This week at our service shop we ran into an interesting
problem. I am sharing this with you in the hopes that none of you will
have to deal with this problem yourself.
After installing an under-slung propane tank and a furnace in a cube van, we
instructed the customer to go down the street to the very reputable propane
filler to have his tank "purged and filled". Unfortunately the filler
was on the road and wouldn't be in until early the next day. In a
panic, the customer continued on, looking for another propane filler.
Eventually he found a filler willing to purge and fill his new tank.
However, the filler was less than skilled at this and did not properly purge
the new tank before filling it.
The next morning, the man arrived back at our dealership complaining that
the new furnace he had purchased wasn't working. The fan would come on
but it would not ignite or produce any heat. After having a look
our technician determined that the tank had not been purged and as a result
no propane was traveling through the lines to the appliance.
To avoid this problem and the rather unpleasant solution (that I will spare
you in this article), it is essential that any new propane tank/cylinder or
tank/cylinder that is revalved be properly purged BEFORE it is filled with
propane. This procedure removes air and moisture from the
tank/cylinder. Without doing so, you can have erratic or poor
operation of all your appliances. The worst case scenario being that
the moisture would in fact ruin all the propane valves and regulators in
your RV.
Be sure to use a reputable propane
dealer in your area.
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