No Propane Flow Issue

[SeeTheUSA]

First day on a trip, the View has been in storage for about two months. Our propane is used for the Truma hot water heater, the furnace and the stovetop burners.

We typically only use it for the water heater, but upon try to get some hot water last night discovered it has no propane to it. Confirmed neither does the furnace or the stovetop … those won’t fire up either.

The LP switch in the control panel is on and the emergency shutoff switch outside by the tank fill are is on. The propane tank is full, had it filled just before putting it back into storage last time. I opened the little bleed valve for a bit … got a fog out of it that smells like propane!

Haven’t yet had time to do some troubleshooting and will be traveling today. Was able to confirm with a volt meter that the LP switch is sending voltage when on. Will need to do some more after landing this evening.

Any ideas? Am I missing something obvious? My View has the propane tank mounted inboard of the frame rails so has the solenoid valve on the tank, so not a valve that can be reached by a regular human or operated manually.

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[DavidEM]

Sounds like an electrical problem or a bad solenoid valve. You said you checked for voltage when the two switches were on, but where did you check. You need to confirm that there is 12V at the solenoid valve.

If so then it is almost certainly the solenoid valve which isn't good news. That means you will have to completely empty the tank, replace the valve, purge it of air and refill. This can best be done at a propane supplier's shop.

David

 

[jayelldouble]

My 2016 Navion has the inboard tank as well - and there is a manual valve on the tank that has to be open. Could that have been closed? You have to crawl underneath the RV to access it. It's actually in series with the solenoid valve - both have to be open for propane to flow.

 

[creativepart]

My 2016 Navion has the inboard tank as well - and there is a manual valve on the tank that has to be open.

Since the OP said it was filled recently I'm guessing that the person filling the tank closed the valve. That would be standard operating procedure. But it seems reopening isn't a standard procedure and you have to ask the propane tech to do that or do it yourself.

 

[DavidEM]

I am surprised a propane fillup guy would crawl underneath to close the manual valve beforefilling. Isn't that the purpose of the propane solenoid switch right at the fill point.

But if so that sure is an easy fix. I kick myself for not having considered it in my reply above.

David

 

[SeeTheUSA]

Thanks all for your ideas and suggestions.

Turns out it was simply a poor connection where the wires go into the solenoid. I started my checks at the easiest point, then progressed through to actually having to crawl under my rig. Of course that’s where the problem was!

All good to go now!

 

[09 harley]

Now would be a good time to protect the connections. Big chance that anything under any rig will have issues. Use a spray or heat shrink or electrical tape.

 

[LizandBruce]

Try Cleaning Regulator

I have the same issue every couple years. Found that everything works fine after I clean the pressure regulator attached to the propane tank. I just use a can of compressed air to blow dirt out of the two ports

 

[lefcoasdave]

For anyone else having propane supply issues, I discovered that the propane lines to/from the propane gas regulator can fill up with oil, completely blocking the gas. Our 2015 Itasca Navion had been in storage without any maintenance or use for two years, this due to some health issues. Yesterday I discovered that, if you have no propane flow, the easiest fix is to TURN OFF the emergency supply switch next to the tank fill port, then disconnect the hose from the propane regulator to the vertical iron pipe, and drain the oil from the line. This short line and pipe junction is right behind (but not connected to) the fill port. It took several days getting to this solution, and I was planning to head for a local RV shop today. After draining the oil (maybe only 2 or 3 ounces), the burners and the generator fired right up.

 

[bigb56]

For anyone else having propane supply issues, I discovered that the propane lines to/from the propane gas regulator can fill up with oil, completely blocking the gas. Our 2015 Itasca Navion had been in storage without any maintenance or use for two years, this due to some health issues. Yesterday I discovered that, if you have no propane flow, the easiest fix is to TURN OFF the emergency supply switch next to the tank fill port, then disconnect the hose from the propane regulator to the vertical iron pipe, and drain the oil from the line. This short line and pipe junction is right behind (but not connected to) the fill port. It took several days getting to this solution, and I was planning to head for a local RV shop today. After draining the oil (maybe only 2 or 3 ounces), the burners and the generator fired right up.

I had the same issue although not completely shut down, but my system WC pressure was way down affecting the fridge the most. After finding the liquid in my regulator and in a low spot on my hoses I replaced the regulator and 2 hoses and I installed a drip leg.

 

[Travato John]

Propane flow

Warren, this happened to me on my 2017 Travato. The switch on the outside by the fill port went bad due to corrosion. I replaced with a marine switch that I purchased on Amazon. You have to have 12 volts at the switch inside and outside for the solenoid to operate as previously stated. Travato John