Propane hose December 30, 2009, 11:55:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108849I bought a Extend-A-Stay to add propane storage when it gets really cold. The little electric heater that I use is ok until the temps drop below freezing all day. My problem is that on my 1997 RB the propane line downstream from the regulator (low pressure?) is hard plumbed. No give to add the extend-A-Stay.Are the fittings standardized? Can I buy a long hose with fittings?
Re: Propane hose Reply #1 – December 31, 2009, 10:06:48 am Yahoo Message Number: 108851"The little electric heater that I use is ok until the temps drop below freezing all day." Jim, my suggestion is to buy another small electric heater. As several people here have noted in the past, and as a couple who parked next to me for the past few days just discovered, two heaters running at half power (750W) do a much better job of heating the coach than one heater running at full power. No need to spend a hundred bucks for something fancy with electronic controls--you can get a compact ceramic "cube" heater for less than $20 at Walmart, and it'll do a fine job. In addition, you can use your air conditioner's heat strip (if it has one)... or plug a third electric heater into the microwave oven's electrical outlet (located toward the back of an adjacent kitchen cabinet). That outlet is on a separate circuit from all of your regular household AC outlets, so a heater plugged in there won't overload any circuits. (Of course, you'll remember to turn it off before using the microwave oven or the air conditioner's heat strip, since they are both fed from that circuit.) Another possibility: if your campsite has both 30A and 20A electrical outlets, you could run a separate extension cord (a heavy one) from the 20A outlet into the coach in order to power yet another heater without overloading your Lazy Daze's internal AC outlets. In general, if you have shore power, propane should be your last resort for heating... if only because unlike with propane, you never have to unhook and drive to an electricity dealer to refill. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Propane hose Reply #2 – December 31, 2009, 11:32:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 108853My local ACE hardware store has a pretty wide selection of 3/8 flared fittings. They do not carry the hose extensions, but he tells customers that Suburban Propane dealer will custom make whatever hose/fitting combo you may need. We live in So Cal. John 85FL
Re: Propane hose Reply #3 – December 31, 2009, 11:45:21 am Yahoo Message Number: 108854On Dec 31, 2009, at 8:06 AM, Andy wrote:Quote"The little electric heater that I use is ok until the temps drop below freezing all day." Jim, my suggestion is to buy another small electric heater. As several people here have noted in the past, and as a couple who parked next to me for the past few days just discovered, two heaters running at half power (750W) do a much better job of heating the coach than one heater running at full power. No need to spend a hundred bucks for something fancy with electronic controls--you can get a compact ceramic "cube" heater for less than $20 at Walmart, and it'll do a fine job. I use one small heater because I only have about 15A shore power and that is shared with other outlets inside the house. When the heater kicks on the voltage drops to 110 in the LD, another heater would not work.Quote In addition, you can use your air conditioner's heat strip (if it has one)... or plug a third electric heater into the microwave oven's electrical outlet (located toward the back of an adjacent kitchen cabinet). That outlet is on a separate circuit from all of your regular household AC outlets, so a heater plugged in there won't overload any circuits. (Of course, you'll remember to turn it off before using the microwave oven or the air conditioner's heat strip, since they are both fed from that circuit.) Good idea! I can plug my heater in there and hopefully the voltage won't drop.Quote Another possibility: if your campsite has both 30A and 20A electrical outlets, you could run a separate extension cord (a heavy one) from the 20A outlet into the coach in order to power yet another heater without overloading your Lazy Daze's internal AC outlets. In general, if you have shore power, propane should be your last resort for heating... if only because unlike with propane, you never have to unhook and drive to an electricity dealer to refill. :-) Using a portable tank to supplement the tiny propane tank on my LD would give me options, besides taking the coach for a drive in the winter would not hurt it.Quote Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/ Jim & Donna 1997 Teal RB
Re: Propane hose Reply #4 – December 31, 2009, 12:34:46 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108855QuoteI use one small heater because I only have about 15A shore power and that is shared with other outlets inside the house. When the heater kicks on the voltage drops to 110 in the LD, another heater would not work. Not good - do this check: Under the conditions where the LD voltage has dropped to 110V, check the voltage at a shared outlet inside the house. If it has dropped little, if any, then the problem is NOT the 15A circuit you are using. In this case, check the wiring run from the socket at each transition to the LD to find the bad connection or inadequate extension. If the voltage DOES drop in the house, you may have a bad circuit breaker. Drawing current on that circuit should trip the breaker before a significant voltage drop occurs, if the house is wired correctly.Steve
