Propane Use - One Tank at a Time or Both Open

[ncitro]

So does anyone have a link to the manual for the regulator on line? I'm of the opinion my MLE22 has an auto regulator, but damed if I see lights- what I do know is that the tanks switched over to the second tank, (both tanks open, lever pointed to drivers side tank) - as I just pulled a very light drivers side tank off and filled it. manual would be so nice- I don't see any ID on the regulator that isn't under the plastic.

They are not lights, its a little red and green flag inside a clear plastic "bubble" on the top.

Mine is not exactly this, but similar.

[Second Chance]

So does anyone have a link to the manual for the regulator on line? I'm of the opinion my MLE22 has an auto regulator, but damed if I see lights- what I do know is that the tanks switched over to the second tank, (both tanks open, lever pointed to drivers side tank) - as I just pulled a very light drivers side tank off and filled it. manual would be so nice- I don't see any ID on the regulator that isn't under the plastic.

There are no lights - it's a little colored disc or drum (depending on the regulator model) behind some clear plastic somewhere. According to the GD parts lookup site, this is the regulator the Imagine 22MLE XLS should have:


https://www.granddesignrv.com/owner-...s/detail/31257

If it is, then it looks like the indicator is under the handle. The parts lookup site doesn't list the brand or model number (just the GD part number), so you would have to tell us that so we can try to find a manual for you.

Rob

[boyscout]

It should only draw from whatever tank the regulator is pointed to. I think if you have the regulator in the middle it will draw from both, maybe that is what they are referring to?

The walkthrough "technician" at our seriously-deficient dealer told me that was how the regulator worked! I learned after more than a week of winter experience - fortunately we weren't living in the trailer - that it doesn't. When the regulator's selector lever is set to the "middle" (note, there is no indication of where "middle" is) tanks empty in unpredictable ways and at least once no propane was being delivered when one tank held lots of fuel.

The regulator works beautifully as others have described above hen the selector lever on top of the regulator is set fully to one side or the other.

Ours looks a lot like this one:

https://www.fairviewfittings.com/pro...ngeover-38165/

The regulator is showing its red flag because the tank that it's black selector is pointed to is empty (there's no tank there!)

[Calbar]

The walkthrough "technician" at our seriously-deficient dealer told me that was how the regulator worked! I learned after more than a week of winter experience - fortunately we weren't living in the trailer - that it doesn't. When the regulator's selector lever is set to the "middle" (note, there is no indication of where "middle" is) tanks empty in unpredictable ways and at least once no propane was being delivered when one tank held lots of fuel.

The regulator works beautifully as others have described above hen the selector lever on top of the regulator is set fully to one side or the other.

Ours looks a lot like this one:

https://www.fairviewfittings.com/pro...ngeover-38165/

The regulator is showing its red flag because the tank that it's black selector is pointed to is empty (there's no tank there!)

Mark,

This is the exact same one that we have on our unit.

Rob

[ThePowells]

CLARKR4 Just as a thought, I took the time to take my build sheet and went through every appliance and part listed and printed out every manual for anything I had in the trailer. I can read and use as a three ring binder that will work regardless of cell service, wifi connections, and any other technical glitch. It also gives me a great place to store receipts, work orders, and any other paperwork (including printed emails) created related to the trailer. Will I leave this inside the trailer when it becomes a trade-in,? No. Dealerships have a habit of removing everything relating to the previous owner. I left a trail of "breadcrumbs" in our Class C that encouraged the new owner to reach out to me. Once he did, I sent him the totality on what I had for the coach and he found out that he actually got a much better coach than what he thought.
It is also the document repository for anything else printed including all of the vet and chip information for all of the fur babies.

[SnelCal]

Well, with a certain amount of luck, using the UL listing, and partial model number from above the plastic- it is a Winntec 6020- and here is the manual for those who want it.
Tom and Robbie

[Schiefswret]

I was in the process of making up a maintenance spread sheet and was reading through the GD suppled owners' manual. On P136 there was a note, stating to have only one propane tank open at a time. If both open, propane will be drawn equally from both tanks. In my past RV'ing time with 3 5th wheels I have always opened both. I check regularly and when the tank to which the lever at the regulator is pointed is empty, the red triangle on the regulator appears. Then I switch the lever to the other tank and the triangle shows green. Has there been a change in regulator technology and operation, or have I never fully understood how it worked? With only one tank open you could run out of propane in the middle of a cold night and only find out when the ice started forming.

Thanks for an informed opinion.

