acousticart
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Off grid luxury camping, EV technology, Creative Problem Solving
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Auto Changeover LP regulator failures
acousticart replied to acousticart's topic in Systems and Appliances
Thanks! Doc Severinsen (from the Johnny Carson tonight show band) recorded an arrangement for trumpet and orchestra of the last movement of the Bach Partita #2 BWV1004. Not my ideal version, but impressive in a way. I like best on solo guitar, but I may be prejudiced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHVQtZ0h5N8 To bring this back on topic, I found a couple of ⅜" gas valves at Lowe's and though the other WOG valves would have been fine, I got these instead. Hopefully this set up will go the distance! -
Auto Changeover LP regulator failures
acousticart replied to acousticart's topic in Systems and Appliances
Actually, the music is a movement from a Bach violin partita, BWV1004. I transcribed it for classical guitar. Played the whole suite at my master’s recital back in 95’. Trying to work it up again... -
Auto Changeover LP regulator failures
acousticart replied to acousticart's topic in Systems and Appliances
I understand the difference between a two-stage regulator and an auto changeover regulator. My issue is that after two short lived auto changeover regulators and no real need to have the 'auto' function, I couldn't find a regulator designed with two inputs and therefore two check valves in the regulator body to allow either tank to be removed for filling without letting the magic out of the other tank. Of course each tank naturally has a shut off valve on it, but that doesn't help if the other tank is removed and there is no valve to seal off the disconnected whip. The valves I got are stamped "WOG" (Water, Oil, & Gas) at 600PSI. The only red handled "gas" valves would have required extra plumbing bits and therefore more connections. I am not concerned about more leaking possibilities as long as each connection is done properly. My coach has an LP manifold made out 3 'T's, several nipples, and a couple of elbows. The little construction I made for the park model trailer has far fewer connections and I am confident that can seal them. The T-valve in the link posted by Kaypsmith earlier in the thread would have eliminated a few connections and served the purpose of sealing off the unhooked whip while allowing propane to flow from the full tank, but I wanted to source locally. Don -
Auto Changeover LP regulator failures
acousticart replied to acousticart's topic in Systems and Appliances
Thanks for that link. That is kind of what I had in mind. Originally, I was thinking of using two dual stage regulators, one for each tank for redundancy. Since the one our coach (a two stage single input/output regulator) has lasted for nearly 20 years, I decided to go with one. It would be nice to have single T valve, but these two WOG compatible ⅜" ball valves were only about $15 at our local Ace hardware. With the regulator and the other plumbing bits, it is a bit more than the $50 auto changeover dual regulator, but it will be more modular. I will get a spare regulator just in case.... maybe put a new one in the coach and keep the old one around as a spare for either the trailer or the coach. Don B -
Auto Changeover LP regulator failures
acousticart replied to acousticart's topic in Systems and Appliances
Yep, I am extremely reliable "auto" changeover mechanism. I hardly even need the extra motivation my better half provides -
Auto Changeover LP regulator failures
acousticart replied to acousticart's topic in Systems and Appliances
Thanks Brett, that is similar to what I was thinking. Ball valves would eliminate the need for a check valve on the regulator input. Just more plumbing... As far the requirements, should be the same as our coach I would think. The park model (Woodland Park) has a 40,000BTU Atwood LP furnace (that runs the electrical on 120VAC rather than 12VDC) but otherwise looks like a standard Excalibur, and the water heater is a standard Atwood 10 Gal XT model (I can't find the BTU spec on it) that I added a 120VAC to 12VDC converter, as there is no DC system or batteries in this trailer. I have to admit here that I am not sure what the significance of the regulator being two stage or single stage. I thought that the purpose of using two steps to convert the high pressure at the tanks to the low pressure required by the appliances thus insuring a more constant flow as the tank empties. Don -
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The park model trailer at our home base has two of the tall LP tanks and within the space of two years, we have had the Auto Changeover LP regulator fail. Rather than buying another one of these fifty dollar disposables, I am considering getting two single two stage regulators and 'T'ing them in. I don't really see a downside since we don't use there auto change over function anyway and the original LP regulator on our 99' Foretravel still works. A bit of web searching on reviews on different brands at Amazon indicates that these Auto Changeover LP regulators are problematic. One side of the regulator or the other failing to pass gas (we all know how painful that can be) even when the tanks are full. I can only surmise that there is a delicate mechanism that gets gummed up or? Anyway, the price of two single regulators is about the same as one of the auto changeover ones. I am assuming of course that the standard single two stage regulators have a check valve in them so you can unhook a tank without letting a bunch of air in the system when taking a tank off to get filled... can anybody confirm this?
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8D AGM's are pricey, but the no maintenance aspect of it has me sold... at least until LiFeP04 or some more power dense battery chemistry becomes more affordable. Our Foretravel U270 coach came with two MK Gel 8D's for the house, and two Optima red tops for the chassis. I still have the 8D Gels in a storage container with solar and they are still going strong at 10 years old. I replaced the two Gels with four O'Reilly AGM8D's and the two Optima chassis batteries with a single O'Reilly AGM8D. Adding two more 8D sized batteries did require some fabrication and new cables, but doubling the amp hour capacity was worth the effort. We have a marine fridge that runs off of 12VDC or 120VAC. With the solar, the batteries are usually topped off by late morning. The house batteries are seldom cycled below 75%. The single 8D AGM chassis battery spins the 8.3 ISC like a top. Doing the battery mods was an "opportunity" to redo all the battery cabling using bus bars and shunts for battery monitors. The O'Reilly 8D's can be had for a relative bargain price, and are made by Deka/East Pen and labeled under numerous brands. I doubt that they are in the same class as their Lifeline equivalents, but they are very good for the price. I have two golf carts, one with Trojan T105's and the other with Big Box store bargains. I plan on converting the carts to Lithium battery chemistry and will NEVER again have another set of flooded LA batteries (knock on wood!). I would not even entertain flooded batteries in our coach... for many reasons The last picture is the chassis battery cabling redone with Blue Sea bus bars, a Victron BM shunt and 4-0 marine cabling (same cable as I used for the house batteries). Don