My brand new kitchen bypass regulator decided no gas for me.
First thing in the frigid morning – which is exactly the same way the one it replaced failed.
Before coffee I had to go out in the cold to rummage around for my filthy campstove…
…and by the afternoon when I went out to replace the misbehaving regulator with Plan B – AGAIN…
…it was apparently working fine. Which tells me it somehow ingested some water – this comes right after the only even slightly substantial snowfall since November, so go figure – which then froze. HOW it could possibly have done such a thing is beyond me: I only installed it in the autumn so the seals should be fine, and it’s covered from drips. But there it is.
On the good news front…
…Neighbor L got her pickup back repaired from the Big Town about 50 miles away, right after I connected my last full propane bottle to the bedroom regulator. So I was able to fill the majority of my empties, which makes Uncle Joel happy.
Less unhappy, anyway. That running sore on my stump appears to be healing, though it hurt like a bitch all day yesterday. Having now finished my morning chores and rarely getting any emergencies on Sunday, I now plan to spend the bulk of the day one-legged in the seated position while reading a book to hopefully let the healing continue.
Maybe you should think about building a little enclosure for the tanks including a wooden floor. Line it with some foam panels and maybe that would keep the temps up enough and away from any chance of moisture near them to stop the problem. Since this is happening more than once, to me its not the regulator per se. Also remount the regulator up higher in the enclosure if possible to take advantage of warmer temps if higher in a box. Ive used those type regulators and tanks before in hunting cabins in the UP of Michigan and the Adirondacks mts in NY and didn’t have issues but I did have enclosures for them.
I wonder if your local LP supplier is letting too much moisture into his gas?
FYI Joel, if there’s something you need to get, do it before Tuesday. That’s the day DonOLD’s tariffs kick in.
The tariffs will be 25% for everything imported from Mexico and 25% for everything except oil/gas from Canada. Oil/gas from Canada gets a 10% tariff. Oh, and if it is coming from China, there will be a 10% tariff on it too.
Oh, and for those who believe DonOLD assertion that exporters from the countries involved will eat this cost, think again. The extra cost will be passed on to buyers. So get ready for a price spike at the pumps and in the grocery stores.
Regulators can suck a bit of air inside the unit’s vent as the air temp cools down. Unfortunately, it also pulls in any humidity in the air, which can freeze and cause problems. Warms up, thaws out, and you are back in business.
Nature of the beast. An insulated enclosed box, on the ground, may help keep the regulator a bit warmer.
The tariffs are going to hurt, but if it brings back USA production and quality………
Interesting times.
The regulator is mounted wrong. They are usually mounted gas in the top out of the bottom. There is a vent on the regulator it needs to point down to keep the water out. On campers they are all mounted vertical.
Joel: Your Plan B stove would work with a backpacker’s Outback Oven for potatoes, pizza, biscuits, etc., but lacks the interior vertical clearance for a proper loaf. I use mine to avoid using the big oven because some idiot designed the kitchen with the oven and fridge almost touching.