A few summers ago, when I went to have the portable tanks for my patio BBQ grill refilled, I was required to swap-out tanks and pay extra for some different fitting upgrades that had become a new industry standard.......

Since it's been several years since the Barth's permanently mounted tank has been refilled, should I be prepared for having to perform the same mod, or are permanent tanks exempt from this requirement?.......

I have encountered the same situation with a portable tank here in Alberta. In my case the tank appeared to be in good shape and had the updated valve but the date stamp on it idicated due to its age an inspection was required. I paid $20. for an exchange tank with a current inspecton stamp (plus propane) and was on my way. I have since inquired at several propane suppliers and been told there is no such requirement for permanently mounted tanks. Of course it may be different in other jurisdictions.

From: http://washingtonstategoodsam.kendra.com/Propane.htm

"The 1998 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code section of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 58 called for the installation of OPDs on all 4 to 40 pound vertical DOT cylinders manufactured after September 1, 1998. The 2001 version of the same code states that horizontal cylinders are exempt from an overfill protection device (OPD) retrofit as long as the cylinder was manufactured prior to Oct. 1, 1998. That means that these cylinders can be legally recertified after 12 years without making modifications. The tanks mounted to motor homes (designated as ASME tanks) are not subject to this regulation."

Be sure you tell the propane guy to stop at 80%. There is a hand screw he is supposed to open. Also, make sure he tightens it porperly. Lost a tank of propane that way, too. I test it with soapy water now. Once, the guy asked, "fill it up?", and I said yes. Well, he didn't use the 80% vent, and miles down the road, things heated up and the overpressure vent made a sound like a blowout as it released and hissed. Like to scared me to death.

GEEZE, why does everything have to happen to me?

bill since you mentioned it i'll ask your opinion on my problem...had our gas man fill the rv tank..i wasn't there and my wife said he didnt act like he knew what he was do'n..she said when he first started, gas was spueing(mp?)everywhere..he did something and all of a sudden the gas rushed in..( i didn't check to see if he filled it above 80%) anyway i went to use the furnace a few wks later..the furnace worked fine for about 30 min..when i returned the blower was just blowing cold air..there is no clicking noise now when i try to ignite my furnace(nt30 1977 barth)..lee sent me the booklet on it to try to figure it out..anyway my question to you is it possible that he blew some dirt/etc into the lines or damaged something ..even though it worked for about 30 minutes..thanks...roy

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77 21' 454
livin in beautiful southern illinois

Those propane guys are scary, aren't they?

Roy, we don't use a furnace, so don't know very much.............might not be too much help here.

I suspect that any crud he might have introduced would fall to the bottom of the tank.

How do the stove and water heater work?


(edited for spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax. Any other errors are left for your entertainment)

I watch very carefully when my tanks are filled.....several times i have had to show them where the valves are and tell them not to overfill even tho my tanks are horizontal. When we lived on Maui there was a guy and a teenager filling a couple of tanks and as near as they can figure it, one of them rapped on a valve or the tank itself with a crescent wrench. They found pieces of the tank as far as 300 yards away.......needless to say those two won't be filling any more tanks. The other folks that make me nervous are the ones talking on their cell phones while pumping gas or standing by the car smoking while their friend/spouse/whatever is pumping gas and talking to them . Makes you wonder how some of them have gotten as old as they are if they have done things like this all their lives. Seems like the gene pool should be a lot smaller than it is.

everything else works fine bill thanks!!

To the Roy that's a Hawk - if everything works except the furnace, odds are almost 100% the problem's in the furnace.

I just replaced one furnace- pricey enough so's I wouldn't want to do it every week (or every year, for that matter).

Both of my 15 year old furnaces (Hydro-Flame Excaliber II) packed up around the same time last month - one won't light, the other now vibrates like crazy. With luck, I'll be able to cobble up one good furnace out of the two, and again have 2 working furnaces.

The new one was a direct replacement for the old, but a later model (Excaliber IV). The blower's quieter than the old ones, but the burner still roars like a blow torch.

Replacement was no piece-of-cake, but pretty straightforward. Took me 6 hours, would have been half of that with a helper, fewer coffee breaks, and if I hadn't had 2 different pop rivet tools malfunction part way through the project.

Shouldn't take more than 2 hours in a professiional shop, presuming you don't have to pay for a new mechanic to climb the learning curve.

"....... the other now vibrates like crazy"....

Roy, I had same problem...turns out that wasps had entered thru the exterior wall intake port for the furnace and built a paper-nest on the blades of the squirrel-cage wheel on the cumbustion-air side....A good compressed air clean out solved the problem without having to disassemble the unit....tracked OK after that..

thanks to all of you..will give me something to check out

I filled up at a true propane company and the guy was surprized to find that my tank had a OPD in it already. He said that was a sign that somebody knew what they were doing when they built the coach. Yep!

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28