Re: Propane hose Reply #5 – December 31, 2009, 12:44:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108856On Dec 31, 2009, at 10:33 AM, aq433 wrote:QuoteI use one small heater because I only have about 15A shore power and that is shared with other outlets inside the house. When the heater kicks on the voltage drops to 110 in the LD, another heater would not work.Not good - do this check: Under the conditions where the LD voltage has dropped to 110V, check the voltage at a shared outlet inside the house. If it has dropped little, if any, then the problem is NOT the 15A circuit you are using. In this case, check the wiring run from the socket at each transition to the LD to find the bad connection or inadequate extension. If the voltage DOES drop in the house, you may have a bad circuit breaker. Drawing current on that circuit should trip the breaker before a significant voltage drop occurs, if the house is wired correctly.Steve Will do today! I bought a Kill-A-Watt meter and am learning all this electricity stuff. Changing the heater location to the microwave circuit helped, voltage measured at the center outlet stays above 110V (barely). The house is a mobile (oops, manufactured) home so the quality of the wiring could be questionable. Outside outlet is on same circuit as one of the bathrooms.Jim & Donna 1997 Teal RB
Re: Propane hose Reply #6 – December 31, 2009, 02:33:47 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108859I believe our '96 30 IB was the same but we had the install done at Camping World..Sylvia-
Re: Propane hose Reply #7 – December 31, 2009, 03:21:17 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108860"I can plug my heater in [to the microwave oven's outlet] and hopefully the voltage won't drop." I'm afraid it will. The advice I gave was based on a Lazy Daze plugged into a 30A campground outlet. In that situation, the current is split, with 15A allocated to the microwave oven and air conditioner and the other 15A going to the household outlets. (I'm not sure which circuit the converter is on.) But if you only have 15A coming in, then you only have 15A to play with, so it doesn't matter which outlet you use. If your voltage is dropping to 110V when you switch on your heater, my hunch is that your extension cord (assuming you're using one) may not be hefty enough. Here's a guide to hooking up to a 15A outlet, as in a stick house, at a distance. Don't do this: HOUSE-----15A ext. cord-----15/30 adapter====30A shore power cord====COACHInstead, do this: HOUSE--adapter======30A ext. cord======30A shore power cord======COACH In other words, instead of a 15A extension cord, use the heaviest 30A extension cord you can get (Walmart sells them in their RV supply section), and put your 15A/30A adapter on the house end. This way 98% of your total cable length is the heavy-duty kind. I've tried it both ways, and believe me, it makes a difference! No matter how "heavy duty" a 15A extension cord is claimed to be, it isn't as heavy duty as a 30A cord... so avoid using a 15A extension cord EVEN WHEN PLUGGED INTO 15A SHORE POWER.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Propane hose Reply #8 – January 01, 2010, 09:18:56 am Yahoo Message Number: 108872I've made that quite easy to do by installing a separate, dedicated circuit, totally independent from the LD's circuits. I used an exterior box with a Leviton # 4937 male inlet-receptacle, ran an armored 10-gauge wire to a new regular outlet inside. I use a heavy exterior extension cord to run from the utility post to the male-inlet receptacle. You can see some pix of the installation at:Toad Hall http://www.wxtoad.com/index.asp?page=LD/heaterrb.htm>Ted H. '05 RB NE-13@ Mayport Navy Station, FLAnother possibility: if your campsite has both 30A and 20A electrical outlets, you could run a separate extension cord (a heavy one) from the 20A outlet into the coach in order to power yet another heater without overloading your Lazy Daze's internal AC outlets.Andy Baird[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Propane hose Reply #9 – January 01, 2010, 09:34:24 am Yahoo Message Number: 108873Quoteplug a third electric heater into the microwave oven's electrical outlet (located toward the back of an adjacent kitchen cabinet). That outlet is on a separate circuit from all of your regular household AC outlets, so a heater plugged in there won't overload any circuits. Thanks for the tip Andy - I wasn't aware that the microwave had a separate circuit plug which was accessible that I could use for an electric heater. I'm trying to survive a cold sub-freezing Virginia winter. I've been living full time in my RV since June, but I'm only here at night and on week-ends since I still work. I have two electric heaters, but whenever I try to run both (from shore power) I always trip the circuit, unless I am running absolutely nothing else. My workaround has been to move into the back of my mid-bath and run a heavy blanket over a tension rod between the bathroom door and the closet wardrobe and