Oops on a rally show and tell item - Montana Owners Club

sreigle · 10-10-2004, 08:23 PM

First, my apologies to anyone I may have misled on how I ran the wires for the indoor propane out indicator.

To the first several of you who looked at the propane out indicator I said I drilled up into the area below the dresser from the propane locker and ran the wires into the coach that way.

That was indeed my original plan. While trying to actually show this to someone who asked I discovered I had forgotten that I found an easier way. I actually ran the wires through the aft bulkhead in the propane locker along a drain pipe and up the pipe into the area below the vanity sink in the bathroom. From there I drilled and ran the wire into the area between vanity and dresser, then up the wall to the indicator.

Again, my apologies for screwing this up. Hopefully no serious harm was done.

D and M On The Road · 10-11-2004, 03:42 AM

Ohhhhhhh..... an indoor propane out indicator. I sure like that idea.
Thanks for the thought.

8.1al · 10-11-2004, 08:05 AM

Steve,
Where might one purchase one of these?

sreigle · 10-11-2004, 09:06 PM

Campers Choice is where I got ours and is the only place I've seen them. Every delivery has been within two business days. Here's the url

http://www.camperschoice.com/Product...owestprice=Yes

It sells for 35.95. Sure worth it to me.

8.1al · 10-12-2004, 02:29 AM

Thanks Steve, I've gotta get one of those

sreigle · 10-12-2004, 03:34 AM

One note - the regulator on our Montanas has a different number than is listed as working with the remote indicator. Before purchase I contacted Marshall and was assured it works fine with ours. And it does.

When you put the new cap on the regulator, be sure to push it down hard enough for the tabs to snap in place but not so hard you break the tabs. It wasn't hard on mine but I had been clued to that. It's sure nice to be able to tell when a tank is empty without having to run outside to check it all the time.

Sue · 10-12-2004, 05:54 AM

Okay, I'll be the dummy and ask, What is an "indoor propane out indicator"?

8.1al · 10-12-2004, 06:04 AM

That's what keeps you from waking up cold in the middle of the night.
It is mounted inside and has wires running to the propane regulator and will alert you when one tank is empty and the regulator has switched over to the other tank.
Did I get this right Steve?

NJ Hillbilly · 10-12-2004, 07:21 AM

That's what it does. It's an indicator light that You can mount inside to let YOu know when there's an empty bottle and the valve has switched to the other.

I don't know about dummy, how about "informationally challenged"

John

Sue · 10-12-2004, 08:37 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by NJ Hillbilly
I don't know about dummy, how about "informationally challenged"

John

That's what I like about this board, no one is ever rude and their always looking for ways to make ya feel better when you ask dumb I mean Informationally challenged questions

faeb and genb · 10-12-2004, 12:40 PM

Sue the only dumb question is one you would like to know the answer to & don't ask it because you think it is a dumb question.
Gene

sreigle · 10-12-2004, 05:33 PM

Yes, you got it right. This link shows you what it looks like and I think, if I recall, it explains what it does.
http://www.camperschoice.com/Product...owestprice=Yes

It's probably not of much value to those who weekend and vacation in their Montanas but for those of us who fulltime or do extended travel, it's sure nice. I used to be paranoid about checking the regulator for the red flag every day or two. No more. Ours is mounted in the bedroom in a position that I can see it in the closet mirror, from downstairs. When the light starts flashing I then go outside and flip the regulator handle to the other tank and soon as I can go get the empty tank filled.

GordonR · 10-13-2004, 01:28 AM

Steve,
I like the looks of the changeover monitor. Just a couple more questions since I'm also "informationally challenged". (Great term, John!)
How is the monitor powered? I couldn't discern a power cable in the picture. Also, do either the sensor or the monitor disconnect from the cable? Seems like if you have to drill, it would be a pretty big hole in order to slip the sensor through. Finally, you talked about replacing the cap. The sensor looks black in the picture. Does this mean that you can no longer look at the regulator directly to see if it's switched over?
Thanks,
Gordon

sreigle · 10-16-2004, 12:37 PM

Good questions.

1. The sensor is powered by batteries. We've had ours installed since January, 2003, and it's still on the original batteries. Since the 'trigger' to start the sensor flashing is mechanical, there's no battery power being used when it's not flashing, unless I misunderstand the electrical theory.

2. The cable and the cap are wired together in the propane compartment with wire nuts (all provided). So you need drill only a hole large enough for the cable.

3. The cap replaces the vinyl plastic black cap already on the regulator. You just remove it and replace it with the new plastic one. It snaps down in place. You can still see the green/red indicator on the regulator, same as before.

We recently returned from being away from our Montana for two weeks. I left the furnace set on 45 in case this area got a hard freeze while we were gone. The CG owner told me they had a couple nights down to 28 but no hard freeze. Still, I checked the regulator indicator itself just in case I ran out of propane on one tank and the remote indicator flashed long enough to kill the batteries. Just wanted to make sure.

I have the indicator mounted on the front (front of the rig) side of the wall that separates the dresser from the lavatory. In that position I can see the indicator flashing when I'm in the bedroom and also can see it reflected in the front closet mirror when I'm in the living room. I didn't plan it that way but don't tell anybody.

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