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gmlcjb · 10-20-2002, 12:30 PM

good afternoon folks I have a question which may be silly but how do i know my gas valves are on? We just purchased an 78 Argosy and the lp tanks are full but gas does not seem to be flowing to fridge, water heater, furnace or the range. I did turn the valves on the exterior of the trailer under the furnace so they were aiming towards the ground but gas does not seem to be flowing( no gas smell and nothing will light.)
Thank You in advance

again thank you for the info. I read my owners manual section on lp and no where did it state the on off position on the valves i did infact turn all three under trailer valves off thinking i was turning them on. I will wait longer for the stove to light, any tips on lighting the furnace we want to take a trip next week end, and night time temps should be low forties.

thenewkid64 · 10-20-2002, 12:40 PM

Not only do you have valves at each appliance but there are valves at the tanks. make sure the tank valves are on. Then check(if you have one) the auto switchover unit. I should be where the hoses from the tanks merge. There is a little window that may have a red flag in it. the flag, if red, indicated it switched from the tank that the arrow is pointing to over to the other tank. Be sure the pointer is pointing to a full tank.

The valves at each appliance normally are open when the valve handle is in line with the gas line or valve body. If the valve is crossing the gas line you may have turned them all off. Most people rarely turn off the gas at the appliances. Most owners op for turning off the bottles and leaving it at that.

Once you think you have the valves open, try lighting the stove first. It is a large consumer of LP and will allow you to let any air that is in the lines out quickly.

Hope this helps

Pahaska · 10-20-2002, 01:35 PM

When you try lighting the stove, be aware that all the air must be purged from the lines before it will light. This may take 30 seconds or more. You will first get little blips of flame, then the burner will fully light.

The water heater takes quite a while to purge the air from the pilot tube in addition to the air in the lines leading to the heater. It may take close to a minute before the pilot finally lights and stays lit.

Ditto for the refrigerator. I have a manual spark and I wait at least 10 to 15 seconds before pushing the sparker the first time when the bottles have been off. I continue to push the sparker about every 5 seconds till I finally get a flame.

gmlcjb · 10-21-2002, 10:15 AM

Thought i would give an update on my lack of common knowledge or maybe a problem with our lp. I did return to the trailer and turn the valve handles so they were in line with gas line, and was able to light the range and a Thermx heater which is mounted near the door, but I have been unable to light the furnace or the fridge I have tried about 30 mins on each. I am wondering if the furnace does not work and thats why the PO mounted the Thermx heated near the door, also I am concerned about oxygen consumption of this thermx heater, is it safe to close the door and windows?

davidz71 · 10-21-2002, 10:33 AM

The Thermex consumes oxygen but does not give off fumes therefore it is important to crack a window for an oxygen source. I usually leave my 3 vents on the top the the trailer cracked slightly and have one or two windows slightly open. I used a Coleman catalytic propane heater for 15 years in several tents but always allowed for a source of fresh air. I've heard of horror stories about tent flaps closing in the middle of the night and the people sleeping in the tent not waking up. Several years ago, a young woman slept in the front end of her horse trailer in Shelbyville, TN. during the Walking Horse Festival. She used a propane burner for a heat source and never woke up. I installed an Olympic Wave 6 cat. heater in my Excella to replace the Thermex and used it for the first time this past Thur. night. It is mounted on the left of my entrance door next to the fridge. It worked like a charm.