Propane regulator?

[Richard]

Have a ventless fireplace in the living room.
Outside I have a switchable, two tank regulator made by Marshall. I presume the "inside" of the fireplace to also have a regulator somewhere.

Scenario: Hook up tanks, light the pilot light. go to turn the gas to "on" and you get an expected and typical "flare" of flame as the fireplace lights up. Nothing wrong there. THEN, WHOMP. The flame goes out. Fuel starvation seems to be the culpret.

Do regulators "go bad" or could there be some other insidious problem (like maybe ladybugs in the pipes?? (joke))

If the regulator goes bad...any "odds" as to whether it is the outdoors one in the elements, or the inside one?

Soon to be Cold in Tennessee...besides...wife likes the flames, cold or not.

Richard

 

[MDNick]

Richard,

Your joke might not be a joke. Probably not a lady bug, but if the propane bottles spent any time not connected to the plumbing, several insects will nest in the plumbing, mud daubers especially. You have to be careful with gas grills for that reason. All the gas goes out at the air inlet, you go to light the grill, and voila, all kinds of fire in places not planned for. Can be annoying. In your case, it is possible that a nest of some kind is in the plumbing, allowing a limited amount of propane by, but once there is consumption, not enough to sustain the flame. Just a thought.

Farmer kid usetabe, Farmer Wannabe

 

[Bird]

Yep, Richard, regulators can go bad./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif And as mentioned previously, insects can clog things up, too. The last 5th wheel travel trailer I had, had an automatic changeover regulator, two 30# bottles, and I also had a 4500 Kw Kohler generator that ran on the LPG. While it was still in warranty, the generator quit working. After the RV dealer spent two days trying to fix it, with no success, he sent me to a Kohler service center, and after two hours, we finally figured it out. The automatic changeover regulator seemed to work fine (pressure test showed the proper pressure), but by using an inline pressure gauge, we found that almost instantly when the generator started, the pressure dropped to nothing. There never was anything wrong with the generator; just replaced the regulator at the bottles and that fixed it.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Do yourself a favor and don't play with what you don't know.You must realise that a propane or natural gas device operates as a "controlled explosion".If your regulator is "bad" it may stop all gas flow,or may cease to regulate and allow full pressure to your unit(Blows right by your gas valve)......Regardless....have your local propane dude,or someone who is DEFINETLY qualified,check it out...Don't get yourself and yours hurt to save a couple of bucks on a service call...I've seen it happen too many times.......

 

[Egon]

Could also be the thermocouple. Chances are the only regulator is outside as they may vent if the diaphram fails. Some are built with a vent pipe going outside.
As the other fellow said, get proper help or you could have an unexpexted bang.
Egon

 

[WVBill]

My vent free fireplace has an Oxygen sensor somewhere in the circuit. It's supposed to cut off the fireplace if carbon monoxide starts to build up too high. If your's has one of these sensors, maybe it has gone bad and is cutting off the fireplace. On the other hand - maybe it's working correctly and keeping you alive.

If it were me, I'd be on the phone to the propane company - it's probably a free service call to have a pro come out, do an inspection and tell you what's wrong.

 

[Richard]

Thanks for points well taken. I suppose the most salient point is that I need to drop the Tim Allen act of doing everything myself and realize that brain surgery is best when performed by properly trained surgon and propane surgery is best when performed by qualified propane Doctor.

Guess no need in blowing myslef up. (hmmm... still confused as to why the wife was doubling my life insurance.../w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif )

Richard

 

[dmccarty]

Richard,

I have heard of this guy down in Texas, who is into Propane big time. In fact its his life. His name is Hank Hill and he speciallizes in Propane and Propane Accessories. He likes trucks and has lawn tractor so he can't be that bad of a guy. Might want to give him a call.... Maybe Bird has his number....

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Hope this helps..... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Dan McCarty

PS. For our OverSeas Brethern and the Cartoon Challanged, Hank Hill is a character in a cartoon in the US called "King of the Hill." His life is Propane....

 

[Bird]

Dan, I'm not familiar with that guy, or the cartoon.

 

[ERNIEB]

As Buck Strickland sez. "Propane is Gods gas"

Ernie