Community Forums

Tom N · 12-17-2008, 11:19 AM

Crystal River is an hour north of Tampa on the Gulf coast.

I think I heard the cause was electrical. We'll be at the campground owners home for a Christmas party and I'll ask him if he knows what the cause was.

-Tom

Ray,IN · 12-17-2008, 03:21 PM

Dave, this thread is about a 5er fire.

RV Wizard · 12-17-2008, 11:21 PM

I am not an expert but by the photos it look like to me that it was an LP generated fire and some of the worse damage appears to be where the LP bottle are and used to be.

Ray,IN · 12-18-2008, 11:18 AM

You bring to light a very important subject Mike. LP connections, and flexible lines in RV's are much more prone to leakage than a stationary installation. Annual leak detection should be part of normal preventative maintenance.

diandtom · 12-18-2008, 04:52 PM

I would think that when the rubber propane gas lines burned, you would have a very hot fire at the tanks.
Tom

TXiceman · 12-19-2008, 02:49 AM

If the propane lines burned through, the excess flow valves on the tanks should have shut down the propane.

Ken

HeatAir · 12-19-2008, 03:07 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TXiceman:
If the propane lines burned through, the excess flow valves on the tanks should have shut down the propane.

Ken </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Magic words, should have.

The excess flow valves are subject to (as opposed to prone to) failure. Anything mechanical can fail.

Chances are slim that they did fail though.

.

diandtom · 12-19-2008, 01:51 PM

I would think that any safety control would have melted. If the gas did not bleed off in that fire there would be a big explosion

Tom N · 12-21-2008, 03:59 PM

This evening I spoke to the campground owner at his annual Christmas open house. I asked him what was the cause of the fire.

He told me the cause was electrical and the inverter was replaced the day before the fire. The fire burned the hoses off the propane tanks and the escaping propane fueled the fire. The fire dept. is only 1000 yards away. When they arrived the 5th wheel was completely engulfed in flames. They concentrated their efforts on making certain the fire did not spread to the adjacent grasslands. This area has been in an almost constant red fire danger level for the last few years.

-Tom

Ray,IN · 12-22-2008, 03:18 PM

Thank you for the update.

GraciesMom · 12-23-2008, 11:06 AM

An electrical fire? So nothing short of digging into your walls and checking all the wires can prevent something like this? Makes me feel like I'm sitting in a ticking time bomb. Gosh those two fires were HORRIBLE!! Now I'm thinking twice about boosting my solar power, getting an inverter for the bedroom TV and all the other stuff I was planning to do in Quartzite. I already turn everything off - including the propane tank when I go out. I shut the batteries down, turn off the propane, the refrigerator, the water pump, etc. Not sure what else to do for safety's sake.

TXiceman · 12-23-2008, 11:42 AM

Gracie's Mom,

What you can do is to check your electrical and make sure you do not have any wires rubbing where visible, and not chaffing at a point of entry to a wall. Also make sure all of your electrical connections are tight and secure.

If you feel a plug getting warmer than normal. stop using it until you can get it checked. If a plug shows any signs of smoke or heat, do not use it.

Check your voltage when you park. 108 volts is the lowest usable power when you have appliances running. At lower voltages, all appliances except resistance heaters will pull more amps to make the appliance run.

Say you have an appliance that pulls 13 amps at 120 volts and producses 1560 watts of energy or power. Run that same motor on 108 volts and produce 1560 watts, it will now draw 14.4 amps. When you draw more power through the wires, it is more resistance and more heat is produced in the wire and the motor.

So just check evrything and make sure frayed or loose wires are not used until they are fixed.

With the coach disconnected from the power and the generator off, you can tighten connections with little concern. Capacitors hold a charge and have to be bleed off before you mess with them.

Get an inexpensive Volt-Ohm meter (V-O-M) and learn to use it. Most have instructions and can be easily used on the systems you will have in an RV.

Stay warm and safe. Have a Merry Christams.

ken

lawdude · 12-24-2008, 06:34 AM

I have found that the best thing to do is go into a totally irrational panic mode. Remember, when in trouble or in doubt, run and holler, scream and shout!

I would be willing to bet that the incindence of RV electrical (or Propane) fires in no greater than that of stick/brick.

I do wish RV manufacturers would provide an EASY egress point from the bed area other than a window which I, as a semi-handicapped person, would likely do great harm to myself. The fall to the ground will almost certainly break a hip/leg/arm/etc!

I suspect more RVers are injured/killed walking from the RV to the pay point at the gas station.

GraciesMom · 12-25-2008, 06:33 AM

LMAO, LawDude! What's that saying? You can go out hiking and fall off a cliff or you can sit on your sofa, get fat and die of a heart attack? LOL! We're all gonna go . . . may as well go out having fun. But I want to protect my sweet little doggies so I will have my wiring - and propane lines - checked on a regular basis . . . .