Possible propane issue?

[camping-mama]

Good day everyone,
We have a 2021 20BD. We went down to see "her" the other day and decided to run the on board onan generator and furnace. We turned the propane on, ignited the burner on the stove, the generator took quite a bit to start, but it did start. The furnace also fired and ran and warmed us up. After 10 mins the generator shut down and would not fire back up. The furance ran for a little longer. We tried a couple more time to start the generator and it would not start up. We went down again this morning, the stove would not ignite and neither would the generator.
When we parked it back in October we had filled both propane tanks. We did check to make sure that the propane tanks were open. Latest temperatures in our neck of the woods of Alberta has been above zero for the last few days and is expected to last for quite a few more...
Does anyone have any troubleshooting tips while we wait for the snow to melt enough to get her out of storage and into the dealer.
Thank you in advance.

[OldWEB]

Does the generator run on propane?

What is the voltage of the battery bank?

Was the converter charging the battery when the generator was running?

You say the gen. would not start, did it turn over at a good speed?


Is there propane in the tanks? Can you hear/smell the propane at the stove?


Possible the regulator has moisture in it that froze??? Try warming it with a Hot Pocket, not what you eat, but the hand warmer.

[fagnaml]

Camping-mama --

Can you clarify your 'zero' temperature comment -- Fahrenheit or Celsius? Reason for asking is the ambient temperature "sets" the propane vapor pressure from your propane tank. At 0 F, the vapor pressure is ~35 psi which should be very adequate for your propane stove and furnace which need 11-12" water column (~0.5 psi) of propane pressure to operate.

Based the description of your troubles, a potential problem is the pressure regulator for your propane tank is sticking closed. A couple of gentle whacks with a hammer on the regulator may free it up. Replacing the regulator is a relatively inexpensive, simple DIY job.

Presume you have a propane regulator for two tanks that looks something like this one (?) --> https://www.etrailer.com/Propane/Camco/CAM59005.html

Also, if your propane tanks are less than ~30% full, in cold weather there may not be enough propane to maintain an adequate supply pressure as the propane vaporizes coming out of the tank. For cold weather use, it's best to keep propane tanks at least 50% full. This is a good article on propane tanks / propane use in cold weather --> https://upgradedhome.com/can-propane-freeze/

Let the forum know what you learn about your propane system.

[camping-mama]

Sorry for my lack of clear info. Our temperatures here are 6 - 10 degrees celcius.
We do not smell or hear propane at the stove. The attached/link regulator is exactly what we have.
Both propane tanks filled in October before being put in storage - we think they are still full - on that note is there anyway or a device to tell how much propane is in the tanks?
Battery showing 11.6 volts (2 x 12 volt AGMs) on the zamp controller.
Big thanks to those that have responded...

[wolfe10]

11.6 VDC is a dead battery bank. You need to get them charged up or they will die.



Do you have an electric solenoid valve on the propane. If so, it may not operate on that low a voltage.


Another option would be that the tank valve needs to be closed and opened VERY SLOWLY to prevent the excess flow valve from limiting propane flow.

[JohnLoves2Sk]

Chances are yoru propane tanks are empty.
Do you have a propane BBQ at home? Take a spare tank with you, (have it topped off to ensure it's full) and swap it. Might take a while to get gas through the lines and to the stove. If you can get the stove to light, then start the Gen to get batteries charging, then the furnace last.

How to tell if a tank is full:
- If you tap on the side of the tanks gently with a wrench, an empty tank tends to 'ring', a full tank is closer to a 'thud'.
- Weigh them. Empty weight is stamped on the tank somewhere; "TW" or 'Tare Weight' is the empty weight. Propane weighs 4.24 lbs per gallon.
- Have them filled. Just take them to the nearest propane shop and have them topped off.

Good Luck.

[Old-Biscuit]

Both propane cylinders filled prior to storage in Oct so not empty

Stove/furnace/gen ran then quit

Battery voltage 11.6V----about 35% state of charge
*Affects gen and furnace

Stove.....lack of propane flow
Regulator frozen up or EXcess Flow Device in Green Nut tripped
*Frozen...place rag around reg
*Excess Flow Tripped......close Cylinder Valves and the SLOWLY open (should hear 2 clicks...1st when excess moves then 2nd when it returns to normal position)

[camping-mama]

Thank you everyone - we are going to check this weekend and take a couple new batteries and do all the propane/regulator checks and see what happens.
Is it possible for this thread to be moved to Outdoors RV forum - I apologize that I got a little click happy and have this in the wrong forum....