then use my electric heater in the back of the coach. That way, I have a much smaller space to heat. (This is the same principle as using a blanket to separate the cab from the coach to reduce the drafts.) Using that, plus my electric heating pad and a heavy down blanket, I sleep comfortably at night. However, when I am home in the day, I resort to judicious use of my furnace to take off the edge, since it is rather cold when I venture out into the kitchen area. After reading your post, I found the electrical outlet in the kitchen cabinet to the left of my microwave. Actually, there are two outlets, so I didn't unplug my microwave and just plugged my heater into the second outlet. (I must remember to not run the microwave while the heater is running!) So far it's working great = no power outage with both heaters running at full blast. I'm going to take down the blanket and see if the temperature is now uniform and acceptably warm throughout the coach (it's sub-freezing outside). If not, I can always put the blanket back up and move both heaters into the back, since the cord is long enough on the heater now in front. I was on the verge of buying a Wave 3 heater, but may not need it now (since I'm not boondocking, although that may change in the future.)Doyle Cook Warming up in my 2005 Mid-bath Soon to be retired in not so sunny Virginia
Re: Propane hose Reply #10 – January 04, 2010, 03:32:44 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108985"I bought an Extend-A-Stay to add propane storage My problem is that on my 1997 RB the propane line downstream from the regulator (low pressure?) is hard plumbed. Are the fittings standardized? Can I buy a long hose with fittings?"Jim The 3/8" propane fittings are standard and are available at any home center. The low-pressure tubing will need to be cut, shortened and then flared to provide the room needed for the Extend-A-Stay. I recently did this on a late model RB and there was plenty of room. You will need a tube flaring kit and the experience to do it right.This is not a good beginners DIY project. What hose are you referring to? The Extend-A-Stay should have come with a hose to connect to an external propane tank.Larry
Re: Propane hose Reply #11 – January 04, 2010, 04:18:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108988For those of you who have an extra tank, where do you store/carry it? We have a 24ft RB. We had a cargo carrier but gave it up to pull the jeep. The jeep has a bike rack on the back of it.Thanks Denise
Re: Propane hose Reply #12 – January 04, 2010, 07:49:15 pm Yahoo Message Number: 109009On Jan 4, 2010, at 1:29 PM, Larry wrote:Quote"I bought an Extend-A-Stay to add propane storage My problem is that on my 1997 RB the propane line downstream from the regulator (low pressure?) is hard plumbed. Are the fittings standardized? Can I buy a long hose with fittings?"Jim The 3/8" propane fittings are standard and are available at any home center. The low-pressure tubing will need to be cut, shortened and then flared to provide the room needed for the Extend-A-Stay. I recently did this on a late model RB and there was plenty of room. You will need a tube flaring kit and the experience to do it right.This is not a good beginners DIY project. What hose are you referring to? The Extend-A-Stay should have come with a hose to connect to an external propane tank.Larry On my Lazy Daze the copper tubing goes from the regulator up into the coach to a elbow. This is the piece I am going to replace with a longer hose. I'm not cutting and flaring the tubing.I plan to do a good soap test on the fittings.Does the propane gas leak detector have a limited life?Nothing in the instructions that came with our Lazy Daze. The extend-A-Stay does come with a hose to connect another tank before the regulator.Jim & Donna 1997 Teal RB[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Propane hose Reply #13 – January 05, 2010, 01:55:51 am Yahoo Message Number: 109020"For those of you who have an extra tank, where do you store/carry it?"DeniseOur 23.5' FL has no good place to carry an extra tank. When we need an extra a 20lb propane tank (the home BBQ type), it gets placed in the toad. The tank fits perfectly on the Cherokee's floor, in front of the passenger's seat. The tank is storied inside a tight fitting cardboard box to protect the toad's interior. In good weather, the toad's windows are left slightly open to provide ventilation in case of leakage. The windows are opened a little more in hot weather to prevent the tank from overheating. A much more difficult solution would be to move the battery someplace else and mount a smaller can in the original battery compartment. This was done during the battery project to provide additional propane storage capacity in our LD. The new tank is connected to an Extend A Stay adaptor. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/1416467334/in/set-72157602104740457/> http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157602104740457/> This added 3 gallons to the existing 8-gallon capacity and provided an easy to use reserve supply.Larry
Re: Propane hose Reply #14 – January 05, 2010, 06:47:35 am Yahoo Message Number: 109021Thank you Larry, That's just the info I was looking for. I'll pass it on to Garth. Denise
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