New RECALL - propane regulator

[BobinICT]

Thank you for posts 109 and 110. I'll be calling GD today to see what my options are now and see about getting a refund on the Mr Heater regulator. So much for my idea trying to get in front of the supply issues.

[DeadeyeDick64]

Hello, I just purchased a 2021 247bh and the 2 stage Regulator ( at the twin tanks) always showed RED never GREEN—and the Appliances would light and start. I just replaced with a new Flame King Regulator (which seems to get very high ratings) and it also only RED for left, right, or both tank settings. Anybody have an idea where I should look next? Thanks

[Dadeo6472]

Hello, I just purchased a 2021 247bh and the 2 stage Regulator ( at the twin tanks) always showed RED never GREEN—and the Appliances would light and start. I just replaced with a new Flame King Regulator (which seems to get very high ratings) and it also only RED for left, right, or both tank settings. Anybody have an idea where I should look next? Thanks

If both tanks are full and pressure is OK (and you really won't know unless you have a gauge) then you've probably just got a defective indicator. But you don't know for sure unless you measure the pressure. You want to look back a few posts to see how.

I've gotta rant:
Hasn't it been nearly two years since the first Chinese made propane regulators were recalled? Why is it (at this point) that we still buying these Chinese made junk parts for our RVs? Especially these critical parts? Don't we care about over pressuring our grills, water heaters, furnaces and stoves? When are RV manufacturers, distributors and yes, even us dumb buyers going to stop buying Chinese junk? My camper now has an Italian-made regulator, but too much of the rest of the thing is still Chinese made crap. In the three years I've owned my current trailer I have had to replace the following Chinese made junk: the lockset on the door, the thermostat on the water heater, the hot water heater control board, the electric jack, and on and on and on.

I try to avoid China made stuff. I went to some length 10 years ago to avoid Chinese made parts and materials when I built our home. It wasn't that hard. Yes, I paid more and I am glad I did. I avoided having to deal with ripping out faulty gypsum wallboard, faulty GFI plugs... etc.

China is not Japan. 70+ years ago we started to buy stuff from Japan. We did so because the Japanese made good products inexpensively. Why? Because after WW2 Japan hired W. Edward Deming and built an economy based on quality. The Chinese have not. They don't care about quality. They never have and never will.

[McDugals]

It still amazes me that they can manufacture, package, ship overseas thousands of miles, send to a warehouse or distributor, to the store, and then sell to us, all for less than we can make it down the street and sell over the counter. I blame greed. Our own fellow American business people order it from China to sell to us. Just easier I guess. A lot of regulations and taxes here in the good ole USA.

[huntindog]

If both tanks are full and pressure is OK (and you really won't know unless you have a gauge) then you've probably just got a defective indicator. But you don't know for sure unless you measure the pressure. You want to look back a few posts to see how.

I've gotta rant:
Hasn't it been nearly two years since the first Chinese made propane regulators were recalled? Why is it (at this point) that we still buying these Chinese made junk parts for our RVs? Especially these critical parts? Don't we care about over pressuring our grills, water heaters, furnaces and stoves? When are RV manufacturers, distributors and yes, even us dumb buyers going to stop buying Chinese junk? My camper now has an Italian-made regulator, but too much of the rest of the thing is still Chinese made crap. In the three years I've owned my current trailer I have had to replace the following Chinese made junk: the lockset on the door, the thermostat on the water heater, the hot water heater control board, the electric jack, and on and on and on.

I try to avoid China made stuff. I went to some length 10 years ago to avoid Chinese made parts and materials when I built our home. It wasn't that hard. Yes, I paid more and I am glad I did. I avoided having to deal with ripping out faulty gypsum wallboard, faulty GFI plugs... etc.

China is not Japan. 70+ years ago we started to buy stuff from Japan. We did so because the Japanese made good products inexpensively. Why? Because after WW2 Japan hired W. Edward Deming and built an economy based on quality. The Chinese have not. They don't care about quality. They never have and never will.

I can rememerbeing 6 or 7 years old. My dad gave me some money and instructed me to go to the corner market and buy some Christmas light bulbs.... And I remember this like it was yesterday, "don't buy any of that japanese ****"
I had no idea of japanese or why I was given those instructions.... But repeated it verbatim to the man at the store, and he did not seem taken aback at all...I brought home USA made bulbs and dad was happy.
Now was his attitude because the Japan stuff was really bad, or hostility over Pearl Harbor? I do not know. He was of age and tried to enlist when it happened, and I know some of his friends went and didn't come back...

[BobinICT]

It still amazes me that they can manufacture, package, ship overseas thousands of miles, send to a warehouse or distributor, to the store, and then sell to us, all for less than we can make it down the street and sell over the counter. I blame greed. Our own fellow American business people order it from China to sell to us. Just easier I guess. A lot of regulations and taxes here in the good ole USA.

It's not so much as the greed, American workers at say 8 bucks a day in a factory? Not happening. Thus the reason for the overseas manufacturing.

[Dadeo6472]

I can rememerbeing 6 or 7 years old. My dad gave me some money and instructed me to go to the corner market and buy some Christmas light bulbs.... And I remember this like it was yesterday, "don't buy any of that japense ****"
I had no idea of japanese or why I was given those instructions.... But repeated it verbatim to the man at the store, and he did not seem taken aback at all...I brought home USA made bulbs and dad was happy.
Now was his attitude because the Japan stuff was really bad, or hostility over Pearl Harbor? I do not know. He was of age and tried to enlist when it happened, and I know some of his friends went and didn't come back...

It was a little of both. Most WW2 vets (like my Dad) didn't want to buy Japanese. But more importantly, for about a decade after WW2 Japan exported a lot of junk. Meanwhile, at the recommendation of the US Army, W.E. Deming was hired as a consultant for Japanese industry. Canon and Toyota were maybe the most widely known customers. Anyway, by 1965 Japanese products were competing with the best quality European and US manufacturers. By 1975 Japanese autos (esp Toyota and Honda) were among the highest quality in the world.

I was a risk management and quality control manager for 35 years, and a bit of a historian on the subject.

[Dadeo6472]

It's not so much as the greed, American workers at say 8 bucks a day in a factory? Not happening. Thus the reason for the overseas manufacturing.

And the Chinese are now discovering that the wage gap goes away, (as it did in Japan) when they are undercut on price by other poorer nations... The Japanese ran into this 20 years ago as mass product manufacturing transitioned to China to take advantage of that gap. But the Chinese could never duplicate the high quality of Japan, so the Japanese still make the best of the best... and the Chinese are going to lose the price advantage to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and even India. The Chinese are headed for trouble.... much more trouble than Japan was in their "Lost Decade" transition.

[mbergthold]

I was notified by Grand Design that they wouldn't reimburse me for the Mr Heater F273766 because "it is not an acceptable brand for this recall." They offered to send me a new regulator, so I'm taking them up on that. I've asked them why it's not acceptable, perhaps because it's a higher quality than what they will reimburse for? If there's an issue with it, I'd like to know before I install it. Upgrading to "real" 30# propane bottles at the same time. 20#ers are a joke IMO.

UPDATE - GD reimbursed me for the Mr Heater (different model than recalled), but recently I was notified that this model had also been recalled. For once, procrastinating paid off - we only used the trailer twice last year, and I hadn't changed the regulator yet. GD sent me an approved regulator, I'll be installing and testing it before our first trip this year

[chillybob]

I had my regulator changed under warranty at the Grand Design get together about 4 years ago. Is this also a recall of the warranty regulators? I recently changed the two bottle hoses and the red regulator on the right side because of a leak.