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**moosetags** · 07-20-2006, 09:07 AM

We are new to RVing, and just got our 25' Safari on June 1st. So please excuse the elementary narure of our questions.

We have been closing off both LP tanks during storage, but leaving them open while running and camping. We have been running the refer on gas while traveling between campgrounds.

Are we doing something wrong, or is this practice OK?

SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

GreatPumpkin · 07-20-2006, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

We are new to RVing, and just got our 25' Safari on June 1st. So please excuse the elementary narure of our questions.

We have been closing off both LP tanks during storage, but leaving them open while running and camping. We have been running the refer on gas while traveling between campgrounds.

Are we doing something wrong, or is this practice OK?

SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

You've opened up a can of worms by asking that question

Some will tell you it's perfectly fine and others will tell you it's unsafe. Personally I think you will be fine.

Welcome to the forums. Enjoy your new Airstream.

HHP · 07-20-2006, 09:48 AM

I too am new to RV-ing. I can't see any other way to get the frige up and running before you leave and while the AS is moving.

This Friday we are heading out to Pismo Beach for our first trip...

AZstreamin · 07-20-2006, 10:13 AM

Use your search function you'll find a thousand opinions on this topic.. My opinion is I never roll with LP open. Food and beverages are in iced coolers in the back of my truck. For us it works well because our AS is not stored at my home so I can't always turn it on and cool the fridge before hitting the road. My other reason is more personal. My business partners Grandparents both died in a freak RV accident when the open propane exploded... now this was many years ago and I know for fact safety technology has changed but, it has always stayed in the back of my mind.....So that's my reason for not leaving LP open while on the road. Right or wrong.... don't know... it's just what I do.

crazylev · 07-20-2006, 10:25 AM

Yes. There are as many opinions on this as there are threads on the forums.

When in storage, we always shut down both of the propane tanks. This eliminates the possibility that should there ever be a leak, there is less of a chance of a fire or worse. And NEVER store those tanks anywhere indoors!!! Always close them up. When we go out, the first thing I do is open the tanks, go in the AS and turn the gas on the stove, light all burners for about 30-60 seconds to purge some of the air out of lines. If it is cool out, I'll light the furnace for a few seconds to, followed by water heater for a second or two. The idea is to purge the lines as much as possible.

We always have a chalenge lighting the fridge after storage. There is just a small amount of gas needed to run the fridge, so any air left in the lines takes some patients before it finally lights. After that, anytime we need to run fridge of gas during a trip, the fridge just fires right up.

As far as running fridge on gas, we do it. But we do it with extreme caution. The real concern is pulling into a gas station for all the obvious reasons. I always try and find an end pump. Our gas fill on the van is on the drivers side, and the fridge is on the curbside of our Bambi. Moisture on the pavement by pumps could be gas. Avoid that.

Some people here will turn off the fridge before entering a service station to which I will agree, that will give you more protection.

Use common sense, survey the scene, and do what is comfortable for you.

Jonathan

Alumin8 · 07-29-2006, 01:01 AM

I had a 1971 25 footer and always ran the fridge on the road with propane. Kept everything nice and cool. That was the procedure recommended int eh owners manual. I thought transferring food from a cooler to the box defeated the purpose of convenience. All precautions around gas as above. Lighting was difficult initially but one it was going it never went out. i understand it only burns about 1 1/2 pound a month to keep everything cold. Not bad economically.

Joe

wheel interested · 07-29-2006, 01:31 AM

I have been turning the propane off at the stations, but if you are filling up several times a day for days cross country, it gets to be a pain. I also forgot to turn it back on a few times and the fridge was too warm when I went in it and discovered it. I couldn't always find a place to pull over and turn the tanks back on either.

I did have a question about turning the gas tanks back on. You do have to go back inside each time and restart your refrigerator, right? And should I be going inside and turning it off first? I think it either blew out a few times too or it did not restart when I turned it on. I also just read some where that the fins do not do anything for 20 minutes, is that so? I wound up having spoiled food and drinking my ice cream in the heat.

