Propane regulator - Montana Owners Club

swanny · 09-13-2010, 06:32 AM

Hi all, I have a propane regulator issue...? I thought I ran out of propane on the left ( looking at the monty from the front). I turner the valve to switch tanks and that worked, it put the other tank in use. So I removed the left tank to get it refilled and it wasn't empty. To verify I switched tanks and sure enough the tank i thought was empty was not. SO all advice and recommendations would be a great help, before I just start trying things.

Thanks, kevin

Jolu · 09-13-2010, 07:01 AM

Kevin,
I had a similar issue with the tanks not flowing properly. I read in the white book that came with the unit about propane systems. There is a shut down device incorporated in the valve that will restrict the flow of propane in the case of a sudden loss of propane. Without reading the manual, I can't give you a good explanation of this.

My stove, furnace would not run at the same time. So what I had to do was go through the procedure described in the manual and things worked just fine. I had to turn the valves on very slowly. Once there is the proper propane flow in the valve and lines all the gas appliances worked fine. By having both tanks turned on at the same time seemed to help also. I do not have both tanks on at the same time usually. Hope this helps to steer you in the right direction.

Joe

01RAMer · 09-13-2010, 07:17 AM

The important thing here is to turn the valve on VERY slowly. It is especially sensitive if you switch to the 30lb regulator as I did. If you smell LP in the compartment, you'll need to change out the regulator. When I originally had the problem, I had to crank the valve shut, disconnect the line, reattach it and turn on the vale cranking it slowly, then it would work. After smelling propane, I replaced the regulator with the upgrade and it has been working fine since.

pineranch · 09-13-2010, 08:43 AM

I had the same experience and the regulator was at fault. Changed the regulator problem resolved. My unit was 4 months old at the time.
Mike

wingerphil · 09-13-2010, 09:51 AM

there is a seperate/additional regulator for the "curbside" tank. If you pull that tank and look in the compartment it is red. Several of us have had problems with these red regulators and there are several threads discussing them. I replaced mine with a new red Marshall regulator I bought at a nearby RV dealer to solve the same problem you are experiencing.

Devildog · 09-13-2010, 11:12 AM

And if you still have problems, the line from the red regulator to the tank has a shutoff in the diaphragm, in case you have an overpressure from the tank. I replaced everything until I traced to that line. Propane line fittings now have a shutoff in the screw on to the tank.

swanny · 09-13-2010, 12:59 PM

Thanks everyone for the help. Tomorrow I'll start checking things out now that I have some direction. If anyone has more info please post.

Thanks guys, kevin

illapah · 09-13-2010, 01:51 PM

I posted this before, mayh have some application here again:

Got a technical question about your RV? We have the expert and the answer
Bob Livingston
Good Sam Club Highways
March 2008
Propane-Tank Test
I have a 28-foot travel trailer, and one of the 30-pound propane containers won’t discharge gas when turned on. However, the other one does. I switched the containers to either side of the regulator, and the working one still works, while the other one won’t. I also took the failing container to a filling station, and it still would not work. The unit was purchased in 2003, so the containers are of the new style.

I’m at a loss. Because the good container worked on both sides of the regulator, it indicates that both pigtails and the regulator are good.
Rich Kuc, Wallingford, Pennsylvania

BOB: To determine Rich’s problem, we contacted him and asked that he follow a few test procedures at his RV while we were on the phone. The first thing we asked him to do was to describe the propane regulator, which was an auto-switchover model with the lever pointing to the left cylinder. The indicator was red. Then we had him open the left-cylinder service valve, which turned the red indicator to green. Then he opened the right-cylinder service valve while the other cylinder was still open. He then lit a stove burner to verify that he had gas (visual function test).

Here’s where the meat of the test starts. We had him close the left-cylinder valve, which simulates running out of gas in this cylinder. The indicator turned red. He then looked at the burner flame; it was still burning, which indicates that the regulator had switched to the right cylinder automatically. We then had Rich switch the lever to designate the right cylinder, which made the indicator go green. While these regulators are described as “automatic,” the owner still has to physically move the lever to the designated cylinder to make the indicator go green again. Once that indicator is green, it’s OK to remove the empty cylinder and have it refilled.

We then asked him to open the left-cylinder valve and close the right-cylinder valve, repeating the previous test, only switching cylinders. He experienced the same results and proper function.

After the tests, we had Rich open the stove burner while the cylinder valves were closed, bleeding off the propane and causing the indicator on the regulator to turn red. Rich carefully opened the service valve on the designated cylinder to slowly introduce enough gas to make the indicator go half green (you really have to be quick enough to do this). We wanted to show him that the red/green indicator is actually a pressure gauge and that it could also be used to perform a pressure-drop leak test—because there was enough pressure in the system to make the indicator show some green. As long as the system does not have a leak, it will continue to show green. If the red/green indicator does not drop to red after a few minutes, that indicates there is no substantial leak (theoretically nothing is absolutely leak free, and the standard for this test is a minimum of three minutes).

