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General => Mr. Fix it => Topic started by: harleywolf on Aug 21, 2007, 08:58 PM

Title: Replacing outside HP stove with an RVQ
Post by: harleywolf on Aug 21, 2007, 08:58 PM
The
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Post by: austinado16 on Aug 21, 2007, 10:09 PM
Rick my understanding is that everything in the camper is low pressure....fridge/stove/waterheater......and that just the outside stove on the later campers is high pressure so they cook good outside in the wind.

So, crawl under that badboy and figure out where your low pressure stuff gets it's gas from, and tap in.  Really easy to do.

Seems like many PUP's have dual propane tanks, one for low and one for high pressure, but maybe yours is just running a single tank with a high pressure regulator right at the tank and then a secondary low pressure regulator down stream ahead of the fridge/stove/waterheater.
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Post by: harleywolf on Aug 21, 2007, 10:46 PM
Yup I was wondering that myself. If in fact the only reason the HP reg is on the Pup in the 1st place is to run the outside stove then I could just eliminate it all together. I need to take a closer look like you say. At a glance it
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Post by: austinado16 on Aug 21, 2007, 11:51 PM
Ya, maybe you could just take the HP regulator out.  Will the dealer take back the RVQ?  I think it was on here that I read some (or many) people don't like them because they wind up being messy, hard to clean, etc.  Maybe search the archives and see if you can find out more.  One of the portable Webers might be a better way to go?

The local RV place told me my 20lb LP tank would power my fridge for a month, so you could go a long time with just one tank, even with a water heater I'll bet.
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Post by: harleywolf on Aug 22, 2007, 12:18 AM
Yea I did read here where someone said the grill got nasty and didn
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Post by: mike4947 on Aug 22, 2007, 12:18 AM
Both High and Low pressure RVQ BBQ's are made by the company. Most dealer only stock the low pressure version (the one with quick disconnect coupler, not screw on threads) as the high preesure side connection (noted by the screw thread connector are only a a few rare trailer compared to the number of RV's produced. They both have the same BTU burner ratings.
I'd haunt a part counter where the person was willing to dig out the catalog and order the stove you want and exchange it for the non functional in your application stove.
Retrofitting a low preessure stove to high pressure means finding a dealer that will have to find out if anything outside of the gas orifice and connection fitting needs to be changed, but it'll mean he/she needs that same catalog that lists both the high and low pressure stoves....LOL
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Post by: harleywolf on Aug 22, 2007, 12:32 AM
I had the conversation with our dealer about the type of connection I have so they could order the right product in the 1st place. I have the threaded fitting for high pressure and we determined this together before they ordered the Q. The hose they gave me has a threaded end and a quick connect end
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Post by: harleywolf on Aug 22, 2007, 12:48 AM
So I found this info from another PUP site:

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Post by: mike4947 on Aug 22, 2007, 07:41 AM
Rick, I hate to say it especially after I have installed a high pressure RVQ on a camper, but I couldn't find the OEM company on the web or anyone showing the high pressure version.
The one I installed came from an individual off of Ebay that the buyer had me come over to figure out why he hooked it up to a low pressure quick disconnect port and it would only light with "tiny" flames off the burner. We used the basic "fleetwood" setup with a single staged regulator plumbed off before the basic two stage regulator and screw on disconnects and hose to get the high pressure the stove needed.
I called him first thing this morning and he said (and jogged my memory) that the original owner had no idea where the stove came from; as we called him back when the "problem" came up.
If you can't find one your idea of replumbing the connection after the on board regulator to get low pressure to that line is a good one. Just mark the connector on the trailer so folks will know that that screw connection is low pressure, or replace the end with a true quick disconnect low pressure fitting.
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Post by: austinado16 on Aug 22, 2007, 09:30 AM
So.......cap off that HP outlet in the regulator, put a brass "T" in low pressure end of the regulator, hook the camper's original low pressure line back up, and to the other side of the "T" hook up the camper's old HP line.

Then out at the other end of the high pressure line, install a nice MB Sturgis (http://www.mbsturgis.com/) quick coupler (the female coupler) and one of their male quick coupler nipples on the RVQ's body, or on the hose coming from the RVQ, whichever you're has.

That should be simple, quick, and inexpensive.

I just replaced the quick couplers on my Nova because it didn't come with it's stove and I found a stove from an earlier model.  The male fitting was $5 and the 2 quick couplers with on/off ball valves built in were $20ea and that was from Starcraft.  The big local propane place wanted $35 for just the male and on matching quick coupler.