Now my refrigerator is on the curb side and I already pick the end pump anyway, besides lev is anyone not turning off the gas when they fill up?

Anon · 07-29-2006, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheel interested

besides lev is anyone not turning off the gas when they fill up?

I never have it on in the first place.

I run down the road with mine on 12Vdc. I will never have another 2-way fridge. They are a pain when you have to run down the road on gas. The flame can be blown out with any amount of wind in the right direction.

SafeHarbor · 07-29-2006, 11:10 AM

I have towed with the gas on and the fridge running. I prefer not, though. It depends on the length of the trip. For shorter ones, I can transfer a couple of blue ice packs from the freezer to the top shelf of the fridge, and the freezer's still frozen when I get there. I do have the option of running it on 12 VDC in the Excella, but I haven't gotten around to installing the power cord in the truck for it yet.

As for refueling, I have a diesel. I normally let it do the turbo cooldown AT the fuel pump while refueling. Some fuel bays, however, are an ecological disaster due to previously spilled fuel. I've driven away from several of them that were just too disgusting to use. I've had good luck at Flying J's RV lane, though.

My thought is that the fridge is a LONG WAY from the fuel filler on my truck. That tiny flame is such a small risk . . .

Yes, I need to get that power cable installed on my truck. (But right now I'm busy converting the Excella to Dexter brakes. Then I can get parts from any NAPA store. Plotting and planning . . . and SPENDING.)

Lamar

redeagle313 · 07-29-2006, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pattersontoo

I never have it on in the first place.

I run down the road with mine on 12Vdc. I will never have another 2-way fridge. They are a pain when you have to run down the road on gas. The flame can be blown out with any amount of wind in the right direction.

The DC would be a nice option to have. Our refrigerator constantlys shuts off when we are in travel mode (on gas). I would not use this mode for a short run for a camping weekend, but when you are going on a week plus journey, it is a must. Our unit is a Jackson Center right now, and I have asked them to remedy the situation.

At fuel stops ( I prefer Flying J also) I use the couple minute turbo cool down to shut off the LP and the frig (if it is still operating). Then after departing the lane I turn on the LP and frig. Yea, it is a pain but with the diesel we rarely have more than two fuel stops per day.

Holzarbeiter · 07-29-2006, 11:35 AM

I run with fridge on LP, I only open one bottle. My fridge is on the street side while fill for diesel on the truck is curb side. I can get over 400 miles per tank so I normaly fill up before hitching up. I shut the fridge down for refuel.

BigAl · 07-29-2006, 11:39 AM

Mine is a 94 Excella. In my Airstream owners manual it states that the wiring to the fridge is such that if you turn off the tow vehicles ignition the power to the fridge is automatically disconnected and the fridge won't restart for half an hour. This assumes you have pulled in and turned off your ignition to refuel.
I have not tried to confirm this however.
Must put it on my to-do list just for my own info.
Al

john hd · 07-29-2006, 02:00 PM

i run with mine lit. i have a big enough gas tank in the silverado that i usually only fuel once a day on cross country runs.

shutting it down is not a problem.

john

scottanlily · 07-29-2006, 05:58 PM

Hello everyone ,I have the fridge lit on the road ,never goes out .Am
I understanding correctly that when you guys go to the gas station to
get fuel ,you figure the fumes at the station will go into the trailer and blow
it up? Has this happened ?To AZstreamin ,what do you mean by open propane? The coach filled with gas only and ignited? Propane is highly explosive ,so thats a bad thought .I like to have the gas off when all are sleeping in the trailer unless the fridge is on with no 120 volt shore power.
Any way, risks are part of the deal when using propane .I don't turn off the fridge gassing up ,after all the fumes at the pump shouldn't blow into the trailer ,and the pumps are outside . plenty of ventilation .In a closed
environment ,gasoline ,propane definately a different story.Usually the pilot
goes out ,the gas should be cutoff ,like in the water heater .I guess in a
freak situation anything can happen .I always shut the bottles off when not in use ,and if Im shutting down the propane for the night ,I will close the
bottle valves and let the stove and the water heater especially run out of
propane on its own .I never have the water heater lit while asleep ,the furnace we don't use much ,the airstream is well insulated anyway.

