propane fill

[harvrk]

went to fill our propane tank this morn . couldnt get it to fill . would not take propane. any possibilities? any help you can give . the panel says half full.

[wildtoad]

Most tanks have a guage on the tank itself. What does it show.

[harvrk]

really not sure how to read it . allways use panel

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvrk went to fill our propane tank this morn . couldnt get it to fill . would not take propane. any possibilities? any help you can give . the panel says half full.

When that happened to me it turned out that the tank was full, the gauge was broken.

[coachmanrvr]

Same thing happened on our new coach. Tried to fill it and no go. Turned out to be the gauge / transmitter on the tank. Easy fix.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifftall When that happened to me it turned out that the tank was full, the gauge was broken.

[KIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvrk went to fill our propane tank this morn . couldnt get it to fill . would not take propane. any possibilities? any help you can give . the panel says half full.

To fill an ASME (permanently mounted) propane tank a couple of things have to happen:
1. The pump pressure has to be greater than the pressure inside the tank
2. The OPD (Overfill Protection Device) has to open to allow the KP to flow into the tank.

The OPD is constructed similar the floating ball in the water tank of a WC....as the liquid level rises a valve is shut off.......that's what prevents WC water from overflowing onto the floor and what also prevents a propane tank from being over filled. Should the liquid level inside the tank cause the OPD to close like, maybe, having the tank off level during filling LP will not flow into the tank.
As far as your panel gauge reporting is concerned the panel is notoriously inaccurate.
There is a round gauge on the tank with a single wire attached to it. The plastic the wire attaches to is the gauge. Look at the visible white gauge face that will have black markings indicating liquid level and the red pointer that you can see the tip of. Approx. 3/4 on the gauge is full.
Hope this helps you understand what may be happening.

[stik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIX To fill an ASME (permanently mounted) propane tank a couple of things have to happen: 1. The pump pressure has to be greater than the pressure inside the tank 2. The OPD (Overfill Protection Device) has to open to allow the KP to flow into the tank. The OPD is constructed similar the floating ball in the water tank of a WC....as the liquid level rises a valve is shut off.......that's what prevents WC water from overflowing onto the floor and what also prevents a propane tank from being over filled. Should the liquid level inside the tank cause the OPD to close like, maybe, having the tank off level during filling LP will not flow into the tank. As far as your panel gauge reporting is concerned the panel is notoriously inaccurate. There is a round gauge on the tank with a single wire attached to it. The plastic the wire attaches to is the gauge. Look at the visible white gauge face that will have black markings indicating liquid level and the red pointer that you can see the tip of. Approx. 3/4 on the gauge is full. Hope this helps you understand what may be happening.

Good stuff, but what does KP and WC stand for?? You explained the OPD but not the other two. Been full-timing since 2005, always fun to see someone use acronyms and/or abbreviations that they thing EVERYONE know about, like the Newmar folks, DP (diesel pusher) would be enough, but putting the DS (DutchStar) in front is kinda "look at me" IMHO (In My Humble Opinion).

Just a thought, in my humble opinion, jeez, that weren't too hard

[KIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stik Good stuff, but what does KP and WC stand for?? You explained the OPD but not the other two. Been full-timing since 2005, always fun to see someone use acronyms and/or abbreviations that they thing EVERYONE know about, like the Newmar folks, DP (diesel pusher) would be enough, but putting the DS (DutchStar) in front is kinda "look at me" IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). Just a thought, in my humble opinion, jeez, that weren't too hard

KP is my typo........I meant LP as in Liquefied Petroleum or more commonly known as Propane.
WC is a standard abbreviation for water closet or also known as toilet

[wa8yxm]

Two thoughts.. When it happened to me the tank was near empty (in fact I had to hook up the "External" Tank before that trip ended)

The problem was when the "Pump jockey" pulled the hose out of the cabinet he snagged a cable.. The EMERGENCY SHUT OFF and closed the valve.. So it was not my tank, it was his pump..

And as others have said, The panel is .. Not always accurate.. now normally i'd tell you that fuel guages are the least reliable guages made. however the one that is actually ON THE TANK.. Tends to be accurate.. Where does the needle point, Just over 3/4.. that's full. (IF you can tell the difference between 3/4 and full your eyes are better than mine, 3/4 is 75%,,, Full is 80%)

[DancinCampers]

I would check and make sure the flat o-ring is in the fill valve. They sometimes will pop out when fill hose is removed. Without the tank can't be filled.

[John Hilley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIX To fill an ASME (permanently mounted) propane tank a couple of things have to happen: 1. The pump pressure has to be greater than the pressure inside the tank 2. The OPD (Overfill Protection Device) has to open to allow the KP to flow into the tank. The OPD is constructed similar the floating ball in the water tank of a WC....as the liquid level rises a valve is shut off.......that's what prevents WC water from overflowing onto the floor and what also prevents a propane tank from being over filled. Should the liquid level inside the tank cause the OPD to close like, maybe, having the tank off level during filling LP will not flow into the tank. As far as your panel gauge reporting is concerned the panel is notoriously inaccurate. There is a round gauge on the tank with a single wire attached to it. The plastic the wire attaches to is the gauge. Look at the visible white gauge face that will have black markings indicating liquid level and the red pointer that you can see the tip of. Approx. 3/4 on the gauge is full. Hope this helps you understand what may be happening.

I don't think motor home propane tanks have an OPD, only a check valve and vent valve. It is filled until liquid comes out the vent valve.

[navychaps]

Had a similar problem with my Class C. There is a "ball" in the fill neck that was sticking. Most RV fill places were able to overcome the problem by moving around and disconnecting/reconnecting the fill hose. Hopefully you can go somewhere else that has had the problem before, sure would hate to hear that you had to have the tank dismounted and repaired.

[ottffss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIX ...WC is a standard abbreviation for water closet or also known as toilet

FWIW In the propane world, like this thread is, WC means Water Column the standard measure of pressure for regulated pressure LP.

WC, in the context used, was clear to be Water Closet though.

[ottffss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Hilley I don't think motor home propane tanks have an OPD, only a check valve and vent valve. It is filled until liquid comes out the vent valve.

If you have a triangular valve knob you HAVE an OPD. A round knob does NOT have an OPD.

By fed law any non-attached and DOT 4lb to 40lb LP tank MUST have an OPD after some date back in the 90's if I recall. I think you'll find most newer RV tanks also have them (RVIA requirement??? not a fed requirement due to horizontal tank mounting???) regardless of size as an additional safety device both on fill and on discharge.

The OPD works as a safety valve in BOTH flow directions. The OPD is set to about 80% of total tank capacity thus allowing for safe thermal expansion of the gas in the tank. The OPD (Overfill Protection Device) is a float inside the tank the shuts off the fill port after it trips at 80%.

Some fillers today will open the bleed valve - completely unnecessary today (OPD equipped tanks) unless the tank was nearly totally emptied - where you will see vapor emerge. This gives the appearance of the pre-OPD days where that is how tanks were frequently filled when a lazy gas jockey didn't want bother to use the proper method of weight. Now the lazy gas jockey only needs to fill until the OPD shuts off the flow.

OPD valve