Driver's side LP tank pressure too low to use

[The Cramblersons]

Over the last two weeks we have been camping in cold weather areas and using the gas furnace quite a bit. We ran low on propane (or so I thought) to the point where we suffered through a night with our portable Dyson heaters and the LR fireplace. When traversing two camp sites, I stopped at the Flying J to refill the propane tanks only to find the driver's side tank was still nearly full. In a troubleshooting effort, I put the full tank from the diver's side into the curbside line and "whammo" - plenty of propane to run the furnace.

So this caused me to wonder whether I had a regulator issue or a mixing issue between the two tanks. So after refilling the empty tank, I put it into the driver's side line and ran it open with the curbside tank turned off. I barely got any pressure and only enough flow to keep the gas burning but not enough to DO anything with it.

So....is this potentially a regulator issue in my driver's side LP line or is there something in the way these lines mix that could be favoring the curbside tank? The idea of having to physically transfer tanks as one runs low is unappealing. It also makes me wonder why they would build these with tanks on separate sides instead of equal distance from the mixing point.

[ATCguy]

Originally Posted by The Cramblersons

So....is this potentially a regulator issue in my driver's side LP line or is there something in the way these lines mix that could be favoring the curbside tank?

Possibly... but before you do anything drastic, a simple question:

When you open the valve on the tank... do you just crank it wide open quickly, or do you open it s-l-o-w-l-y??

There's a safety built into the regulators that are pressure sensitive. If it detects pressure too quickly, it sees that as a potential leak, and begins to shut itself down. And, though the other side works ok, some regulators are more sensitive than others.

Try the following. It sounds dumb, but in many cases it works.:

Close the valves on both tanks (so the regulators reset themselves)... and leave them off for at least 15 minutes. (I go for a half hour myself)

Then go out and SLOWLY open the valve on the side that's giving you trouble (driver's?). One turn, then wait 5 seconds.... another turn, another 5 seconds... etc until it's fully open. Then go inside the rig and see if the problem has persists. If so, then you may have a hardware issue. If not, you now have your solution.

[The Cramblersons]

Yup. I've learned to always open valves slowly. But I have never shut them down and let them reset as part of my troubleshooting process. I'll give that a try

[persistent]

I have a similar issue. My passenger's side tank will only flow down to about 1/2 way. It then switches to the driver's side tank and consumes all of that tank. I can't get the system to use the remaining half tank even if I switch them around.

The switching mechanism seems to take hours to adjust which tank to use and to change the "empty" red flag for a given tank.

I am not sure if the regulator tank switching device can be repaired, or just has to be replace.

If I replace it, what make and model would you recommend.

[sundancer 87]

CAMCO has the market on RV automatic switch over regulators. Marshall, which I think has changed names, makes an automatic change regulator can be used in an RV.
The last swap for a defective CAMCO ended up with me just using one regulator on the curb side and physically changing tanks. I grew tired of the CAMCO crap after two or three of them failing to operate correctly.

[chily3]

Take a look at this, https://www.rvweb.net/best-rv-propan...tors-reviewed/

[Csgev]

I’ve been having the same issue ever since I bought my preowned Voltage 3200 a couple of years ago. Today I finally decided I was tired of running out of propane in the middle of the night, so replaced the changeover valve (about a $50 item, which I’d read on other forums might be the culprit). It wasn’t. No difference with the new regulator/changeover valve. (Model 6020). There is no additional regulator between the changeover device and the curbside tank, which is connected directly to the tank via about a 20 inch hose. This is the side that has always worked fine. However there’s about a 12 foot hose running to the tank on the driver side, and for some reason this hose has a regulator in line, about 20 inches from the tank. I now suspect this regulator is the problem. But my real question now is why is there the additional regulator in the first place? Why have one on the driver side long run, and not on the curb side short run? My rig is a 2012, and the in-line regulator on the driver side has a manufactured tag stating 2014...so this was obviously put on after the rig was manufactured. Anybody else have this regulator in line on only the long run/driver side, or should it just be a straight hose run like on the curb side?

[sundancer 87]

The single stage regulator on the driver's side is to ensure proper pressure to the dual stage regulator on the passenger's side. The single stage is there because of the distance between the two. If they were in the same compartment it would not be needed.
Regarding the different hose lengths, they could have been changed at one time and what was available was used. It shouldn't make any difference however.

[leisuresolar@gmail.com]

I have found more than once that I needed to adjust the pressure in the main regulator. The off side regulator didn't have any adjustment. If I had an off side problem, I'd try putting an adjustable regulator in there. It's best to adjust the regulator with a manometer, but you can try up to three cranks just to see if it helps. Pay attention to how many cranks you try.

One more thing...northern states put additive in propane for cold weather. Southern states don't. If you have southern propane and it gets real cold, it may not work well.

I often winter in cold weather, and use the Mopeka Propane tank sensors to tell me the exact level on my propane.