Poll; Do you use the refrigerator on LPG when you're on the road ?

[brunoffrance]

Hi there,

Just to know if most of A/S or MH, let the refrigerator burning LPG when you're on the road ?
Is there a danger to do that , or not ?
How do you keep food in good condition, until you arrive to your destination ?

Bruno.

[Pick]

My unit only runs on 120 VAC. I have driven 8 hours with ice in it and it has kept the food cold and safe. We went 5 hours last weekend with no ice and everything was fine on arrival.

[Pahaska]

In the great state of Texas with summer temperatures over 100 degrees F, there is no other option. With a smaller refrigerator, there is no way to refreeze enough ice to carry it over a day of travel (I have tried).

In cooler weather, I will turn the box off under some conditions such as the last 2 hours of the day's travel.

I see less danger travelling with it on propane than I do in sleeping overnight with it on propane when dry camping. In the extremely rare event of a fire caused by a sudden amonia leak, I would far rather be awake and in the tow vehicle than asleep in the trailer.

Prudence reigns when refueling.

[InsideOut]

Yes....except we turn it off prior to entering a gas station for refueling, then restart it away from the gas station. It actually stays lit better (& colder!) on the road...all the air circulation helps keep everything working effeciently, we have to adjust it once we are parked for the night.

Shari

[jcanavera]

I also do the same as you Shari. Off before we move to the pumps and on after we leave them. My only other consideration is that I will not refuel at pumps when another RV is present. I don't trust that they are as safety minded as I am.

Jack

[mtbob]

We run our fridge all the time when on the road except when gassing up. Summers in Montana really do get hot when on the road despite what you might have heard.

[overlander64]

The Dometic 3-way RV refrigerator in my '64 Overlander has only been run a total of 3 hours on LP in the two years since it was installed. It is always operated either on 12-volt DC or 120-volt AC. This is a replacement refrigerator that I special ordered as a safety consideration. After having hoses rupture while refilling my fuel tank multiple times in the past decade (one spilled more than 50 gallons of fuel because the station did not have a kill switch mounted at the pumps and an attendant couldn't be found immediately inside the station), I didn't want to take any chances of neglecting to turn off the refrigerator - - so I always turn off both gas valves before departing each day.

Even with my '78 Minuet the gas is always turned off prior to departure even though it has only a 2-way RV refrigerator (its original Dometic). I run the refrigerator very near its coldest setting while camped, and it keeps the food safely cool for at least 8-hours of travel in the off position so long as the door isn't opened more than once or twice (this is in hot and humid Southern Illinois - - summer temperatures 90+ with 90+% humidity).

Kevin

[brunoffrance]

OK, you've reassured me about this refrigerator;
That right that is very usefull to do that and very pleasant when you stop to drink something fresh.

Thank you

Bruno.

[eikel1we]

When we had a tech show us how to operate stuff before our first outing at the Midwest Rally, he said you could cut the lines right then and the safety "something or other" (he knows what it is - I don't) would stop the lp flow instantly. My concern was an auto accident but I never thought about gas station safety. Glad I read this thread.

sue

[eikel1we]

When we had a tech show us how to operate stuff before our first outing at the Midwest Rally. He said we could cut the lines right then and the safety "something or other" (he knows what it is - I don't) would stop the lp flow instantly. My concern was an auto accident but I never thought about gas station safety. Glad I read this thread.

sue

[jcanavera]

Sue,
The new valves now required on your tanks have a safety feature that can shut off the gas supply if a large discharge occurs. This is what the tech was telling you about.

I've heard, although this was indirect, that sometimes that safety can engage when you turn on your gas tank when the gas line is relatively unpressurized. Supposedly the advice was to turn the gas valve on slowly when you first pressurize the system.

Personally I haven't had that happen to me and have not followed that advice.

Jack

[Forrest]

So far we have put frozen cold packs in the refrigerator while underway, and they have kept things cold for about 4 hrs of travel. Even after 6 hrs of travel the interior was still cool (but not cold), and this was through Nevada in temperatures of 98+.

