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Stonew98 · 11-26-2012, 09:19 AM

Hi all...relative newbie here...have a '85 29ft Sovereign, new propane tanks and regulator, had the lines checked out at the dealer.

Last night, heater (original heater) was working great until one bottle of propane ran out, I switched the valve at the tanks over to the other bottle, which is full, now the heater will not light up. It turns on, but never lights.

Any ideas?

Thanks! It was cold last night :-)

Jim Foster · 11-26-2012, 09:30 AM

1. Be sure your stove lights. If not, keep a burner on until it does to assure that there is propane. Then, try your heater.

2. You might want to use the automatic change over feature built into your regulator so that you never run out of propane.

idroba · 11-26-2012, 09:33 AM

Have you tried the range to see if it works? Sometimes with the new valves used on the tanks, if the gas is turned on fast, the valve blocks the flow, thinking there is a massive leak in the system. Always turn the valve on slow when you have an empty tank and the pressure in the lines has gone down. To reset the valve, turn it off, let it sit for a few minutes, then slowly turn it on again.

Second possibility would be that the furnace needs to cycle a couple of times to get the gas to the burner, especially if it has run out. Turn the thermostat off, let it sit for a few minutes, then turn it on and see if it lights. Repeat a couple of times.

With the automatic change over regulator all AS are equipped with, you can leave both tanks on all the time and when one runs out, it will switch to the other automatically. A red flag will come up in the regulator window where the green flag was, showing that one tank (the one the switchover lever points to) is empty. You can then switch the lever over to the good tank, and detach the empty one to refill, without shutting anything else off. It is a nice feature if you are not familiar with it.

**azflycaster** · 11-26-2012, 09:37 AM

Are you connected to shore power? If your battery power drops, the speed of the fan may not be enough to activate the sail switch and the gas will not flow to the furnace.

Stonew98 · 11-26-2012, 05:52 PM

Hi all...thanks for the responses...will try the valve on/off, cycle the furnace a few times trick tomorrow.

I am on shore power, so should not be the issue. Also, my regulator, which was installed new a year ago, has a lever to switch from one tank to the other...is straight up for both on?

Also, am in the middle of a total interior renovation, so gas lines to stove and fridge are plugged up and disconnected.

idroba · 11-26-2012, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonew98

Hi all...thanks for the responses...will try the valve on/off, cycle the furnace a few times trick tomorrow.

I am on shore power, so should not be the issue. Also, my regulator, which was installed new a year ago, has a lever to switch from one tank to the other...is straight up for both on?

Also, am in the middle of a total interior renovation, so gas lines to stove and fridge are plugged up and disconnected.

The lever should point to the tank that is supplying gas, left or right one. Not straight up. The one it points to is the first one it tries to take gas from. When there is no gas (no pressure) in that tank, it automatically switches to the other tank, assuming it is turned on. To fill the empty tank, move the lever to point to the good one, and that will allow you to remove the empty tank, and have it filled, without turning anything else off. So, you can have one tank removed for filling, and not plug the tank attachment or anything, no gas will flow out if the lever is pointed to the full tank.

Jim Foster · 11-26-2012, 07:24 PM

I don't know what happens if the lever is pointed straight up. Have never tried that position as there is no reason to do that. Perhaps it shuts the gas off. I would think it might shut both off or turn both on.

Richard?

TBRich · 11-26-2012, 07:58 PM

You need to make sure tank #2 you switched to has gas in it. If the lever (red rectangle below) was pointed to tank #1 that ran out, the regulator will allow propane to flow from the 2nd tank...but the lever does not switch over to point toward tank #2 by itself..it is a manual operation to turn the lever toward the active tank. If a tank has propane in it the indicator window on the regulator (in the orange circle below) will show green...if the tank it's pointed to is empty it will show red. The lever should not be in the up position, but pointed toward one tank or the other...and both tanks should be left open until you remove to refill... so the flow can continue uninterrupted.

rumrunner · 11-26-2012, 08:43 PM

Perhaps I'm being too obvious but since nobody else said it...
Is the second tank valve open? Not just the regulator, be sure the tank valve was opened fully so that you get full pressure. More than once I have had to go through several cycles after running a tank dry in order to get the furnace to light. Kind of a pain, especially on a cold night.
tim