Then we asked Rich to open the stove burner for a few seconds to simulate a leak, and, sure enough, the indicator turned red.

These tests showed that gas did flow from each cylinder and the automatic-switchover regulator functioned as expected. The propane piping system also passed our leak test.

Many, if not most RVers don’t actually know how to use the automatic-switchover regulator to its maximum benefit. These regulators allow the owner to leak-test the system, provide continuous appliance service after the designated cylinder runs out of gas (as long as both cylinder valves are left open), and the system actually functions as a fuel-level gauge because it shows you when to refill the empty cylinder.

nunya · 09-14-2010, 05:15 AM

had same problem, replaced bad red regulator on curb side with new Marshall 30 psi regulator, no more problems! Got all the info from these great folks right here, Life is Good! Got mine from Makarios RV, great guy to deal with, got here quick.

KTManiac · 09-14-2010, 04:12 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by nunya

had same problem, replaced bad red regulator on curb side with new Marshall 30 psi regulator, no more problems! Got all the info from these great folks right here, Life is Good! .....

Ditto, best $40 I have spent on the 5er.

illapah · 09-15-2010, 03:29 AM

what is the name and part number of the new regulator?

KTManiac · 09-15-2010, 06:39 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by illapah

what is the name and part number of the new regulator?

Marshall C6121.

PowellsMonty · 09-15-2010, 06:59 AM

Has anyone bought the two stage regulator that Camping World sells?

swanny · 10-10-2010, 04:22 AM

Went to the dealer to get new regulator yesterday. Luckily I brought the pigtail with me. The tech asked me if the regulator was leaking, no. He said he was sure then it was the pigtail. Sure enough when he tested the pigtail no gas came through. He said they have seen many check valves in the hoses fail.

kevin

pineranch · 10-10-2010, 08:06 AM

I was told by my walk thru specialist that the "red regulator" was there for ease of generator installation. Is this true?
Mike

Trailer Trash 2 · 10-10-2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by swanny

Went to the dealer to get new regulator yesterday. Luckily I brought the pigtail with me. The tech asked me if the regulator was leaking, no. He said he was sure then it was the pigtail. Sure enough when he tested the pigtail no gas came through. He said they have seen many check valves in the hoses fail.

kevin

Kevin are you refering to the little rubber hose as the pig tail, and are you saying that the pig tail was pluged?
I have often wondered with this new valve system that are on these new tanks are shutting off improperly, if your water heater is running here is a large amount of propane going out, and all of a sudden the RV furnace goes on and requires a large amount of propane too, all of a sudden is this causing the pop off on the tank to react and shut down the flow.
I also have had simular tank problems too I usually go out and close the valves and reopen them slowly and it helps the tanks to get regulated again. its a pain if its in the late of night.

richfaa · 10-10-2010, 01:12 PM

Everything you ever wanted to know about the propane system.

http://www.shleggitt.com/

swanny · 10-10-2010, 02:14 PM

yes the short hose from the tank to the regulator to the crossover piping. the pigtail in my case will not let propane pass through. We hooked the pigtail up to a full tank and turned the tank on very very slow. As the propane started through the hose we could hear a slight pop in the hose and nothing would come out. The tech told me he has been seeing quite a few issues like this.

kevin

TLightning · 10-10-2010, 02:21 PM

There are a number of posts on this subject. Here is a cut and paste of a two posts I made:

We had the same problem, contacted Marshall, the company that makes the regulator and the change over valve. The POC at Marshall is Ed Lee, 800-877-2495 X2415. He is very knowledgeable and helpful...I think he's the guy that designed the new regulator. He said the problem is not the change over valve, but the red regulator that came as oem, and told us to get a Marshall C6121. The OEM is a Marshall GR618, 18PSI, it's red and located on the right (curb side) tank. The replacement is the Marshall C6121, 30PSI.

The OEM regulator is not strong enough to make the auto changeover valve work. The C6121 fixes the problem.

I got mine at www.rvwholesalers.com, $34 plus s&h.

maxmorrow · 10-20-2010, 02:05 AM

I opened my front compartment the other day and noticed a strong gas smell to which I immediately shut off the gas and vented. I turned the gas back on and found the short hoses from the tanks leaking right past the green hand screw on to the tank. I found that the O rings in the line were leaking. I went "old school" with the internal screw attachments and no leaks. It is a little more trouble to change tanks but don't have to worry about o ring leaks. Didn't try to steal thread but thought someone else might have same problem.

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