I have a propane bottle, kept outdoors, that feeds a gas hob and Electrolux refrigerator. In sub-zero temperatures I get no pressure indoors, but am unsure whether this is due to the regulator having some water in it, which freezes and sticks it shut, or water in the gas pipe itself (which should be impossible, if the bottles only contain dry propane).
Has anyone had experience of this? Is there an easy way of testing the regulator/servicing it/drying it out? I am tempted to put it in a warm oven for a while but don't want to damage any rubber components inside it.
Yes. It's not due to water at all, it's a property of the pressurised propane gas. Propane, although "better" than butane, will not change state from the liquid phase to the gas phase at very low temperatures. Butane refuses to "work" at anything below about 4°C.
| I have a propane bottle, kept outdoors, that feeds a gas hob and Electrolux | refrigerator. In sub-zero temperatures I get no pressure indoors, but am | unsure whether this is due to the regulator having some water in it, which | freezes and sticks it shut, or water in the gas pipe itself (which should be | impossible, if the bottles only contain dry propane). | | Has anyone had experience of this? Is there an easy way of testing the | regulator/servicing it/drying it out? I am tempted to put it in a warm oven | for a while but don't want to damage any rubber components inside it.
I read in the instructions, that there is a hole in my propane regulator which should be protected from rain. This supports your theory. I would leave the regulator on the top of the central heating boiler for a day or two to dry it out. Airing cupboard would do as well.
Is this during use, that is it initially works but then stops. If so this indicates the gas being drawn off is removing latent heat faster than the propane can be warmed through the cylinder walls. On car conversions, where the demand for gas is high, the liquid propane is heated by a loop in the coolant circuit to stop this happening. With ordinary bottles it is possible to manifold a number together to share the demand between bottles.
I think water frozen in the regulator is a possibility.
There is a small hole at the side of the regulator body. Most people fit the unit horizontal, so that any water will remain inside. AFAIK it should be facing down so that it can drain. It's just a diaphragm with a light spring resting on it. The spring gets weak, the rubber perishes,-should be replaced every couple of years (so it's said). I couldn't get a decent supply of gas one time. When I removed the tube a rather groggy wasp crawled out. DaveK.
A tiny help from Truma is called Ice-ex. It's a 12v heating element that fits on the regulator. It will solve the problems that can occur around (mostly some degrees above) zero degrees C.
It's been said on here and I concur that it could be several things but operate on the principle that it's cheaper to check than buy. First if there is no rime around the cylinder itself at the bottom, it is unlikely that the cylinder is chilling down too low to vapourise. A 47Kg cylinder will vapourise enough gas to supply 15Kw of energy, but it is dependent on the wetted surface of the cylinder, so the lower the gas, the less wetted area, less gas vapourises so just because you have liquid left in the cylinder does not mean it will vapourise. If you have a small cylinder, 6/11Kg or perhaps even 19Kg it may not supply enough vapour. Gas in cylinders is an impure product and will contain a small amount of water, although a very large company was found guilty of ballasting cylinders with water. It is unlikely that the water is getting into the reg. It is more likely to be water getting into the body of the reg, so you can fit the reg with the red cap facing down to stop water ingress, in this position you can pour hot water over it to thaw it out. Hot water from the tap won't harm it as long as it doesn't get in the body.
Rob>> I have a propane bottle, kept outdoors, that feeds a gas hob and
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