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Old 09-05-2006, 04:08 AM   #21
sreigle
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Glenn, that's good to know. On our 2003 it would not reignite and, if I recall, the manual said the same thing. The newer ones must work differently (better).

Dave, we do not run with water heater turned on. Not even in subfreezing weather. I figure the water starts out hot and by the time it could freeze we've stopped for the night and fired the heater again. I do leave the electric element turned on but ours always has water in it. When we connect to shore power it starts heating the water. In this Montana we're finding the electric element gets the water so hot we're not even using the propane element. On our 2003 it was the opposite. Maybe in the winter we'll need both but not this time of year.

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'07 3400RL
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Old 09-05-2006, 04:58 AM   #22
Fordzilla
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We leave our fridge on 24/7. We are only part timers, but leave the trailer stocked up and ready to go in a moments notice. I have had troubles leaving mine in the Auto mode. It will set a check light after we have traveled a little ways. I can hear it light on propane when I disconnect it from shore power but after I recheck it when we are 50 miles down the road the check light is on. If I switch it to gas only it will turn on and reignite whenever needed the whole trip with no problems. I am thinking it must be some problem with the fridge. But I have just gotten used to it this way. Maybe if it's something simple I will get it fixed someday. Sorry to hijack this thread. I thought with all the talk about auto and gas mode I would see what everyone knew about my problem.

Ron & Melinda Rosewall
Marcus, Iowa
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Old 09-05-2006, 05:24 AM   #23
dsprik
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To turn off hot water heater, do I just turn off the switch at the tank? Or is there something else? Switch inside is always off...

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Old 09-05-2006, 05:45 AM   #24
Parrothead
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We have always traveled with our frig on. Since we rarely refuel while hooked up we don't have to think about turning propane off. Our first unit had a three way frig - ran on battery when not on propane or A/C. We have never needed to travel with furnace on since we've never been that cold (thank goodness). We do not have the water heater on as it does not take that long for the water to heat up once we are parked. We've been at this RVing for a long time and never had a problem traveling with frig on.

Happy trails.....................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL
2006 GMC 3500 Dually, D/A, Crew Cab, Long Bed
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Old 09-05-2006, 08:07 AM   #25
Cat320
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We have always run with the propane on. One way to help the refrig relight easier (after being off for a tunnel/refueling) is to light the stove (it's always easier) and let it run for a couple of minutes. That helps to get the propane down the lines and closer to the refrig.

Bert and Betty
Fort Smith, AR
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Old 09-05-2006, 11:48 AM   #26
padredw
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Dave Sprik, the business about the water heater has been discussed here at some length, but I'll repeat what I've stated before. When we leave on a trip I turn on the electric switch at the water heater (outside) and just leave it on. That way when I hook up to electric at each campsite the water heater just comes on. Obviously, when I disconnect the electric heating is "off". I rarely use the propane for heating water (switch inside) unless we need quick recovery. My reasoning, like many others, is that electricity is included in campground fee and I have to pay for propane use. I turn off the electric switch (outside) only when the trip is over. Only exception is if we find a low voltage situation which may require care when air conditioner, microwave, etc. are all demanding full power. We turn electric water heating off under those circumstances.

On the more general subject, we do now travel most of the time with our refigrerator on "auto" which obviously switches to propane while on the road. BUT.... we have traveled hundreds of miles in the summer with the refigerator off and have never had any problem. That is based on these assumptions: refrigerator and freezer full and cold before leaving; extra ice packs. Ice cream might be a bit soft under these conditions (all day travel in summer), but everything else travels in fine shape if you don't open the refigerator. That has been our experience. In fact, I still often leave the refrigerator off when our day's journey is not long.

The great thing is that there is a lot of latitude, and each of us has his own preferences, which are often based on other than absolute necessity.

David and Shirley -- East Texas
2955 RL Montana
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Old 09-05-2006, 12:39 PM   #27
Native Tex
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Guess we need to add our two cents too. We leave our fridge on wil traveling except where it has to be off for a tunnel or fueling up. I leave it on auto like most everyone. The hotwater heater is left on electric too so it is ready to go when you plug up. I also leave the fridge on auto and be sure it has switched over to gas before I pull away. It normally does this is less than a minute. I think we all do much the same thing; however, I have never left my heat on while driving. I just think that is too risky.

