All About Your ASME RV Propane Tank and System
Dave SolbergDescription
LP gas, or liquid propane, is the fuel of choice for all RVs on the road today. It fuels all the major appliances installed such as stoves, water heaters, and even refrigerators. LP is a safe and efficient fuel to use in your RV rig when dealt with carefully, and it’s held in a system that begins with an ASME RV propane tank. This tank holds the propane fuel you’ll be using on trips and in camp sites, but it’s connected to an elaborate system much like the gas lines run through a home.
As with any fuel system, the safety features on an RV propane tank are extremely important. Your RV’s ASME tank will have a glass viewing window for the service technician to use when filling it, regulators that control the flow of gas into your system, and safety features for cutting off the flow if a leak develops.
This video contains a good overview of the entire ASME RV propane tank system. Beginning with tank sizes and access panel details, you’ll move on to learn about how a licensed technician will fill the tank, the safety features in your tank, and even the details stamped on the identification plate and why they’re important. Testing for safety is important, and you’ll find out where to install valves to adjust the pressure in your system if you find it’s not where it’s supposed to be, as well as tips on keeping the tank cover open when the system is being filled, inspected, or worked on. Regular checks are important for LP safety, so you’ll learn about wired monitors that should be in your system to allow you to check the pressure in your LP system.
Propane is stored in a motorhome in what's called an ASME tank, typically on the passenger side here and this one is mounted right to the frame. They come in either a 20 on the smaller ones, but usually on the motorhomes, 40, 60, 80 pound tanks. Now, when they're filled, they're gonna go by gallons. And so there is 4.2 pounds per gallon in propane. Now you'll notice when we had this open here, we don't have any locks.
So if there's ever an emergency, they can get this open. They don't have to have a key. So I'm just gonna prop this open with a little bit of tape here. This tank's mounted to the frame rails here. It happens to be an 80 pound tank.
It has this sight glass, which is right on the front here that allows the fuel technician to see where it's at according to, up to 80%. Now, when they're filling it over in this side, here, there is an OPD valve behind it It's called an overfill protection device. So it only allows you to go to 80% that way, if you fill it during cold temperatures and it gets warmer, it's gonna expand, and so we need to have that room in this tank for expansion. The fill valve right here, they open up the vent that allows it to go through. We have a relief valve so if we do, even if we're at 80%, we may have really cold mornings and we get out in the highway it gets really warm, and it's gonna expand so we need something for it to actually go out the side of this.
Now this fill sight glass here too you'll notice it has a wire in it. That is wired inside for the monitor panel, so I can check inside what my, propane level is in here. This is a two stage regulator and, it is gonna supply the fuel to the inside. Now these tanks also have a built in excess pressure valve, which is over here on the side. So if I have anything inside, you know right off to the side here, we're gonna have propane lines coming in here.
If I ever have a line that is ruptured, or I have a fitting that lets loose and I have excess flow coming out here, it's spring-loaded at certain pressure so it's gonna stop that flow in that line coming right from the tank. Also in here you'll notice pop this little cap off right here. That's where you would adjust this two-stage regulator once you put a water column test on one of the appliances in here, you'd be able to go in and adjust this regulator to get the proper pressure for that. So also stamped on the tank is some important information. First of all, you'll have the certification, Brunner Eng.
tank. the PSI it'll also have the water column and important is the year. So anybody filling this is gonna look at that information. They're gonna visually inspect this tank for any major rust areas and that information on there plus the fact that it has an OPD valve. Propane is a very efficient and clean burning source and very important in the operation of most of your appliances in an RV.
And it can be very safe if you take the proper precautions.
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