Does anyone have experience with running appliances on propane #offgrid?
I have a propane water heater and a NG dryer converted to run on propane.
Both are not igniting.
Electrical tester indicates no issues.
Propane has been tried with and without pressure regulators.
I've used a 30# and 20# tank, both with fuel in it - and yes the valve is open.
#help #asknostr #homestead
1 Stupid question, is the ignitor making a spark?
Additional question, what temp is it where your tanks are? Too cold and propane can have an issue converting from liquid to gas.
Yes, the ignitor cycles multiple times, and when no flame is sensed, it stops trying. I then turn the water heater off and back on, only for it to continue trying and erroring out again.
Temps were in the 60s today
Not offgrid, but I use propane for stove, hearing, and water heating. For stove I needed an adapter. I think for the water heater too (either that or the model I bought was propane ready). I didn't install it professionals did. I'd say call a professional.
I might wind up having to do that... I did convert the dryer to propane, but the water heater is specifically sold as a propane water heater.
Not a fan of propane.
Were they working ever before this issue? Did the small tank valve have the internal shut off activated when you opened the valve to charge the line? Sometimes long hoses will allow a quick large volume of gas through and it trips the internal flow limiter. Do you smell gas at the appliance? Sometimes the valve only opens for a certain amount of time and tries igniting but if no heat sensed on the thermocouple it closes valve. You might just need to bleed line to get propane up to valve faster. Pictures could help.
They have never worked and are both brand new appliances hooked up to a brand new, full tank.
I didn't realize tanks had a flow limiter built in... may try slowly opening the valve to maybe bypass that.
I don't smell gas at the appliance, but when I disconnect the hose, there is gas and pressure in the line.
Is there a safe way you'd recommend bleeding the lines?
You could try loosening a fitting near the valve body and bleed It out. You could also get a lighter and hold it on the thermocouple to trick the valve into opening. Or there could be a bug stuck in one of the orifices.
I will attempt hopefully just one, but probably all of these things tomorrow. Thanks!
Any luck? The propane tanks work on other things like grill?
No dice. I'm going on 7 hours of back and forth, bleeding lines, checking connections, fiddling with stuff...
Yes, I even tried a third tank (pulled off my griddle) to try.
I got the dryer to get warm, but by the time I noticed it was warm, it had lost flame again.
For a while it would light briefly and die out.
I thought maybe it was the lack of regulator making it die out, so I swapped hoses for one with a regulator, and ever since then it's been back to square one: nothing.
Could have crud or bugs in the pilot gas tube. They seem to like to crawl into propane pipes. Maybe take a blow torch and clean off the thermocouple in case there is grease or carbon built up on it. Or clean thermocouple with paper. Make sure there isn't a draft blowing the flame away from the thermocouple .
I guess I'll have to give that a shot.
I don't have time to take everything apart again this weekend, so that'll have to be a next-weekend thing.
Make sure the gas lines to the appliances have all the air bled out and are filled with propane. Water heater pilots let such little gas out, they take a long time to bleed out if that is how you bleed the line.
The Amish have experience running propane appliances off grid. But they’re not on Nostr to offer their advice, so…
Top guesses,
Air in the line since this is a new install. 2-3 minutes to go the 15' of line from the tanks in front of my camper to the stove. Force the valve the stay open and bleed the air by holding a stick lighter on the thermocouple. Add a propane stove to make bleeding easier in the future.
Tank shut off. If you open a propane tank into no pressure there is a shut off valve to prevent it dumping to atmosphere. Easy to test, if you can't hear air hissing out during bleeding it is the valve. Easy to reset, just close and open the tank again.
I've been burned by the valve thing so many times I make a habit of open, close, open on fresh tank installs.
There should be a shutoff in your house line close to your tank. I also close that before changing tanks to minimize bleeding needed.
Any luck?
Nope. I even pulled the dryer out by itself, hooked it straight to the tank, and got no ignition. Bled the lines (even while the dryer was running), etc...
I would be inclined to believe that it's a NG-LP conversion gone awry, but the propane water heater that I purchased brand new (and has electric ignition) also doesn't work.
Am I supposed to turn the tank upside down or something stupid like that?
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