Propane on while driving (1 Viewer)

Chucker

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While getting propane afew months ago I was scholded by the attendant for having the propane valve open while driving. He said it is not safe. My refridgerator operates on either propane or electricity when the motorhome is plugged in, not on the batteries. If I shut off the propane while driving it is not going to work. Most people drive with the propane on don't they?
 

TheBig1

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In a word NO.... some do and risk it and some european models have a safety shutoff that cuts the supply if in an accident.

The problem is, when your on a forecourt taking on gas, the flame from the fridge could cause an explosion. Same reason not to smoke whilst there....common sense
 
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spannermanwigan

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Yes I do, and so do many others, even the gas fire manufacturers, give details on their sites
re using fires whilst mobile.

As far as I am aware there is no law in the UK, that says you cant.

There are obvious risks involved should you be involved in an accident,and these are reduced
but not negated, by turning off your supply at the bottle.

I dont see any more risk than someone traveling, with an on board gas tank which is
underslung and does not in fact have a shut off.

My opinion, sure you will get other views opposite to mine.

regards
Steve

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Heyupluv

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In a word NO.... some do and risk it and some european models have a safety shutoff that cuts the supply if in an accident.

The problem is, when your on a forecourt taking on gas, the flame from the fridge could cause an explosion. Same reason not to smoke whilst there....common sense

I agree with all Big1 has said all the way.....mine has the auto valve fitted But I would still turn it off when running (unless I have forgotten...OOPs) BUT BEFORE I ENTER ANY FUEL STATION...I make sure gas is turned off completely....and also the fridge freezer is completely switched off just in case the igniter clicks in keeps trying to ignite the switched off gas on the F,Freezer...it may never happen.... But best safe be than sorry.:thumb:

Mel
 
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GJH

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I always turn the gas off when not actually pitched.

If a collision was to happen (either when travelling or stationary) then the gas bottle would most likely be undamaged but a gas pipe could be fractured much more easily - leading to a potential source of fire/explosion if the bottle was not turned off.

When we had our Alugas cylinder fitted we were told that it must be turned off before it is filled - so that is another good reason.
 
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Olliekuma

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Propane on / off

Definately off.
You never know what would happen in case of an accident. Remember if gas leaks it goes to its lowest point and you might not know it.
I have seen a boat blow up because somebody forgot the basic safety rules of using gas. It's a great fuel but has to be treated with respect. Just like a good woman.

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icantremember

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Yes I do, and so do many others, even the gas fire manufacturers, give details on their sites
re using fires whilst mobile.

As far as I am aware there is no law in the UK, that says you cant.

There are obvious risks involved should you be involved in an accident,and these are reduced
but not negated, by turning off your supply at the bottle.

I dont see any more risk than someone traveling, with an [HI]
on board gas tank which is
underslung and does not in fact have a shut off.
[/HI]
My opinion, sure you will get other views opposite to mine.

regards
Steve

Although it will be very rare that we travel with the lpg turned on our underslung gas tank fitted recently by Autogas 2000 at Thirsk is fitted with an crash safe regulator which will automatically turn off in the event of an accident.

Brian
 
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Nov 6, 2008
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l have a Winnebago A class, and always leave the gas on whilst driving. When we rented in the US, the company that rented us our rig told us that was the way to drive it, with the gas on to run the fridge.

Craig
 
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Jim

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Don't think I ever turned my gas off in 4 years of RV ownership. Its designed to work that way and stay on, also the fridge had no 12v option, so you needed to keep it on gas. Just turn off fridge when filling up with fuel.

Never turn mine off in the Hymer when travelling, cant make a brew on the motorway with it off:Cool:

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MikeandCarolyn

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I dont see any more risk than someone traveling, with an on board gas tank which is
underslung and does not in fact have a shut off.
regards
Steve

Our underslung gas tank actually has 2 shut off valves-1 on the tank itself and 1 by the regulator which is still in what used to be the gas locker. We travel with the one in the gas locker turned Off.

Mike.
 
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haganap

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No, another naughty boy here, I never turn my gas off unless Im filling up the Gaslow.

The Fridge is opperated whilst driving by the battery are you sure your's isn't?
sounds odd to me as I would of thought driving would blow out the pilot light?
what van is it?

My last van had the seccamotion regulator on it that allowed you to drive without having to turn off, also the Newer Bessacarr's have these as well so not just euro vans these days.

So q my defence lawyer, Sir sloberdobbob to get me out of this hole :thumb:

for I is guilty as is charged.
 
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Apr 27, 2008
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I travel with my gas on (except in the tunnel) but I do have Secumotion so it would shut off automatically in the event of a pipe fracturing. The dometic fridge does not turn on to gas until 15min after the engine has stopped as a safety feature so giving time to fill up.
The danger would be greater filling up with petrol rather than gas as the gas is a closed system apart from the little chuff when disconnecting. Although most of us use diesel there is always the chap at the pump opposite filling up with petrol a foot away from your fridge burner.

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As with Craig and Jim, mine is an RV and always drive with gas on but turn off fridge and gas when filling.
Recently did a few weeks in Spain and asked Brittany if I should turn gas off on ferry, initially nobody seemed to know but eventually said turn it off.
I wonder how many m homers leave gas on on ferries ?
 
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Jim

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There are normally plenty of signs on ferries telling you to turn off the gas. We always try and get a hookup onboard. Ask nicely and we nearly always get one. If we can't we just pop a few frozen freezer blocks in the fridge before we shut it off.


As with Craig and Jim, mine is an RV and always drive with gas on but turn off fridge and gas when filling.
Recently did a few weeks in Spain and asked Brittany if I should turn gas off on ferry, initially nobody seemed to know but eventually said turn it off.
I wonder how many m homers leave gas on on ferries ?
 
