Two weeks ago we checked the propane system and it read 2/3rds full. The weather is cold enough to use the furnaces and the only other use is the pilot in the oven. It is usually off all day and only on at night. Does not seem that it should be empty so soon and we have no leaks (the alarm works fine). Today it stopped working and reads empty. Is it possible for the tank to accumlate moisture over many years and not work because the tank is partially full of water? It does read empty and we can't see how, other than theft for it to be empty in two weeks. Opinions welcome. This is an 80 gal tank on Regency with no other appliances running on propane (refrigerator operates on gas only whe underway or on battery power)

This may not be the issue, but the level readings on propane tanks is notoriously unreliable.

quote:

Does not seem that it should be empty so soon and we have no leaks (the alarm works fine).

The way this reads you are saying you don't have any leaks because the alarm is working. The alarm would only respond to an interior leak. Propane is heavier than air, so any exterior leak could easily go undetected.

Perhaps there is a leak. Soapy water at all joints and a good visual inspection may be smart.

Additionally, heating is a heavy drain item. If your 3/4 reading were on the hairy edge of 1/2 full and your empty reading is on the hairy edge of 1/4, perhaps you did actually use the propane indicated.

I've never heard of propane theft. I'd rule that out.

We filled up our propane on 12/08. We ran the fridge on LPG while driving and the furnance while stopped until 12/13. Now we're plugged into shore power but still using LPG for the furnance, water heater and a few times cooked on the stove.

Our tank is at 1/3 now. The 4 LED gauge seems to fluctuate quite a bit so it's hard to say for sure. The furance only runs overnight since the AZ sun warms up the Barth during the day.

I was told my tank will hold about 20 gallons figuring it can only be filled 80% to allow for expansion.

Hi Tom
Our lpg tank was filled on Nov. 29 in Little Rock Arkansas on the way here. It was dead flat empty and took 37.5 gal. to fill. We ran out once last year too and it took the same 37 gal. to refill. ... So ... we likely have a 40 gal. propane tank, which, if I remember right, jives with the build sheets for the coach.
Our usage is about like yours now we are here in Phoenix and we haven't run out of propane yet.
The tank lights still read full! They only give an actual level if we are not plugged in and the engine is not running! ... But totally unreliable then too I suspect!
Maybe you only have a 40 gal tank like us?
I'd fill her up, and if you have a leak it should show up as a vapour trail and hydrogen sulfide smell especially on a cold morning.
Glad you reminded me, we better get a top up right after Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Don and Patty

My propane tank on the rv varies a lot. When we head up camping we could gain 4000' in elevation. The gauge never reads the same. I have a thousand gallon tank for the house. It will also change a lot just from the sun hitting it.

Here is a view on how the horizontal tank gauges look. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROPAN...&hash=item3a6d5d9714

As you can see, they are similar to a (gas/diesel)fuel tank gauge. I have a lot more experience with standard fuel tank gauges and they generally go bad due to lack of being exorcized then the contacts inside that indicate resistance stop functioning properly. A propane tank should have a huge advantage (interior wise) in that nothing from the outside can get in as it is always pressurized. This answers your earlier question Tom, no moisture can get in as there is always positive pressure from the LP pushing out.

Then there is the delicate resistance information that needs to be read and transmitted to the interior gauge. Any deterioration in those pieces/parts could render the readings inaccurate.

Do you have a gauge right on the tank itself? If so, compare that reading (which would likely be more accurate) to the interior gauge reading.

We had a 33 ft. travel trailer that we lived in for a couple of years. It had a forced air furnace and ran off of two small portable tanks. Never ceased to amaze me how fast we could go thru those tanks, and how they would always run out at 2 or 3 in the morning and how it would always be raining when i went out to switch them over.

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Originally posted by dustyjeeper:
My propane tank on the rv varies a lot. When we head up camping we could gain 4000' in elevation. The gauge never reads the same.

I have trouble understanding how a pressurized fluid in a sealed metal vessel responds to outside pressure changes. None of our airline pressurized bottles (oxygen, fire ext, hydraulic accumulators) showed a pressure increase at altitude.

However, I have not checked the Barth tank. Our regular trip goes from below sea level to over 5000 ft, so there might be a photo op in a week or two.

quote:

I have a thousand gallon tank for the house. It will also change a lot just from the sun hitting it.

Yup. Ours, too. Makes me wonder if winter is the best time to have the tank filled. The propane is more dense, but prices go up in winter. It would be interesting to see how the curves interacted.

Our jets were fueled by density corrected for temperature, and engine fuel controls were temperature corrected, for both air and fuel temperature.

Since we are talking LP, is there any concerns with letting a tank go totally empty? I wouldn't think so but then again, if I really knew I wouldn't be asking.

No. There is no open vent to ambient air, so nothing will back flow.

If you think about any standard liquid fuel tank, they suck in ambient air to replace the fuel being evacuated (used up). This is where the problem lies as the air being pulled in is basically contaminated, especially with moisture. That is why you should always keep your tank as full as possible. Especially when storing or in high moisture zones.

A full tank is a happy tank

quote:

Originally posted by Bones:
Since we are talking LP, is there any concerns with letting a tank go totally empty?

Nope. We do it all the time.

My brother's Barth had perforations in the fill and bleed rubber hoses from the control panle on the side of the coach. He discoverednthis when trying to fill and the operator's alarm went off. After checkong hencould use a hand held sniffer and trace the propane oozing out of the hose. These hoses are good for about 6 years and mine are now 18. So it's time to replace them all. Will remove and have our hose supplier make new ones and then we will refill. BTW we did have odor outside, but nothing inside. Check your hoses and replace, probably when they get near 10 years old.

Good idea. I made my new one a little longer to allow hooking the coach up to an external tank instead of the built in tank.

On extended stays or on trips of high heater use, it's much easier to carry a 5 gal tank in the toad to a fill point than the Barth.

Heck, a coupla winters ago, our Barth sunk a little deeper every time it rained. We had to wait until late March to get out, and even then it is was barely.

Propane hoses are supposed to have perforations in the outer jacket. To prevent gas
build-up among the various layers of the hose.