propane quality

[bandmbrown]

the propane system on the coach worked perfectly until i got my last fill up.
now having problems lighting all the appliances on the system. so the question is:
is there such a thing as bad propane. like air pumped in w/ the propane, etc.

if so how do you purge the entire tank.

thanks

[wa8yxm]

There are at least two things that I"d call "Bad Propane" depending on where you fill and where you camp.

If you fill in say Arizona, and camp in Wisconson Often in the south they do not actually put Propane in the tank.

They put Butane in the tank.. Burns a bit hotter and costs less so it is a better value.. UNLESS you go north.. Where it gets so cold that Butane remains a liquid and won't vaporize (Propane won't if you get below about -40, butane it is closer to the freezing point of water,, Said this way it covers both Temp scales)

The other is this.. Propane is an oil product.. Sometimes you get some liquid oil mixed with your gas... IN fact most all the time you do.. Eventually the oil builds up in the tank and gets into the regulator and gums up the works.

I got to guess there are some shysters who find other ways to dilute the gas as well.

[genecurp]

I am no expert on propane.

When refilling propane your gas lines in the RV may have gotten air into them. Light a burner on the range top and let it burn a short while to let the gas lines refill. Then turn that off and light something else.

In the furnace literature (I think) it talks about propane with water it it. That might require a purging of your tank. I would go to a propane dealer to have that done by someone who knows what they are doing. You can refill at the same time.

Oh,be sure the valve on the tank is fullly open.

Good luck.
Gene

[Rocky Larson]

I have heard it is best to buy your propane close to where you are going to use it, geographically speaking. The closer to our southern border the higher the possibility that some of your LPG will contain butane. Not a problem until the temps start to approach freezing as butane remains a liquid (it's the gas vapor you burn), below 32 degrees. Was your last fill south and now trying to use it in the north? Try using the appliances in the warmth of midday or gently warm the propane tank. If that works you can use most of what's there and top it off locally. The other thing that can happen, but should correct itself, is opening the valve after a fill too fast, a slow 10 count is better, or it may freeze up preventing gas flow.
Good Luck.

[stuplich]

We got a 20# exchange cylinder from a propane company in Lake Havasu City, AZ last winter.
My Buddy Heater did not like it and kept going out, and it would not work at all with a Mr. Heater filter as was recommended in the Buddy Heater instructions.
I took the tank home and used it up on the BBQ this summer.
The large BBQ grille had no problem with it.
Has anyone sucessfully used a fuel filter on a Buddy Heater?
Mel