On a 2 way fridge (gas/elect) it reverts to propane when theres no power.

Do you leave the propane on when travelling?

 

Some do some don't, I leave it on all the time.

Denny

 

Hotly debated topic, although often not well understood. In essence, the argument against is not about the refrigerator, it has to do with leaving the propane tanks turned on while traveling given in the event of an accident the propane will vent through a broken line, possibly igniting.

I have worked on units involved in accidents in which I have had to replace all the copper lines. On one unit it was lines to the furnace, water heater, and cook top, although there was no resultant fire. All caused by a blow-out.

It's your call.

Steve

 

I usually leave mine on - depending on distance to travel. If the fridge is full I'll leave it on - or, if I am traveling more than 2 hours I'll leave it on.....Then again, I usually forget and it's always on!!! Been doing this since 1970. Have had the complete propane tank ripped off the front of a 18' Prowler and watched the tank blowing vapor for about 50 yards and not a thing happened. I ran over and turned off the valve and was able to use the rest of what was left after repairs to the lines were made!

Yeah, surprised me, too!

 

Any tank that has a OPD valve will not let the gas vent if a line is broken and gas is flowing freely, it will just shut down. Almost all towable RVs have the new style valve, the only one that don't have horizontal tanks and they are rare.

Denny

 

Denny,

You bring up an interesting point. The shut-off is not complete, but the flow does slow greatly in the event a line breaks. Detach a copper line off the black iron line under your trailer and I suspect you will see what I mean.

I find this situation often in toyhaulers on the lot when someone has pulled the genset and left the line uncapped. I guarantee you, you will smell propane venting. I worked on one fifth wheel where they moved the refrigerator and left the gas line wide open, the smell of propane when you opened the door would have knocked you down and they all had the new style tanks.

Here is an exact quote from the RVIA Training Manual for Technicians

An excess flow flow is a device designed to close when the liquid or vapor passing through it exceeds the prescribed flow rate. It is required in all RV propane containers since 1977. To the best of my knowledge, this information is current, but again with RVs, anything is possible.

"An excess flow valve will not stop propane from flowing out of the container, but when activated due to an open or broken line, as an example it will limit the flow".


Please don't read more into my post than what I intended. The statement I offered is the argument against traveling with the tanks on and some folks feel very strongly that it is unsafe to travel with the tank valves open. I personally think the risk is very small.

If we are going to keep an RV for any length of time, I normally install a small inverter and run on electric on the road.

Steve

 

I usually don't. Each July we drive about 4 hours up to Maine. On the day we come home its often without power for a couple hours before heading home on the 4 hour drive. In both cases the thermometer in the fridge is still in the mid 40s and the popsicles in the freezer are rock hard still.

Next week we are driving 6-7 hours out towards Buffalo and I think I will leave the gas on. Not sure how long I want to push it.

 

The manufacturers claim no significant drop in temperature in the lower compartment for six hour at 100 degree ambient. Don't know, I never tried it.

Steve

 

I have always left mine on. Even shorter distances as well as cross country runs....But only one bottle.

I never have them both open. Even when camped.

 

I am on both sides of this debate. I have read that the propane side of fridges were to accommodate the rver during travel. But yet, if your fridge is cold and full, then you can leave it for 8 hours or more and it will not warm much. I have tried it. In 6 hours, full, it gained only 4 degrees in 100 degree Texas heat. Granted it was never opened. I also have an inverter that is large enough to run the fridge on electric and the truck charges enough back to keep the batteries topped off. I usually use the propane side to cool it down and it seems to be more efficient and cool more quickly from ambient to preferred storage temps.
One thing that has always bothered me was when you pull up to fill with fuel, you will hardly ever see an Rver turn off the fridge. And I must assume that a vast majority run down the road with the propane fridge "on". I don't worry about filling diesel obviously, but these people who just pull up, 10 cars filling with gasoline around them, and they just start filling their rigs bother me a bit. Some of the diesel pumps for RV's are stationed with the gas pumps. If that propane fridge is on, you have cars filling around you. To me that is a recipe for disaster.

 

As you suggest, there are two sides to the argument and one thing for sure, there are zealots on both sides. Like most things in life, I think truth is most often a bit grayer than folks like to admit, so here's a question I raised one time when I and another technician were speaking at a consumer conference (my position was I did not think traveling with propane on posed much danger and he was adamantly opposed to leaving the tanks open while traveling). Can anyone offer an example that can be documented where there was a propane generated fire while traveling that was due to being involved in an accident? Propane fires yes, I have seen those myself, but due to being involved in an accident. At the time of our conversation he could not.

Does anyone beside me recall when the old Dometics had the ignition interlock so they shut down when the ignition was turned off and would stay off? If I recall correctly for about ten minutes to deal with the refueling issue. It is so long ago, I can not even recall the year and the boards that did that are long gone.

That is one area where things have really improved. The new boards are so much more reliable than the old ones, I almost never have to replace them. Used to be every refrigerator service call meant installing a new board. I remember at one Dometic workshop the instructor said in his opinion they were designed to fail!

Steve

 

Every time we head out with something in the fridge I turn the propane on. I just don't trust the battery and truck to keep it running while on the road. Could just be my lack of understanding on how the system works.

Regarding propane fires during an accident, which is a valid concern, I would think that if it was bad enough to sever a line it could also be bad enough to rupture a tank. I think the latter would be worse, yet our tanks(on a TT) are either exposed or only covered by a thin piece of plastic.. There's no real protection.

 

Your refrigerator is never running in any mode without power to operate the board, which comes from the battery.

Again, in the case of fire, is it a valid concern? That is, is there any evidence fires have occurred secondary to accidents that can actually be documented? I hear statement made in many quarters regarding things that happen to RVs, but in nearly an entire lifetime of RVing, I have never seen a single example of many of the things people tell me happen or more importantly, could happen.

I am not trying to tell anyone what to do or not do. I am just saying, is there evidence to support the concern?

Steve

 

And the leaving it on idea wins in my trailer...............
If I have a accident anything could happen whether its turned off or on so I think Ill leave it on.;

 

First you have to put out of your mind anything you have seen on the TV and movies when it comes to filling stations. Gas and diesel fumes collect at ground level, even when you wire gas depressors the first 18" is the highest hazard class after that it goes down and by the time you get to the top of the depressor you can have non sealed switches. Most fires in service stations are from static electricity at the point were the fuel is leaving the nozzle not fuel vapors jumping from ground level up to a open flame 3 or 4 feet off the ground. Now if some dummy sprays gas on the side of a RV gas where you refrigerator is located yes you may have a fire not a explosion like you see on TV. You have to have a very high concentration of gas vapors for them to even ignite and unless gas is in a confined container it will not explode instead it will just burn and not all the fast.

Denny