Pigtail swap

[rhythmdancer]

Hi everyone,

Probably a very silly question, but the one thing I'm most paranoid about in the van is the gas (I'm even paranoid about the gas in my house for the cooker and my tiny portable burner for camping, I just hate the stuff) - so I'm asking to super double triple check before I do something daft.

My recently-new-to-me van is fitted with a Truma Monocontrol CS bulkhead regulator fed by a Cavagna 924c auto-changeover. The gas locker has space for two bottles - I have no idea why this arrangement of regulator-and-changeover was used when I guess a Duocontrol should have been used.

When I got the van it had a single butane bottle and two butane pigtails coming out of the Cavagna. The second pigtail is just 'loose' not attached to anything (albeit secured to avoid rattling/damage) in the locker. Our initial trips have just been on the single butane bottle and, so far so good. (As an aside: I'm guessing the previous owner had a refillable system installed - and just removed it prior to sale - as there's a fixed LPG inlet just below the gas locker door. I presume they swapped the butane bottle and pigtails back in for the sale).

I've now got a 6KG propane bottle and have bought a handwheel-style propane pigtail (<Broken link removed>), so I now need to swap the spare pigtail over.

So.... the question: It's OK to do this, right? I don't need to ask or have a gas person test it out? I purchased some gas leak detector spray when I got the pigtail. So, I just make sure all the gas is definitely off, unscrew the pigtail from the Cavagna (it looks a bit tight as it's very close to the 'roof' of the locker), screw the new one on, attach to the propane bottle and just carefully check for leaks with the spray? Simple as that?

I feel weirdly nervous about doing it... despite having already done other more complex stuff to the van!

Cheers.

S.

 

[the1andonly]

Sounds fine to me, checking for leaks is more than calor would expect with exchange bottles.

 

[MisterB]

Perfectly acceptable for you to do it .... It's on the low pressure side so no need to be overly concerned. You will no doubt get a slight smell of the gas (more correctly the mercaptan used as a stenching agent) make sure all the washers are in place that should be there and use your spray to check. It's just like changing bottles anytime one runs out. As an added safety measure, your gas locker should be separate from the living accommodation and should have a vent at its lowest level, just check it hasn't been blocked for some reason. Then use the van and sleep soundly !!

 

[rhythmdancer]

Perfectly acceptable for you to do it .... It's on the low pressure side so no need to be overly concerned. You will no doubt get a slight smell of the gas (more correctly the mercaptan used as a stenching agent) make sure all the washers are in place that should be there and use your spray to check. It's just like changing bottles anytime one runs out. As an added safety measure, your gas locker should be separate from the living accommodation and should have a vent at its lowest level, just check it hasn't been blocked for some reason. Then use the van and sleep soundly !!

Thanks guys. Mild paranoia has been calmed a bit now.

Yep, the vents at the bottom of the locker are clear. I have a 6m PVC and the gas locker is in the back of the kitchen unit by the sliding door. I have to open the sliding side door to get to the locker door from the outside - bit of a faff, but it is what it is. Once I get the propane plugged in I might even be brave enough to let the butane run down and see if the changeover gadget works.

S.

 

[Ridgeway]

PS: paranoia and gas installations seems pretty reasonable to me