correctly? Is oil contamination causing the regulators to fail prematurely?

Sounds reasonable. My local fill place weighs the tanks. But.. he has young kids doing the filling most of the time. I have noticed that some do the right thing and reset for the tare weight each time and some do not. So I could be getting slightly more, or slightly less, than I should.

[Steven@147]

I've watched operators at different Tractor Supply, Propane dealers and campgrounds around the country where we have been. Almost all of them reset their gallon counters to zero, then start to fill. I have watched them use a cheat sheet listing tank size = gallons. Once their pump makes a louder noise, they shut it off and always the gallon counter has read between 7.3 - 7.5 gallons. Now once I had an operator reset the counter to 0.5 then started to pump. They said I can only fill it to 80% and then shut the pump off after 7 gallons. Rarely have I seen an operator actually weigh the tank, subtract the base tank weight and then fill. More rarely have I seen an operator loosen the vent screw on the tank to see if air comes out.

I'm not a guru on propane, just what I read and there is a lot of speculation going on here. I was blaming lack of quality on propane regulators going bad too soon, but maybe now I think it's not the total picture. Thinking maybe I'll put a sticker on our tanks saying only fill to 80%, but they probably would ignore it.