RV Education
RV Resources and Tech Advice
Mike Wilson is a RVDA Certified Master RV
Tech. with over 25 years experience and now he's sharing his
knowledge with you.
Mike is the president of Wilson RV
and developer for The RV Help
Desk.
LP Safety
Liquid propane is referred to as L.P.
L.P. is a fuel used in RV’s to provide a flame for items such as
stoves, heat absorption refrigerators, barbeque grills, hot water
heaters, and furnaces.
There are some basic guidelines that should be followed during L.P. use. All RV’s are required to have an L.P. gas leak detector. This is an electronic device used to detect L.P. gas vapors. The leak detector is powered by DC (12 volt) batteries. Typically the RV’s coach batteries are the power source. Some RV’s have an electrical solenoid in the L.P. supply line. The solenoid is connected to the L.P. gas leak detector. The detector must have battery power and be turned on to open the solenoid and supply L.P. to the RV. Some RV’s do not have this solenoid. If the RV does not have the solenoid, the leak detector cannot stop the flow of L.P. in the event of a leak. Above all, do not use the L.P. system if the leak detector is not working.
L.P. leaks can occur at any point in an RV. Typical components are: L.P. tanks, shut off valve, pressure regulator, leak detection solenoid, lines and hoses, and gas valves at L.P. flamed items. L.P. gas has an odorant added at the processing stage for easy leak detection. I recommend familiarizing everyone using the RV with the odor for easy leak detection. This can be done at a filling station. There will be L.P. gas fumes during the filling process.
The primary flow control of the L.P. tank is the shut off valve. To turn the L.P. off, turn the valve clockwise until tight. To turn L.P. on, turn the valve counter clockwise until tight. Some valves seal the valve shaft when turned until tight in either direction; therefore the valve should always be turned until tight.
Any time an L.P. gas leak detector is activated, the first step is to evacuate the RV. The tank shut off valve should be closed as soon as possible. Leave the RV door open. Do not enter the RV until the leak detector alarm has stopped. Once the alarm stops, the RV should be safe to enter. Turn off any items that use L.P. fuel. It is important to NOT turn a stovetop igniter if equipped. (Some stovetops have an igniter knob similar to the burner knobs. These can easily be mistaken for burner shut offs and will spark when turned) If no apparent leaks were found, take the RV to a professional for a leak test. Before turning the L.P. on, be certain the leak detector is on. Turn the shut off valve on. Check the leak detector for alarm. Wait 10 minutes to be certain the alarm has not activated, and then enter the RV. If the alarm has not activated it should be ok to start L.P. items. Turn on only 1 item at a time. If the alarm sounds, turn the item back off, shut off L.P. at the tank valve and take the RV to a professional to repair the leak.
Filling any L.P. tank must be done by a certified professional. Some basic safety knowledge on your part will help the professional fill your tank in a safe, timely manor.
There are safety shut offs in all approved containers to limit fill to 80%. The tank should not be overfilled under any circumstance. Park the RV as level as possible to have the tank filled. Be certain any L.P. fueled items are turned off at the item control prior to entering a filling station. Be certain there is clear access to the fill valve. (Covers removed, or RV compartment hold open mechanisms working) Turn the L.P. tank shut off valve OFF. After filling is complete, turn the shut off valve on. Check and tighten the outage valve on the tank after filling. (Finger tight) The outage valve is the small threaded valve located near the fill. It must be open during filling. It is used for the filling professional to see liquid start to flow when the tank reaches 80% fill. (I find some professionals don’t tighten the outage valve, causing a small leak near the tank fill)
My list of the most common L.P. leaks
- Pressure Regulators
- Shut off Valves
- Outage Valve (Fill vent on tank)
- Tank Fill valve
When replacing leaking components always use high quality new replacement parts. The L.P. tank must be empty to replace the fill valve, outage valve or shut off valve. (Take your RV to a professional for tank evacuation.) Since it is sometime difficult to isolate a leak in this area, I recommend replacing all 3 valves at the same time. This will eliminate draining the tank again and wasting a tank of L.P. Pressure regulators are past the shut off valve, and can be replaced with L.P. in the tank and the shut off valve turned OFF.
Any time the L.P. shut off valve has been off, there may be air in the lines. The air must be purged for L.P. items to burn. The easiest method to purge the air is to light a stovetop burner. Before starting the purging process, be certain all burners and the oven are OFF. With the L.P. tank turned on, light an igniter stick. Hold the flame near a stove burner, and then turn the burner to “light” position. It may take some time, but eventually the air will escape and the burner will light. Let the flame burn for about a minute. This will purge the lines and help any items with electronic ignition start quicker.
Before entering a gasoline or diesel filling station, be certain all L.P. flames are off. This means the refrigerator, oven, stovetop, hot water heater, furnace, and generator must be turned off. It is best to turn each item off at the switch for that item. Leaving the item on, then turning the L.P. shut off valve off is not the correct procedure. I have been through several instructional classes that suggest using the shut off valve to stop L.P. flow for this purpose. Using the shut off valve poses 2 problems. First, the item continues to burn until all L.P. is evacuated from the lines so there is no immediate flame stoppage. Second, the lines are now all empty and it is rather difficult to purge all lines and relight L.P. items. The shut off valve can and should be used as a back up safety after all items have been turned off at their switch.