So now I'm on the fence as to whether or not the braided fill-line is safe or should be replaced with something ridged(???)

The braided line has to be a standard on the Barth Regencies with 40 gallon tanks mounted amidship, up-between the frame rails, with a filler port in a small compartment on the port side.

Curious how many other Regency Owners have this configuration?

The couplings ARE NOT a "screw-in" type ...they are a crimp-on style of coupling that were installed on a new, 5-foot chunk of hose, by a company who has been in the vehicle conversion, propane business for over 30 years, so I doubt these guys would have steered-me-wrong.

Any other thoughts on the safety of this set-up which was presumably, originally installed by BARTH?

I have the same type of hose for aproximately 2-feet near the generator.

quote:

Originally posted by Medic37:
Any other thoughts on the safety of this set-up which was presumably, originally installed by BARTH?

Well, these are just thoughts, since I haven't read the DOT or RVIA regs in a very long time, and am not a propane professional. We had DOT regs at work for our propane powered equipment, but I am far far away right now.

quote:

Originally posted by olroy:
I have only seen direct connections between the fuel station hose & the tank. I would view any flexible filler arrangement as a design flaw.

Any flexible hose between the fill inlet & the on-board tank would have to withstand higher pressures than that to have a safety factor. In my view such a connection constitutes an unnecessary hazard.

The propane hose used by my hose man is rated at up to 350 psi working and bursts at 1750 psi.

Most relief valves let go at a little under or a little over 300 psi.

If the fill valve is on the tank, it will close at the end of filling, and there should be no pressure in the fill hose. Even if the fill valve lets pressure in to the fill hose, the pressure in the hose will be below its rated capacity and the limit of the tank relief valve (which is below the hose rated pressure, and way below the burst pressure).

quote:

Originally posted by Shadow man:
Seems to me that somebody once told me that propane is under 3 or 4 thousand psi when it is being pumped into your tank. Anybody able to confirm this or not?

Don't know the numbers, but the pump is there to speed transfer. The high pressure in the truck hose is just for speed, and the pressure in the tank never gets above the relief valve setting, or you would hear it let go. The coldness of the fill connection is also evidence of the pressure reduction.

So, pending confirmation from the RVIA, I wave my wand of design flaw absolution over the Barth factory who installed the fill hose set up.

quote:

Was told that is why you need to make sure that the valves on all of your lines are shut off so that your appliances are not damaged.

The relief valve on the tank and the regulator in the line should protect the appliances. If the relief valve is working, the pressure in the tank will never be over ~300 psi, and the appliances will never see over 11" H2O.

quote:

I always do this myself because sometimes you get somebody young who does not know about it or forgets it.

Never hurts to be extra safe. My own bugbear is the filling guy who does not close the spit valve completely. Early on in RVing, I found myself out in the bushes with no propane on account of a slowly seeping spit valve.

I would recommend everyone buy a hand held propane detector. Or brush soapy water over every hose and connection often. By the time a leak is visible or discovered, a lot of propane could have leaked out with a lot of danger exposure.

Since it has stopped raining I went out and checked. The filler line and the take off for a bbq grill are both flex lines from the filler door to the tank. Everything else is iron. The flex lines have a silver tag attached with, QUOTE: ... "UL CODE: MODEL A6 FLEXIBLE HOSE CONNECTOR FOR LP GAS ... MODEL 604H 350 MAX WK PRESS."
We have a mid entry coach and the filler is on the STARBOARD SIDE right next to the entry door. Also there is no connection to the generator because it is a an Onan diesel genny!
It is the OEM setup I'm sure.
Don

quote:

Originally posted by Medic37:

The braided line has to be a standard on the Barth Regencies with 40 gallon tanks mounted amidship, up-between the frame rails, with a filler port in a small compartment on the port side.

Curious how many other Regency Owners have this configuration?

I concur that this is probably an OEM practice and since it is only a fill line, then it seems that this is a safe configuration. That's a tough 5-feet of hose with the ends crimped-on.

As other's have mentioned, due to the sudden frequency of failures and the similiar age of most of these coaches, everyone should do an inspection of this line [and other flex-lines on the coach] and consider replacing-it just to be on the safe-side...

I think I'll preventively replace the one at my generator this coming season.

My Barth has a flex line connecting the tank to the coach. A while back, I replaced it just to be safe, but made the new one longer. This allows me to connect the coach to our portable 5 gallon tank if we run out while parked in the sticks and don't feel like picking up and driving the rig to town. Sort of a poor man's Extend-A-Stay.

I had to replace my fill line just before the Hillsboro River State Park GTG.
When I pulled my old one off it was just over 9 feet long. The service guy I went to cut a new line put on new crimp fittings.
It was the same problem that Mac had.
All owners with old Barths should check and replace those LP flex fill lines or other LP flex lines.

Jim
1985 Barth Regency