Rich

My understanding is that the ‘lever’ everyone talks about is not mechanical in any way and actually does nothing but remind you of which tank you are drawing from. If you had to turn this lever by hand to get the flow to change to the opposite tank, then the change over process would not be automatic would it? On many models, the green / red indicates whether there is gas in the tank or not. My experience is that when/if one tank empties, the opposite tank automatically takes over (maybe that’s why it’s often called an “auto change-over” valve.
Mine works that way, not sure about other models.

[howson]

My understanding is that the ‘lever’ everyone talks about is not mechanical in any way and actually does nothing but remind you of which tank you are drawing from.

Dave,
I'm far from an expert on propane issues, but I don't completely agree with the statement quoted above. On the unit installed on my 315RLTS there's this warning in the component's manual:



Howard

[Schiefswret]

Dave,
I'm far from an expert on propane issues, but I don't completely agree with the statement quoted above. On the unit installed on my 315RLTS there's this warning in the component's manual:



Howard

Greetings Howard, I see the pic of your valve and I’m sure mine is a completely different make and model. My only guess is that this is the reason that they operate differently, and I also am no propane expert. The only part I’m sure of is that my model works as I’ve described and I’ve changed/filled the tanks a bunch of times. Btw, fwiw, I replaced my oem regulator about two months ago and it looks visually exactly like the original.

[Second Chance]

It the regulator has a lever, it determines which tank is used first. It's not just a reminder.

Rob

[Cate&Rob]

Just catching up to this discussion . . . everything stated by Second Chance Rob is correct. The selector definitely chooses the primary tank to supply propane . . . unless this tank goes empty and there is propane available from the other tank. In which case, the selector indicator goes red and propane is drawn from the “non selected” tank. It never occurred to me to leave the selector in a centre position . . . I don’t know which tank would be selected in that situation.

(another) Rob

[Cate&Rob]

I have never tried it, as the warning states not to.... But, based on the warnning, I think it would draw propane from both tanks. I also think that they would equalize.

I am not sure why someone would want to draw propane from both tanks at the same time, but vapour pressure would seldom be the same in the two tanks. The tank on the “sunny” side will usually be warmer and at a higher pressure . . . until it cools due to vapour withdrawal. Propane is stored and refilled as a liquid but usually withdrawn as a gas. Refilling with a gas (equalizing) would not likely work . . . or would be a very slow process requiring a significant temperature (pressure) differential between the tanks.

Rob

[boyscout]

My understanding is that the ‘lever’ everyone talks about is not mechanical in any way and actually does nothing but remind you of which tank you are drawing from.

If you have one empty tank and one full tank, and you set the lever to point towards the empty tank and try to use your propane appliances, you'll find that's not true.

It's a mechanical selector that says, "Use this tank until it's empty, then automatically switch to using the other tank".

EDIT: Sorry, I've just seen there were lots of answers to this.

[Schiefswret]

If you have one empty tank and one full tank, and you set the lever to point towards the empty tank and try to use your propane appliances, you'll find that's not true.

It's a mechanical selector that says, "Use this tank until it's empty, then automatically switch to using the other tank".

EDIT: Sorry, I've just seen there were lots of answers to this.

Hello fellas, I read over the owners manual that SnelCal sent, I don’t see anywhere that should it be 34 degrees outside and at 2 a.m. my “current” (call it whatever you choose) tank runs out, I should go outside and turn the lever to the opposite tank. Actually it reads (to me) quite the opposite when it describes the “Auto Changeover” feature. Since it is supposed to change over automatically, I’ll just stick with that.

Attached is a pic of my current regulator which appears to be the same as the 6020 model only mf’d by someone else and uses a different model number. I found this at Camping World (sorry, I was in a jam and had no choice) and it was displayed on a rack labeled “6020”, which was my oem model number. I’m betting that the Auto Changeover feature means that no human physical intervention is required to shift the “take” from the empty tank to the full tank. This is my only concern, nothing to do with the act of refilling an empty tank, what color is in the window, etc, etc, which for me is a different discussion. Keep in mind that I could be wrong at any time but I’ve been operating my tanks in this manner for 2 years now (on my second regulator) without and difficulties.

[boyscout]

Hello fellas, I read over the owners manual that SnelCal sent, I don’t see anywhere that should it be 34 degrees outside and at 2 a.m. my “current” (call it whatever you choose) tank runs out, I should go outside and turn the lever to the opposite tank.

NONE of the people who responded to your post #22 have said anything like this, including me whose post you just quoted.

In post #22 you wrote:

My understanding is that the ‘lever’ everyone talks about is not mechanical in any way and actually does nothing but remind you of which tank you are drawing from.

You're now correctly describing how auto changeover works without mentioning the lever. The lever determines which of the two tanks should be depleted FIRST before the regulator automatically switches to the other tank.