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slobadoberbob

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well I will be defending you and myself

No, another naughty boy here, I never turn my gas off unless Im filling up the Gaslow.

The Fridge is opperated whilst driving by the battery are you sure your's isn't?
sounds odd to me as I would of thought driving would blow out the pilot light?
what van is it?

My last van had the seccamotion regulator on it that allowed you to drive without having to turn off, also the Newer Bessacarr's have these as well so not just euro vans these days.

So q my defence lawyer, Sir sloberdobbob to get me out of this hole :thumb:

for I is guilty as is charged.

In that case I will be defending you and myself. I always have the log on on my winnebago... the only time it goes off is when we have to show the valve closed at the tunnel.. but otherwise it is on all the time... been doing that for 25 years now.

Bob

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vwalan

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hi you can get regulators with a built in excessflow valve that shuts off or buy a multi purpose safety fittingexcess flow valve .a guage these are about 13 quid . worth it i think. as said many fridges are run constantly. i never used to turn my gas off at one time. as brittany ferries request it i do now . but hardly ever turn off .
try BES no.1267312.98 quid.
 
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eddie

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Can you turn gas off then?

All these accidents:Eeek: Can anyone point to a crash situation being exacerbated by an exploding gas bottle/tank?

My RV is designed to have the fridge and heating on, on the move. With the RV market dwarfing the European market, and all RV's designed to have gas available on the move I would expect to regularly see reports of small crashes becoming infernos if it was a real risk.

Lots of things are potential risks, you just have to balance things.

Eddie

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Touchwood

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To save carrying lots of freezer packs you can freeze bottled water, use that as a freezer pack, and then drink when it thaws.

Not knocking your suggestion Hollyberry as it's a perfectly good idea; just be aware that frozen water doesn't have as much thermal capacity as a purpose made freezer block and so won't be as effective for as long.
 
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Kasey

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As a petroleum officer I am pleased to see some are aware of the dangers of having a fridge running on gas when on a petrol forecourt. The chances of a disaster may be extremely slim, but 'disaster' is what it would be.
Havig seen the CCTV of a man filling his car up while leaving his door open and the 'flashover' when he got back in and turned the key to start the engine. People should be wary of any device that can cause a spark. I am constantly making people aware of the door issue, and they have just not realised the danger. Even worse is those that leave the door open with a young child in the back, breathing in all the petrol fumes. Very healthy, and doubled the risk.

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vwalan

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there are loads of sparks at a petrol station . think how many on a petrol car just ticking over at 750revs a minute . plus the alternator and door switches . plus sparks in the starter when its working . maybe we should ban garages . haha
 
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Kasey

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there are loads of sparks at a petrol station . think how many on a petrol car just ticking over at 750revs a minute . plus the alternator and door switches . plus sparks in the starter when its working . maybe we should ban garages . haha

That's why the signs say "switch off engine", among many other things.:Smile: Unfortunately that is the way most people think. I am just passing on some information. Do with it what you will.
 
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vwalan

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but are you saying the fumes have gone when the person starts the car again?
only a thought.

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vwalan

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i,m not disagreeing with you but another person still starts their car while you are filling and could be only feet away . thousands of sparks in the distributer cap .and threy arent sealed. neither is the starter. or alternator .so in my book its a daft sign .
 
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Kasey

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but are you saying the fumes have gone when the person starts the car again?
only a thought.

As with Propane, petrol is heavier than air and so will sink to the lowest point. There is generally some movement of air on a forecourt which will disperse/dilute the vapour. So yes, in a way I am suggesting that the vapour (at a dangerous level) will have gone. Obviously, if you trap it in your vehicle it has no chance of dispersing. An open window in a car is generally not as dangerous because it is generally higher than the fill point on a vehicle and so less likely to let the vapour in. Hope that helps.
 
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MHVirgins

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Gas on!

There appears to be conflicting advice given by dealers/salesmen etc regarding this:RollEyes:

One sales person at the dealership where we bought our mh said "no", that it's safer to keep the gas off when moving.

However, another member of staff said, "That's rubbish, because the van is fitted with a "Road Safe" gas regulator, Truma SecuMotion so that it keeps the gas pressure regulated and monitored.

So we do keeps ours on whilst running. If we do ever make it to the channel tunnel we will of course, adhere to all the guidelines when we're travelling through the tunnel:thumb:

***Just read in the handbook, that ours may be used whilst driving (according to the EU directive 2001/56/EC) if the system includes a regulator with an appropriately configured gas installation. Which it does, the van is only 15 months old***

Pressure regulating devices and hoses must be replaced with new ones no more than 10 years after their date of manufacture.




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Kasey

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i,m not disagreeing with you but another person still starts their car while you are filling and could be only feet away . thousands of sparks in the distributer cap .and threy arent sealed. neither is the starter. or alternator .so in my book its a daft sign .

Please yourself - I did say in my first post it is an extremely slim chance.

Stay lucky.
 
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acdctv

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The missing point here seems to be that any gas appliance needs an exhaust, and whilst a lot of modern vehicles have heat controlled shutters on them etc, there is a much higher chance of whatever you have running blowing out at 65mph! Again, of course this should switch off the feed automatically but to be honest, this is why fridges have a 12v supply, to be used when there is sufficient power available to run them (ie when the vehicle is charging).
 
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eddie

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this is why fridges have a 12v supply, to be used when there is sufficient power available to run them (ie when the vehicle is charging).

I am sure that you meant that "Some smaller fridges have a 12v supply"

My big fridge/freezer in my RV is designed to run only on mains and gas.

You'll find that fridges on 12v are designed to keep cool but are no where near as effective as when on gas or AC supply

Eddie
 
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