It take 5 minutes to get the gas flowing to my fridge, water heater, etc.

[TBKP's Overlander]

I got the trailer recently. I think the gas bottles are a little low. But it takes about 5 minutes of holding down the button on the appliance from the point where I turn on the valve on the bottle to the point where I get gas to the appliance. The stove will light in about 20-30 seconds. What is my problem?

[WayWard Wind]

Common problem on all gas appliances. The orfice ( hole where the pilot gas comes out when you hold the button down ) is so small that it takes some time for the air to be removed & gas to come through. Your gas stove ( burners on top )will light faster because it has larger orfices. We have a 02 Bambi & it has the inside electronic pilot lighting switch & it will cycle several times when we first light it. I really don't think you have problem, other than the time wait sometimes gets long. Hope this helps.
Best,

[overlander64]

I would be a bit concerned about the length of wait that you indicate, especially if the coach is new to you and a '68 model. It is possible that the LP level may be low, but there are other potential problems such as a worn/defective regulator as well as damaged LP pipes or worn/collapsing pressure hoses. It is also possible that the burners may need cleaning or adjustment.

With my '64 Overlander, I have develolped a practice of having all of the LP appliances (and the regulator) cleaned, checked and ajusted by a trained technician every other year to insure safe and economical operattion. One thing that I have learned is that the first time the rig is used each season (as well as any time that the coach has been permitted to run out of LP), it is easier to get the furnace and water heater to light if all four burners on the range are lit and allowed to burn until all of the flames are an even, consistent color. I then shut of all of the burners and proceed to light the water heater and turn on the furnace if necessary. I very rarely run my refrigerator on LP - - I usually use either AC electric or 12-volt - - so I don't know whether this method would make any difference when lighting the refrigerator. I will find out with my Minuet this summer as it doesn't have a 3-way refrigerator (yet!).

Kevin

[TBKP's Overlander]

I have been soing it the lazy way. I've turned off the tank, then when I get the time I turned off the pilot. So that causes the line to full drain out. Maybe if I shut the pilot and left gas in the line it would be quicker.

[thenewkid64]

You are correct, the pilot will hold open the line and allow the gas to escape if you are shutting down at the tank. The other benifit of shutting off the pilot first is that if you have no problems with the LP system (read leaks) then the pilot should light right away on a restart.

[Pahaska]

If you have a manual (non-electronic) water heater, get the thermocouple good and hot with your gas match and then turn the control all the way on while keeping the thermocouple hot. The main burner will light very quickly because it has a large orfice. The main burner will stay on when you release the button and the pilot will light when it is good and ready.

This has worked well for me on my 3 previous trailers. Current trailer has electronic ignition.

[TBKP's Overlander]

The thermocouple is the wire right? So if I hold a match to it, set the dial to on, listen and move the match from time to time to the orifice location it will fire up? Cool. What about the fridge? Maybe no tricks there I guess?

[davidz71]

I have found that if I turn the tank on first then go inside and put a match to one of the stove eyes until it lights for about 30 seconds, my fridge will light much quicker. Same with the water heater. I always turn off at the appliance first and the tank last. This allows me to check the red flag to see if there is a leak in the systems I am not aware of before I leave the camping area.

[TBKP's Overlander]

Thanks for yourhelp