Cold night without propane

[ILH]

My wife and I were camping at Wellesley Island at the top of New York State on the weekend. We were enjoying the daytime warm temperatures and cool nights - however, last night I woke up and found that the furnace wasn't working. The inside temperature was pretty chilly. After putting on some clothes any going outside to check the LP tanks, I found both of them empty. Fortunately I had my 10lb BBQ tank - and swapped it out. It was good enough to last until morning!

New rule..no cold temperature camping without checking the tanks first!

[DesertThumper]

My wife and I were camping at Wellesley Island at the top of New York State on the weekend. We were enjoying the daytime warm temperatures and cool nights - however, last night I woke up and found that the furnace wasn't working. The inside temperature was pretty chilly. After putting on some clothes any going outside to check the LP tanks, I found both of them empty. Fortunately I had my 10lb BBQ tank - and swapped it out. It was good enough to last until morning!

New rule..no cold temperature camping without checking the tanks first!

Good thing you had a spare. I've never ran out but I'm sure one of these days we will. Take care.

[jmgratz]

The way I do ours is I only open one tank at a time, then I know for sure when one runs out. The I will go fill the empty one. That way if it runs out in the middle of the night you can open the full one and fill the empty one in the morning.

[ILH]

The way I do ours is I only open one tank at a time, then I know for sure when one runs out. The I will go fill the empty one. That way if it runs out in the middle of the night you can open the full one and fill the empty one in the morning.

Do you ever leave the fridge running when the trailer is in storage (between trips for few days - or a few days ahead of a trip) - if so, you'd better be confident the single tank has enough - or else your food will spoil.

Regardless, it would be nice if there was a more reliable metering system for propane from inside the trailer.

[Sumo]

The way I do ours is I only open one tank at a time, then I know for sure when one runs out. The I will go fill the empty one. That way if it runs out in the middle of the night you can open the full one and fill the empty one in the morning.

Me 2.

[cookie]

The way I do ours is I only open one tank at a time, then I know for sure when one runs out. The I will go fill the empty one. That way if it runs out in the middle of the night you can open the full one and fill the empty one in the morning.

Why would you want to go out in the middle of the night to open the tank valve? I prefer staying warm and snug in my bed at night.
The tool is in place to avoid that. Auto change over.
You just need to keep in mind your LP usage based on temperatures and check the change over valve indicator. It will tell you when one tank is empty.
JMHO.

Peace
Dave

[JohnDar]

During the "heating" season (beginning and end of our summer), I make it a habit to check the tanks each morning if the furnace has been running. Look at the condensation level on the side of the tank in use, as well. At our CG, I drop the tank off at the office and the owner delivers it back to our site if he can't fill it immediately.

[jmgratz]

Why would you want to go out in the middle of the night to open the tank valve? I prefer staying warm and snug in my bed at night.
The tool is in place to avoid that. Auto change over.
You just need to keep in mind your LP usage based on temperatures and check the change over valve indicator. It will tell you when one tank is empty.
JMHO.

Peace
Dave

I do keep a check on the level of the tank in use and rarely have to get up to open the other tank. My point was if you always have a full tank as a 'backup' you don't have to worry about running out. By keeping both tanks open you sometimes forget to keep a check on them. We know from experience. But whatever system works for you is the one you should use.

[traveler44]

If it is a long time between camping trips I get the bathroom scale out and weigh both of them just to be sure I know how much is in them. I always leave the change over switch on the right side first and then if the indicator is red I know that it switched to the other tank. This way I have one tank that is nearly full all of the time. Tom

[JohnD]

We keep a small electric heater in our trailer.

I use it to keep the trailer warm when it is not very cold (but just cold enough to kick on the furnace) to preserve the LP gas for when it really gets cold!

And for the water heater and stove, of course.

We got it for our old trailer as the furnace made so much noise that it would wake everyone up every time it fired up.