Native Tex

O.V. & Kathy Bonner
Miss Ko-Ko (Chocolate Lab)
Huntsville, Al
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Old 09-05-2006, 03:24 PM   #28
sreigle
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Ron, something is not right with yours. It should auto switch to propane and ignite. The check light goes on if it cannot light the propane in 45 seconds.

Dave, we also leave the electric element on all the time. If I want to shut it off I'll just shut off the breaker inside the coach. Nothing else is on that circuit on ours.



See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'07 3400RL
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

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Old 09-05-2006, 03:32 PM   #29
bob n pam
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We run with all propane and propane devices off.
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Old 09-05-2006, 05:18 PM   #30
ols1932
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We do not run our refrigerator on propane when on the road unless we're going to be traveling more than six hours (which isn't often). We've found that everything stays around 42 degrees in the refrigerator and the freezer stays frozen.

We also leave the switch on the water heater in the "On" position and turn off the breaker inside the rig. In our rig, the water heater is on its own breaker.

Orv
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Old 09-05-2006, 05:21 PM   #31
dsprik
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I like David's (Padredw) propane saving ideas.

I have a question on that water heater switch... If you turn that off, is that ONLY for the electric element? Or does that ALSO shut off the electronics for the propane igniter and safety shutoff for the WH, thus keeping the WH from firing on propane?

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Old 09-05-2006, 07:42 PM   #32
Parrothead
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Dave, it just turns off the electric element. You can run on gas then. If you are at a park on a monthly basis, you may pay for electricty separately. Then it is cheaper to use the propane so you turn the electric off.
Happy trails...............................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL
2006 GMC 3500 Dually, D/A, Crew Cab, Long Bed
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Old 09-05-2006, 07:47 PM   #33
dsprik
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Thanks, Sue! Very helpful.

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Old 09-06-2006, 03:29 PM   #34
DCP
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Just got back from Alaska and ran the frig all the time. No problems!

Dave & Emily with Martha the dog.
05',F-250SD,4WD,CC,PSD, King Ranch, Banks exhaust, Airaid air filter & Firestone Air Bags.
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Old 09-06-2006, 04:42 PM   #35
Searchers
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We have run with the refer on Propane, but found it's not necessary unless running down the road for extended periods of time. My main concern regarding running down the road with the propane turned on is being involved in an accident and severing a propane line. No sense in adding fuel to a possible fire!

We also turn the water off, city and/or 12v pump when away from the unit. This eliminates any surprises when returning.

The hot water 110v switch is left in the off position until pluging in and always turned off before unpluging. Propane operation is always turned off until shortly before needing hot water. Ours heats fairly fast.

We always turn off the breaker in the site hookup panel before pluging in and turn it off before unpluging.

Just my $.02 worth.

Don

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Old 09-07-2006, 05:54 AM   #36
dsprik
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Interesting safety points, Don. Haven't heard of these, but they make sense.

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Old 09-07-2006, 11:08 AM   #37
sreigle
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Dave, a little more on the water heater, if I may. The electric element and propane heater are totally independent. The switch outside behind the cover is for electric. The switch inside is for the propane heater for the water heater. You can run either or both at the same time. Running both gets the water back to hot in a shorter time. That's nice when you need back to back showers. Some of us leave the electric element switch on all the time and use the breaker in the coach to turn it on and off because it is more convenient. The electronic board requires, I think, 12v from the battery. It will get that 12v so long as a good battery is online, regardless of the heating element switch settings. I hope I didn't just muddy the water.

We leave the electric element on all the time because our heater has water in it all the time except when I'm draining it to check the anode rod. At that time I switch it off before draining. Even in our stick home days I filled the water heater in the spring and left it full until winterizing. I've seen people drain that tank after every trip but I see no reason to do that.

We do make sure the propane heater switch is off before hitting the road. We have no need to be burning propane for the water heater when on the road since it heats within a few minutes after we park.

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'07 3400RL
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

Our RV Travels (now Firefox-compatible)

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Old 09-07-2006, 01:00 PM   #38
dsprik
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Thanks, Steve. You cleared this up for me. The switch behind the panel outside is 110 AC. The electronics behind that same panel that handle the propane ignition/safety shutoff are 12v. Two totally different electrical systems and independent of each other.

Common sense if you think about it. If you are boondocking, or dry camping, you need to have the propane available for the water heater. Any electronics that are needed to control propane distribution, must be 12v, or many RV camping situations would be seriously compromised...

Thanks, Steve.

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