gas on, gas off old argument

[griffsmom]

I go so far as to not only turn the tank gas valve off, but also burn all the remaining fuel in the line off - when I turn off the tank valve, I have a stove burner on and wait until the burner goes out for lack of fuel. Important here to remember to shut the stove burner off after it goes out so it will be off when you turn the main valve back on!
 
 
Fly

I do this as well.  I usually think to myself that it would probably just dissipate on its own, but I'd rather spend the 30 seconds it takes to burn of the fuel in the lines than have any risk of danger--regardless of how insignificant or improbable--to my family.

[GeneF]

Chas

A couple of points.

I don't know much about the type of vehicle other than the article said that it was a motorhome.  Why the propane was in the front, I have no idea.  Pictures shown are hard to tell what it was.  It was completely destroyed.  One part said it looked more like the back of a flat bed truck that the motor home it once was.

Hear is a quote:  ". . . explained that this type of vehicle has a propane tank in the front of the vehicle, where the fire started, rather than the traditional gas tank in the rear."

The guy had stopped by the road to read a map when he noticed some smoke, he opened the hood and the fire erupted.  Luckily, he was not hurt.

However, it was not his motorhome, he had picked it up for a friend and was driving up to Canada with it.

[GeneF]

On the point of turning off the gas while towing, Chas is correct. I did a 62 day trip and always turned the fridge off and the propane tank off when towing.

We traveled in some hot weather in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and never lost any food.

The ice cubes in the fridge helped to keep the other food frozen.  Even the ice cream stayed hard after some 8 to 10 hours of driving time.

Food in the fridge was fine.  No spoilage.  Main thing we did was to watch it when we opened the fridge to get something out if we stopped for lunch.  Open and close quickly.

We turned the fridge on once we had set up for the night.  If we were in hot weather, I would start it up on propane as the fridge seems to cool quicker on gas than electric.  Once it was cooled, I just switched over to electricity.

If you stop and think a minute, how long does your food in your fridge and freezer keep at home if you have a power outage?

I would believe that the fridge is a lot better equipped to keep things cool than many of the coolers that are used.  One reason might be that the seals on a fridge are tighter than most coolers.

My manual also warns against towing with the gas on.  As you mature, your memory is not quite the same.  I could easily forget to turn off the fridge before pulling into a gas station.

I guess my simple thought is that I would rather lose the groceries in the fridge than have a member of my family seriously hurt in an accident that involved propane.

These are just my thoughts and they are not intended to renew this old argument.  Each person does what he feels comfortable with.

As for burning off the propane in the stove, as someone else mentioned, I also do that.  Old habit I had with the popups.  Only takes a few seconds once the propane tank is turned off.

[TheViking]

"If you were on TV explaining how the propane blew up...You're probably a redneck" LOL

[chasd60]

I find it hard to cook a pot roast in the oven, while I am driving, if I turn the LP gas off.:yikes:

[GeneF]

Chas

I thought at least you would cooking a rib eye roast.

[marback]

That's the reason we got an Igloo electric cooler.  It's plugged into the 12v system in the car.  Or fridge in the p/u rarely has much in it.
 
 Scott

Our Viking PU has a 3 way fridge.  When traveling the 12 volt takes care of it.  When in the campground propane is the preferred medium.  On extended trips (usually 2 weeks or more) electric coolers (2) run off the 12v system in the tow vehicle in addition to the fridge.  Those coolers are ideal for supplementing the PU fridge or for those who do not have one (a fridge).

[dee106]

we don't run with the propane on. what we do is to cool down the fridge before we leave, then we put a bag of ice up in the freezer in a dish bucket, we put the frozen foods in too. In the bottom the veg draw, i put a several bottles of frozen water, and the butter, milk etc. and thats good for several hours. we also have the battery operate fridge fan in there too. it keeps the fridge cool.

[goldenret02]

Our friends that camp with us use propane to keep the fridge cool as they travel with their PopUp. I, however, do not and turn the gas off while traveling. I guess better safe than sorry. Plus, our dealer did not recommend using that practice, either.  

[beacher]

I think the upside is that some folks say their fridge works better on propane, and run it that way while driving.

My fear would be when pulling into a gas station to fill'er up. I hope they extinguish that pilot light before going to a gas station.

Larry

People will do what they want to do.  They will mention that it's the way it has always been done,  never caused a problem before!  However, they are endangering everyone around them, especially if they enter a gas station.

The fridge on my PU is a three-way.  On the road it's set to operate on 12V and it works really well.  Once, I had to postpone leaving on a trip for a day and left the fridge of 12V the whole time, (Voltage converter plugged into shore power).  Some water bottles left inside it were frozen solid when I arrived at camp!