Gas tank switch valve

[rich2481]

I tried a search with different words. Our Kodiak 300BHSL has two tanks, during walk thru they showed us how to switch tanks but then he says " you really dont need to worry it will just switch by itself. Tucson has it temp up and downs, and wife and I discussed winter either with electric heaters to warm it up, ( while it sits in driveware) or just pay 15 bucks a tank of propane and let the gas furnace keep it at 55 degrees.
That being said, do I have to worry about running out of gas on a tank and definately needing to switch over to keep things running?

thanks..

[wahoonc]

It should be an automatic switchover on the regulator with a flag/indicator that shows you which tank is in use.

FWIW I use a small electric heater on lowest setting and it is keeping my 16' Coleman at 62°F when it was 26°F outside during this last cold front.

Unless there is a compelling reason to run the furnace I think that electric is the way to go and will probably be cheaper in the long run.

Aaron

[rich2481]

Yea that has been our debate, gas is fairly cheap, electric heaters ( oil ones ) I think use less electric,, my concern ( since I travel ) is will the valve move over to the other tank internally, or do I need to have my wife watch it and move it manually.... thanks.. may end up putting in a heater but it would still be good knowledge while traveling.

[DesertRat]

You don't have to worry it will switch automatically between tanks. Those valves have been around for years & they work very well. Only thing is check it now & then and you will see in the sight gauge a green color or a red one. If it's red that means the tank the valve is pointed to is empty & it's now running of the other tank. If you switch the valve it will now turn green. If you do that make sure you fill the empty tank, if you don't well you can guess what will happen. Don't ask me how I know.

[rich2481]

Thanks, I dont think I have a sight gauge,, I will have to look, I need to crawl under the trailer ( how they designed a 35K trailer the owner has to crawl under is beyond me ) and put an extension hose on my water tank bleeder,, and will look then.

[Nana & Poppy]

FWI - leaving the furnace on, will require you to either be plugged into electric or have your battery on (I think) - now your furnace is a propane hog, which will deplete full tanks in a few days..... and I'm sure without recharging your batteries, they will run down quickly!

I'll leave it for the experts to comment, but just my thoughts!

[rich2481]

Thanks,, it is hooked to power on my garage, so the 12volts is there,, will be nice to see how long the tank last, since it is at home and not out in the boondocks,, a cold wife is not a happy wife.. still need to put an inverter in it too for my stupid CPAP machine...

[DesertRat]

Not sure I'm a expert but with 30+ years of RVing I do have lots of first hand experience.
Yes the furnace is a propane & 12v battery hog. Have had the batteries go dead during the night & your furnace will be useless. Here a picture back in 2000 when this happened. It might be in the desert but look at the ice on the camp table. Elevation is just under 5000' here at Hole in the Wall.

I can tell you that plugging the truck in & running it for 1/2 an hour wouldn't do much to charge a battery. That was one cold night.:

[rich2481]

Well Walmart sleeping bags just do not cut it in that situation although I did sleep in one on top of Pico Mountain Vermont in February and in the Rocky Mountains about Lander Wyoming in August, the water froze in out wash basin, both times in a tent.. cold... I have a 70's tent trailer a dust devil ripped the top off of and rendered useless, but that heater looks similiar in design, you would think 30-40 years in stuff, someone would have engineered a better one. Thanks, we do need to put in a extra battery or two, but living in Tucson, the plan is to hit Northern states before it is cold...