janstey
Glenwood, IA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/15/2003
View Profile
 Offline
|
My tank gauge reads 100% when filled to 80% on my horizontal built in tank.
JeffA and KimA
2003 Four Winds Chateau 31S Class C/Ford V10/with slide
2003 Jeep Liberty toad, all 4 down w/brake buddy
|
TomW2
Southwest Washington State USA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/23/2005
View Profile
|
I've ran across two issues when getting the motorhome tank filled.
One time at a mini-mart station the only person on duty that was "licensed" to do the propane wasn't certified yet for motorhomes. He could only do the portable tanks. No fill up on that day. They could have at least had a sign posted so I would have known it wasn't going to be any good to wait in line inside to tell the cashier I needed propane so I could wait more while the person was located just so he could walk out to the filling station to tell me he couldn't do motorhomes yet.
The next thing may not be an issue where you are but it apparently is in Washington. In the past I've always been alone when getting propane but the last time I had my wife with me. She had to get out of the motorhome because no one can be inside when it is being filled. We were told that it was OK to leave the dogs. My wife's comment: People can't be blown up but pets can. I'm not sure this makes total sense to me because here we are standing around the big tank and the pumping station when the person releases pressue in the hose after filling the motor home tank. And it is released into the atmosphere so here we are right beside if not inside this cloud of propane.
Only one time have I had the OPD device stop the delivery. All the rest of the times the attendant shut things down because the "spitter" valve was doing its thing. Actually, from what I've observed, many attendants shut down as soon as the gaseous propane starts coming out good and don't wait for it to actually start spitting liquid propane.
|
ShapeShifter
Buffalo, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 04/03/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
TomW2 wrote:In the past I've always been alone when getting propane but the last time I had my wife with me. She had to get out of the motorhome because no one can be inside when it is being filled. We were told that it was OK to leave the dogs. My wife's comment: People can't be blown up but pets can. I'm not sure this makes total sense to me because here we are standing around the big tank and the pumping station when the person releases pressue in the hose after filling the motor home tank. And it is released into the atmosphere so here we are right beside if not inside this cloud of propane.
Perhaps they aren't worried about who or what gets blown up. Maybe they are concerned that a clueless person inside the rig might try to turn on an appliance, create a spark, and blow things up? For example, my propane fill is pretty much under the refer. If someone were to turn on the refer while getting filled, the igniter would start sparking right in the vicinity of that big cloud of propane you mention.
If that's the reason, it makes sense about the dogs, as they are unlikely to turn on any sources of ignition during the fill process. 
2007 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 40PDQ
400 ISL Cummins/Allison
2002 Chevy Avalanche toad
Inside: Him, Her, and a pack of little furballs...
|
Harvard
51.37N 114.42W
Senior Member
Joined: 12/24/2005
View Profile
|
I will never fill up in Sedona Arizona again, the propane dealer there did not have a meter and estimated my fill as being the labeled propane capacity of the tank. Needless to say, the tank was no where near empty when he started! There is one born ever day and that was my day in the spotlight.
|
revdsid
Kalamazoo
Full Member
Joined: 06/24/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
I avoid gas stations and prefer to use real propane dealers. The later are much better trained and safer. Watching a "kid" read the "how to fill a propane tank" instruction sheet (without gloves) just once was enough for me. Never did he ask me to get all passengers out of the unit nor turn off all pilot lights. I told him to stop and I drove off. After each trip I go to my county fair ground and dump my black and grey tanks and then to the propane dealer and top off that tank-- safely. I don't fill the gas however, having 54 gallons of $4.00 fuel might be a bit too tempting for my neighbors.
|
|
|
donee
Simi Valley, Ca. 93063
Senior Member
Joined: 03/05/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
I agree about the gas.
Im going to replace the one on mine with a locking type.
It may not stop them but at least it would slow them down.
05 Monaco Esquire 29PBD
05 Silver Dodge Cummins w/3.73 gears 4 spd auto.
|
Caseydon
Simonton, Texas
Senior Member
Joined: 07/27/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
revdsid wrote:I avoid gas stations and prefer to use real propane dealers. The later are much better trained and safer. Watching a "kid" read the "how to fill a propane tank" instruction sheet (without gloves) just once was enough for me. Never did he ask me to get all passengers out of the unit nor turn off all pilot lights. I told him to stop and I drove off. After each trip I go to my county fair ground and dump my black and grey tanks and then to the propane dealer and top off that tank-- safely. I don't fill the gas however, having 54 gallons of $4.00 fuel might be a bit too tempting for my neighbors.
Especially if the propane dealer is on a highway or in a rural area, he's likely to be experienced in filling RV and automotive tanks. And yes, they do seem to take training seriously.
I've had good experience, and found competitive prices, at Flying J truck stops. Seems like all the newer ones sell propane.
I do think it's desirable to keep the liquid fuel tank full whenever it's practical, to minimize breathing with temperature changes, which brings in moist air. A locking gas cap can be expected to stop the casual thieves.
Casey
|
donee
Simi Valley, Ca. 93063
Senior Member
Joined: 03/05/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
The way I look at it, is if they want it bad enough, nothing is going to stop them.
|
AO_hitech
SF Bay Area
Senior Member
Joined: 08/09/2004
View Profile
|
TomW2 wrote:I...the last time I had my wife with me. She had to get out of the motorhome because no one can be inside when it is being filled...
Same here in CA. And my 1985 MH propane tank has the "auto shutoff". It was apparently a new thing back then. The documentation for the MH had an "Important - Read this First" type of page describing how it worked and cautioning that fill attendants might not know about it yet.
|
Berticus
Boise, ID
Senior Member
Joined: 04/06/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
Well just filled up mine for the 1st time since buying it. Pulled through their yard and up to the station with my tank side to it. The attendant was new and never filled a motorhome before and I made it worse by asking questions like, Do you inspect ASME tanks?, How to you charge as you can not weight it?, How do you know when it's full?. I knew the answers but wanted to see what he said.
Well he had to ask the other attendant that I have always seen.
1. ASME(American Society of Mechanical Engineers) tank would never need inspection unless there is a concern of it's integrity.
2. They weigh the portable tanks but for fixed mounts they have a meter gauge. Mine took 10.6 gal, it read just below 1/3 full before and reads just over 3/4 full and its a 20.2 gal tank.
3. They fill it till vapor starts to escape through the 10% valve that they open. This should be close to the 80% full mark in my case about 16 gals total.
Good luck and Safe Camping, Robert.
The Setup:
96' Serro Scotty 25' 4x4, Diesel, Class-C(pic coming), 86 20' Chris Craft LTD,69 Wife,02 1st Son,04 2nd Son,2 dogs (Yellow Lab & Border Collie).
|
|
|