Our fridge is original and so is 37 yrs old, and even though there are several fail safe devices in line I don't trust equipment, new or old, that much. The other posts that write about turning off the pilot before entering the gas station to refuel give me pause. You all say you'll remember, but you only need to forget once. A lot of people go a long time doing risky things without getting burned, but that only breeds false-confidence, in my opinion. Every year there are multiple reports of RVs catching fire while going down the road - how does that happen?

Forrest

[Pahaska]

As one who very nearly died from food poisoning, I will accept the negligable risks of running the refrigerator during travel in favor of keeping the refrigerator in the safe zone on the best thermometer I have been able to locate.

An hour of Texas summer travel will move the needle from the point of nearly freezing food to out of the safe zone.

Part of the stuff that was lost during the recent forum crash was an article by a person who polled state patrol and inurance companies looking for refrigerator fire incidents. He found none. Apparently, all those fabled refrigerator fires are not much more than urban legends.

[jcanavera]

Originally posted by Forrest
The other posts that write about turning off the pilot before entering the gas station to refuel give me pause. You all say you'll remember, but you only need to forget once. Forrest

Forrest I can tell you that I don't forget. Its in the same class as making sure my safety chains and breakaway cable are connected. I could turn the question to you and state what if you are camping on LP and you forget to turn off the fridge prior to you leaving. What happens if you then go to refuel?

Also note that I'm not a trustworthy of others and if you noticed my other posts about this topic, I don't fuel if I see other RV's at the pumps. I trust no one but myself on this matter.

Jack

[Forrest]

There have been no NTSB studies for the most part (although there is one from 1972 that I just ordered), because the NTSB primarily collects data on commercial accidents (Tractor trailer s for instance) and passenger vehicles that carry more than 15 people. As a result the federal gov't has little data on RV accidents because for the most part they don't collect it. It's not because it's not happening. Likewise the states don't collect national data on RV fires because - yep, they aren't a national agency. Saying that it doesn't happen because there aren't any gov't reports is a head-in-the-sand outlook. The insurance companies are notorious about not releasing the results of their data. They have the data, national and local, but they never release their studies because they don't want us speculating on how they arrive at the premiums they charge.

As for not forgetting -- when we break camp we have a check list to follow, and it reminds us to not only turn off the valve at the refrigerator, but also at the tanks. This is done when we are fresh and not tired from driving for hours on the road. You who don't forget to turn off the pilot prior to pulling into the gas station are at the other end of that process. You are likely more tired, have the valves to your tanks open and may be under more pressure to refuel given the traffic at the station. When it comes to safety the rule is to always ere on the conservative side. Your mistake might not hurt only you, but also innocent people around you. This isn't just my opinion. Here's a passage from ABCs of RVing, Trailer Life (02/01/1999)

For safety's sake, it is recommended that an RV not travel with LP-gas-powered appliance pilots or burners lit. In the event of an accident or when refueling at a gas station, the open flame of a pilot or burner can act as a source of ignition for extremely dangerous escaped gasoline or LP-gas vapors, resulting in a tragic fire. Instead of traveling with LP-gas appliances in operation:

Close the LP-gas tank valve.
Switch the refrigerator over to 12-volt DC mode to maintain an adequate cold level for the food.
Use the vehicle's dash heater for interior warmth.
Leave the water heater off until arrival at camp; the water will heat quickly after the unit is ignited.

[jcanavera]

Originally posted by Forrest
You who don't forget to turn off the pilot prior to pulling into the gas station are at the other end of that process. You are likely more tired, have the valves to your tanks open and may be under more pressure to refuel given the traffic at the station. When it comes to safety the rule is to always ere on the conservative side. Your mistake might not hurt only you, but also innocent people around you. This isn't just my opinion. Here's a passage from ABCs of RVing, Trailer Life (02/01/1999)


Switch the refrigerator over to 12-volt DC mode to maintain an adequate cold level for the food.