Scott

FlyFishInn · 07-29-2006, 06:14 PM

On a recent trip, I tried running with the frig on gas. When I stopped, the pilot light had gone out. I've read mixed items about this. Any suggestions on a fix?

scottanlily · 07-29-2006, 06:41 PM

hello FlyFishInn,

Look on the forums for Lew Farber under the appliances forum threads ,
as he looks like the man who would know.That being said ,some peoples fridges don't stay lit unless the fridge stays level .

Scott

ROBERTSUNRUS · 07-29-2006, 10:26 PM

Hi, I also drive with the refrigerator running on propane. Before leaving the house, I run the refrigerator on 110 v and as soon as I'm ready to hit the road I unplug the power line and my refrigerator automatically switches to gas. When I reach a camp ground with hook ups it switches back to 110v. My refrigerator and gas fill are on the same side, street side, but not that close together. Not that this is right, but I feel alot safer than the person at the other pump with a cigarette in his mouth while pumping. By the way, most gas station fires are caused by women, not trailers.

Bob

jwalton · 07-30-2006, 12:24 PM

We run with the fridge lit also. and I seldom worry about the chance of fire caused by the open flame, because the trailer is usually well away from the refueling ....

However there is a chance that a large spill at the pumps right when you're filling could be set alight by your fridge flame. Normally the few fumes generated during refueling the tow vehicle are heavy and fall to the ground, well below the level of the fridge. It's not so much that the trailer will explode, as it is that you may ignite the fuel around you.

Travelling with the tanks open poses less of a risk these days with the high flow check valve in the proane tank. Non-the-less a broken fuel line may feed just enough fule to keep a fire going.

For anyone having trouble lighting their fridge after a lengthy shut down, we also have the problem but I found that lighting the hot water heater clears the line of air because it uses more fuel. On our unit the water heater is the last fuel user. I've also lit the stove for a few seconds with similar effectiveness.

scottanlily · 07-30-2006, 08:08 PM

Hello ROBERTSUNRUS,

Interestingly you have a point (easy ladies ) a woman will usually put in the gas filler into the vehical ,then go back into the vehical and close the door .
Then when the pump shuts off ,she will get out and reach for the fill nozzel
and a static charge from her body built up from entering and exiting the car
causes a static buildup that discharges to the nozzel and susequently ignites
the fumes from the gas ,this has been documented as a common occurrence
and is the real deal .Guys as I know it never go back and sit in the car and wait,so thats the story.In any event ,unless it has happened ,I don't see
a fridge pilot igniting gas station fumes in an outside area as a possibility
anyway ,the fumes would have to build up a concentrated amount to become
an explosion ,such as cleaning with gasoline in a closed garage and the water
heater pilot causes an explosion ,that absolutly has happened.Leaded gas was great at cleaning car parts and such and those vapors lay low on the
floor such as LP does ,so the water heater pilot is in the right area to cause
an explosion. The fridge is inside the trailer ,the door is closed ,gas is not going into anyones trailer ,is it ? Unless someone had some terrible accident
in this scenario ,for some reason I would not worry about it .

Scott

scottanlily · 07-30-2006, 08:15 PM

To j walton ,hello

you are right about the fridge being higher than the ground and the gas
will not ignite unless you toss a cigarette on it ,or a match.The gas vapors
as I posted are outside in the air blowing around .I mean think of all the vehicals driving in and out of the station ,idiots smoking (stupid) and hot engines ,exhaust and so on .Most of us would not drive up into a fresh
runoff of lost gasoline anyway.

Scott