Propane Pigtail ACME Fitting Integrity

[NoPeeking]

When I refilled a propane tank toady I noticed the ACME nut on both tank supply pigtails had started to crack. As with many of you, I replaced the regular (per the recall notice) with an in-kind Flame King c/w pigtails purchased on Amazon. The assembly has been in-use 14 months. Fortunately, I had a spare set of hoses and the swap-out was easy.

Check your fittings...

Mike

[ncitro]

NoPeeking Wow that is am impressive amount of wear. I see you have an Imagine TT, do you keep the cover on the tanks or run without? First thing I would suspect there is UV wear from being in the sunlight.

[Country Campers]

Are the "green ends" supposed to be used on RV's?

Brian

[NoPeeking]

NoPeeking Wow that is am impressive amount of wear. I see you have an Imagine TT, do you keep the cover on the tanks or run without? First thing I would suspect there is UV wear from being in the sunlight.

Hi Neil, yes the tanks are always covered and the trailer sits in barn storage 6 months of the year.

Mike

[NoPeeking]

Are the "green ends" supposed to be used on RV's?

Brian

Hi Brian, hmmm... good question. My unit was delivered with green ends so that's what I replaced with. I'm open to discussion on this...

Mike

[StephenO]

Hi Brain, hmmm... good question. My unit was delivered with green ends so that's what I replaced with. I'm open to discussion on this...

Mike

Country Campers

Mike / Bryan
That is a good question. My OEM ACME fittings are green too, but according to this information on eTrailer, there is a difference in light green vs. dark green

https://www.etrailer.com/question-331973.html

I wonder if the BTU/Hr ratings are similar to that of the regulators, where they are rated for a maximum supply rate as opposed to a minimum.

[NoPeeking]

Country Campers

Mike / Bryan
That is a good question. My OEM ACME fittings are green too, but according to this information on eTrailer, there is a difference in light green vs. dark green

https://www.etrailer.com/question-331973.html

I wonder if the BTU/Hr ratings are similar to that of the regulators, where they are rated for a maximum supply rate as opposed to a minimum.

The plot thickens... for GD reimbursement of the regulator purchase I had to provide results of an LP Drop Test. My dealer performed the test and the regulator/pigtails (pictured above) were within spec. I understand the drop test to be specific to pressure and different coloured fittings relate to flow(?).

[Country Campers]

I am not sure if the flow rater, in btu's, has anything to do with the 11" WC or not, I would guess not though. The flow rate would have a direct effect on the output of the appliances. With the fridge, water heater, and furnace all running on propane I would guess that they would eat up quite a bit of flow. Would the "low" flow black end have an effect on this performance?, I would think so.

Brian

[StephenO]

Reading through the Marshall Excelsior RV catalog, I can see that they have two styles of hoses, Green and Red (Thankfully no light green and dark green...). The Green hose is listed for 200,000 BTU/h, whereas the Red is listed for 400,000 BTU/h. I can also see their 'standard' regulator is rated at 225 kBTU/h maximum, the 'high capacity' is listed at 350kBTU/h, and the 'low' is 175 kBTU/h.

Based on that, I would say if you have the high capacity model, and wanted to fully leverage its output you would want to install the red hoses. Otherwise green would be sufficient. I would agree the BTU/h rate would not impact that 11"WC output of the regulator, as the regulator's job is to maintain that pressure across various usage loads. That is assuming you are staying within the capacity limits of everything. Like Brian notes above, having the 'low' gear and exceeding it's capacity would give you grief.

It's interesting reading through that catalog, they list a regulator for 1,200,000 BTU/h at 40PSI, which is a couple smidges above 11"WC. Long story short, order the right parts or leave it with a pro.

Catalog for those interested, the regulators are on pg5 and the hoses are on pg14...
https://www.marshallexcelsior.com/si...%20Catalog.pdf

[Scott'n'Wendy]

FYI......11"WC is a little under 0.5psi.. for those not realizing Stephens sarcasm...lol