Forrest,
I respectivly disagree any assumption that my "freshness" has anything to do with forgetting to shut off my fridge during fill ups. Lists get old and people forget to follow them. In my haste to depart and my early morning sleepiness I could skip over some checklist items, right?

Obviously you feel confident that your early shutoff and list keeps you safe. I contend that none of the arguments you raise about the practice I follow is germain to me. The reality is you and I are safe when we fuel and that's all we can control. Its everybody else we have to worry about and in essance we can't control them so our only answer is to stay away when they are at the pumps. That's the only absolute we both have. Have you taken the ultimate step and stayed away from pumps when other RV's are refueling? I know I do.

The fact that manufacturers have pretty much eliminated 12 volt operations from most large RV refrigerators pretty much leaves me in a situation where I go 8 hours without cooling or run with the gas on.

As much as I have read Trailer Life, their ABC's are not the gospel of RV'ing and like others, it is the opinion of the writer. And yes if I really want to be safe I won't even take my trailer on the road. That way I won't be exposed to all the hazzards of the road.

Bottom line is you need to be responsible. If you feel that you can't remember, then travel with the gas off. But understand that there are many of us out here who are still of sound and safe minds who take safety very seriously and can do the steps necessary to make sure we are safe in the use of our silver toys.

I'm sure Uncle Sam will legislate some new rule to prevent gas flow on a moving vehicle if this truly is a problem. Its just a matter of time.


Jack

[thenewkid64]

I am one of those "Unsafe" drivers that tows with the gas on, and the refer running. As we pull off for a fuel stop and stop at the end of the ramp, the co-pilot goes and turns off the refer.

I have read of an RV fire that was caused when a service station attendent had a major fuel spill and the fuel sprayed on the RV. The untilate source was never found, but I now look for other RV's and avoid them if possible. I also make it a pratice to take the pump on the outside that places my "hot" refer as far away for all of the pumps as possible.

These actions other that turning off the refer are new to me since this issue has come up on the boards.

I look at it this way; I would rather run the risk running with the gas on, than get sick eating food that has spoiled due to the refer getting hot form a day travelling in the Florida Sun.

[Forrest]

It seems my posts have made some of you defensive. There is a difference between saying that a practice is unsafe and saying that you are unsafe. I don't think I've called anyone "unsafe" but have only tried to argue that the practice is unsafe.

That said, have you considered risks that can occur away from the gas stations. I'm looking at this from the view point of a first responder, such as a fireman at the scene of an accident. Let's say there is a gas spill from an accident on the highway. It might be a small spill from a compact car or a large spill from an overturned tanker. Are you going to stop well short of the accident scene to put out the refrigerator pilot light prior to driving by the accident? If you don't, or can't (because of traffic) are you willing to take the risk of being the ignition point?

If there is a train wreck near the highway you're going down and there is some sort of hazardous spill with fumes floating across the road - will you know in time to put out the pilot light?

If a backhoe operator ruptures a natural gas line near the Interstate and the resulting fog of gas drifts across the roadway will you know in time what it is? Or will you be the ignition?

You can say that all of these things are not likely to happen to you, and you will be right, but by saying you are responsible and safe or that there isn't anything wrong with the practice, you encourage others to do the same. As you've pointed out -- "Its everybody else we have to worry about." No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.

By the way, everything I've described above has happened in one way or another. It's not theory.

[jcanavera]

Originally posted by Forrest
I don't think I've called anyone "unsafe" but have only tried to argue that the practice is unsafe.

Lets also remove all the other potentials of ignition on the road like folks smoking, draging metal components of vehicles, misadjusted safety chains and infinitum.

Jack

[garry]

I was under the impression leaving the LP on was not only unsafe but "against the law" in several states.
Someone posted the CA highway patrol checked their valves to make sure they were turned off during a routine traffic stop.

I would like to run with the LP on but considered Murphy is always checking up on me so safe is better than sorry.

Garry