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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Propane Regulator freezes outside Brrrrrrrrrr
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man7sell
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2014 17:39
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I have an outside propane tank with a typical regulator on it. At the moment it runs a stovetop and an on demand heater. This weekend it got down to 22F and I went to take a shower and no hot water. Checked the stovetop and no gas there either.

The tank and regulator are covered sort of but still got too cold to operate. Anyone experienced this before?

The stovetop and water heater both came with a regulator, maybe they should have them installed inside the cabin instead of outside at the tank?

MJW
Member
# Posted: 31 Dec 2014 22:11
Reply 


We have both of our 100 lb tanks in an unheated shed outside along with an auto switchover regulator like you find on an RV.

Got down to -13 here last year and no trouble.

beachman
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2015 10:31
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I have had this problem a couple of times and I took a piece of wood and gently tapped the valve of the tank and the regulator. It seemed to work fine after that. Must be a small amount of moisture in the valve or the regulator that causes it to stick.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2015 12:35
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Do you have electric at the cabin too? Get a chunk of that heat tape and wrap the regulator???

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2015 14:21
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Man7sell, what size tank is in use? 20's do not work well in cold especially when partially depleted. There is a propane link in thrreference section with much info.

Regulators belong outside @ tank.

We run 40's with no problems and it has dropped as low as 9 F at our cabin this last week and everything has worked well.

man7sell
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2015 17:00
Reply 


Mine are 40s also. So I bet there is moisture getting in the regulator and freezing it. They are cheap enough I think I will replace it and design some sort of better cover to protect them from moisture

justincasei812
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2015 20:20
Reply 


I have a 500lb. tank at the cabin and I have had the regulator stick when the weather has gotten real cold (20s F or less). The first time it happened it stuck wide open and the propane lights sounded like a torch within the cabin. Most other devices have their own regulators so it didn't effect them much. I called the propane company that services/ fills my tank and they told me to pour hot water on the regulator and that should fix the issue. What happens if there is moisture in the regulator and it freezes it can make it stick open or closed. I heated some water and poured it on the regulator and it did the trick. Seems like it happens maybe once a year to me. The regulator is on the north side of the cabin so it does not get any direct sunlight to help take care of the moisture.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 1 Jan 2015 22:51
Reply 


Make sure the vent points down. A cover is a good idea.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 2 Jan 2015 10:00
Reply 


And a 2 stage is better than a single stage

sierra nevada
Member
# Posted: 5 Jan 2015 22:00
Reply 


We have a 500 gal propane tank and have never had a problem (even at -20) until this winter. New propane delivery man filled tank to 85 percent and regulator froze up a couple of mornings. The regular delivery man told me he knew gauge was not correct and always only filled tank to 80 percent, now i know. An over filled tank will freeze up the regulator on cold days. George

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