Propane meter

[Devoman]

I have the standard meter that shows green until it runs out and then shows red.Is there something that I could put in the trailer that would let me know when the propane is about to run out.I just dont want to run out there when it is really cold or raining wondering why it stopped working for me.I would like the luxury of checking it from inside the Airstream.Thanks.

[sarmimi]

I went to camping world and bought a propane tank indicator for about $5. It's a strip about 12 inches that you attach to the side of the tank from the bottom up. You pour hot water on it and it indicates what level is left of propane. But usually, I find that on colder evenings, my propane lasts about 1 week per 30# tank, in the summer it lasts almost 2 weeks. I never really used my indicator. If I thought I was running low, I picked it up and shook it to feel how heavy it was. So perhaps just save the $5 and use good ol' intuition?

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by sarmimi

But usually, I find that on colder evenings, my propane lasts about 1 week per 30# tank, in the summer it lasts almost 2 weeks.

That seems like alot of propane. I understand that running the heater will empty the tank pretty fast, but where is it going in the summer?

[john hd]

az,

thats not a whole lot for a furnace. i usually count on using around 10+ lbs per day when running just the furnace during deer hunting.

the temps run from the mid teens to low 30's.

i can see using 30 lbs in two weeks if you run the water heater alot.

john

[SilverRanger]

Hey Devoman, take a look at these gadgets:

http://tinyurl.com/8muy8


http://tinyurl.com/dtavz

This one is for the Marshall 254 regulator, but I read somewhere that it fits the 250 series. If your Bambi is the same as mine, it should have a Marshall 250 on it.

Hope your trip north was a good one.

[john hd]

silver

good finds on both items!

back to devo's original question, the only somewhat reliable way to tell exactly how much is left in each cyl would be to switch out your tanks for some with level indicators. then you would need a monitor panel in the trailer.

airstream used tanks and panels like this on the excella's in the 70's for a while and again in the 90's on the limited models.

they all work about as good as waste tank level monitors, iffy at best.

the best possible solution is to leave both tanks on and let the auto switch over do it's job. when you get up in the morning, just look for the red indicator.

after having your trailer for a while in a cold climate you will get a feel for how much propane you will need. kinda like mileage in a car!

happy turkey day folks!

john

[Devoman]

Hey thanks for that info.You know a friend of mine just purchased one of those Westfalias and when he was showing it to me I noticed that he had a meter that shows everything such as black,grey,water,propane,etc,etc, and it was digital.I really liked what I had seen in there and was wondering if that could be fitted to the existing wires and then added the rest of the components if it is able to be done.If it can not that is ok but it was really cool looking how it was set up though.