UPDATE:
Just talked to "Bill" at MB Sturgis.  Their male fitting is $6 and the "Model 250" quick couplers with ball valves built in are $26.  The quickcouplers that I got from Starcraft are not MB Sturgis brand and I don't like them as much as I like the original MB Sturgis that came on my PUP, or that I see on the MB Sturgis website.
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Post by: harleywolf on Aug 22, 2007, 02:09 PM
Yea Mike I could not find a HP RVQ during my research either, at least on the net. I haven
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Post by: LimeJeeeep on Aug 22, 2007, 03:13 PM
i have never heard of hp LP being run in a PUP.i also did not want to grill food right next to the window....i purchased a kit that goes between the regulator and LP tank with a 12' gas HP gas line and i can buy my own grill, stove lamp or what ever other LP appliance i want ...something to consider when running a high pressure LP line is that if it developes a leak it will wipe out a tank in a heart beat .the less HP LP LINE run through the PUP the better IMHO :U
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Post by: austinado16 on Aug 22, 2007, 06:04 PM
Harry, you might like the HP outside stove better than a low pressure version.  We've got the low pressure version that can function inside or outside.  It's pretty normal to cook on inside, but outside, if there's any sort of breeze, it's pretty lame and slow cooking. Eventhough it has big side panels and the tall back panel, the wind gets in there and blows the flame down, or sideways and you just wait....and wait.....and wait.....for it to cook something.

You might want to consider all your options and maybe you'll decide you'd rather have a cook stove on the outside and a seperat BBQ grill functioning at the same time?

I know this past weekend, I was grilling chicken on the little "Weber Go Anywhere" propane grille (uses the little seperate $3 propane tanks) and had the cook stove outside on the side of the camper cooking mac-n-cheese, and the rest of the meal.  Did the same with steaks the next night and it was nice to have both running outside at the same time (no heat or smell inside the PUP).

Just food for thought......or should I say, thought for food?
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Post by: mike4947 on Aug 23, 2007, 06:39 AM
Todd, the wimpy performance for the in/out stove isn't due to a low pressure connection but more to a insulation/flammability issue.
Remember the furnance (18K BTU) and water heater (20K BTU) both operate off the low pressure.
The stove burners on any inside use stove are limited to usually 4K BTU due to it's proxcimity to yard and yards of flammable vinyl and fabric.
And yes I know that when mounted outside a stove is really just as close to the fabric as it is inside but outside there's no standard so they can use a higher BTU burner (either low or high pressure)....Go figure.
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Post by: austinado16 on Aug 23, 2007, 11:22 AM
I guess instead of "low pressure" stove, I should say, low output stove because you're right, that's exactly what's going on.  Those big ol' slots in the burners just let the propane "fall" out and instead of a nice crisp tight flame, it's more like a group of match heads.......sure the flame is blue, but it's just got no heat ouput.
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Post by: harleywolf on Sep 14, 2007, 01:55 AM
Ok some resolve to this issue, and embarrassing enough upon closer inspection, the RVQ (and why is that all in bold red now!?) I have has a low pressure reg built in, which means that I can simply hook it into the high pressure line on the RV. The hose that came with it didn
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Post by: mike4947 on Sep 14, 2007, 06:34 AM
Rick, your dealer has what I've seen a lot in RV people. They see two propane pressures not three. There are so few high pressure (13 psi average pressure) RV uses that when they hear high pressure they think tank pressure and that I agree is not the way to go with a permanent line.
If you dig into the fittings enough you'll find that low pressure quick disconnect fittings are "snap fittings" similar to air line fittings (but do not substitute air fittings for propane ones. No one cares if an air line has a little weeping or a slow leak and the extra cost for propane fittings is the 100% inspection and other quality control)
and high pressure "quick disconnect" fittings are screw on. Mainly so each presure has it's own fitting and to keep people from hooking into the wrong pressure. Just like electrical plugs for different amperages are different to keep from plugging into an outlet/supply cord that could be overloaded.
 
This was learned the hard way of course by screwing up and hooking up a stove designed for low pressure and no regulator to a high pressure line. Nothing like 3-4 foot flames to let you know you screwed something up. I was just glad it wasn't tank pressure I hooked to and that the stove wasn't under the awning...LOL
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Post by: austinado16 on Sep 14, 2007, 09:02 AM
Whenever I hear "the ski is falling, the ski is falling" I don't think, thank goodness I got warned, I think, "why."

With regard to the running of a 13psi line through the camper, isn't that already being done by many manufacturers?

I don't see the hazard in a properly installed set of lines whether they are copper, or special rated propane hose.  Check out the MB Sturgis (http://www.mbsturgis.com) website. They've got all the nice fittings and can custom make flex hoses in a variety of configurations.

Knowledge is power!
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Post by: mike4947 on Sep 14, 2007, 11:28 AM
Actually the only builder of RV's that I know of that uses high pressure for their outside connections is Fleetwood and even they stopped using it for several years due to problems associated with using auto changover valves. The seperate regulator needed had to be attached to only one tank, so if the change over activated the outside connection didn't get propane. The seperate regulator was needed as there isn't a dual stage propane regulator with a tap on the high pressure section rate for mobile/RV usage. I haven't seen one of the new Fleetwoods with the optional high pressure outside stove to see if or how they've addressed that issue; as the only dealer of Fleetwood PU's within 100 miles quit selling them 2 years ago.
And not to mention that high pressure or tank pressure lines can not be permanently routed through the living space.