Gas Flow Issues with Dometic 2 Burner gas stove top

[johnmacatlarge]

Hi All,
I posted about this as a reply to a "resolved" thread here: Resolved - RV Stove top regulator - replace or try to adjust or repair?
But I realized this should probably be its own thread.
I in Baja for a two week trip and our stove has quit working (again). I am looking for advice on what to do. My thought is to next get a different tank regulator or even get a straight hose connection (without a regulator.
The Situation
Our Boho van has a 2 Burner Dometic stove top that has been giving me intermittant problems with gas not flowing. The stove top has a small regulator on it. Many people have reported flow issues with their Dometic stove tops and the going theory about it is that it is alltitude related.
The basic symptom is that the propane is flowing to the stove will not flow out of the burners (so it is not the tank, OPD etc).
I now think the problem might be the fact that the propane tank hose has a regulator on it and it and it is either mismatched or it is not even supposed to be there.
The Dometic manual is fairly useless in this regard in that it provides no specs on the supply and just says "Run a propane-certifed hose from the propane supply tank to the gas connection on the cooktop."

The little regulator in the stove is a GRH60 LPG 10" WC. The specs for that include:
Max working pressure:1/2psi
LPG inlet pressure:14”W.C outlet pressure:8~10”W.C
NG inlet pressure:7”W.C outlet pressure:3~5”W.C
Flow rate:60000BTU/Hr

The regulator installed by Boho looks like the typical tank connector for a grill etc. It has no specs on it and is not adjustable.
Pictures of both the stove regulator and tank regulator are pasted below.
I

Any Advice?
John

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Yes it is very specific!! 14 inch water column!

You need a regulator!

Things like Mr Buddy heaters don't play well with the scent oil in refillable tanks. They even have a filter they recommend be used with a tank. That said, you are on the Baja and the propane may not be as clean as Dometic figured on.

To further complicate things, I have had serious problems with the hand tightening system. They are very low quality and some don't fully engage the valve on the tank. .

If the valve does not engage, replace the hose with one that the tank fitting is screwed into the regulator! Or keep fighting the problem.

Hope that gives you a place to look!!!

 

[TheLooks]

I agree with Kevin on the need for a regulator. The stove top is the only appliance that does not "contain" the flame or have a safety built in for overheating like the WH or Furnace or Fridge. Therefore it has a second regulator. Either regulator could be bad, we use a gauge to test pressure to confirm operation. I have seen bad tank valves, regulators and oil build up in the lines. Get a gas test gauge to check your pressures.

 

[johnmacatlarge]

Thanks for the replies.
I managed to find another tank line/ regulator but it did not solve the issue. I put the old one back on and noticed a very subtle hint of gas coming from the hose. I discovered that the tank valve was not fully seated. I had probably moved it slightly swapping regulators. I realized that my problem might be some overflow sensor in the stove regulator. So I installed the hose on the stove, and moved the valve on the tank the smallest amount (like 1 degree out of 360 degrees. I let it sit like that for a good minute and then moved it another tinsy amount and repeated again. And then again. My idea was to gradually pressurize the line, as slowly as I could. Eventually, I opened it up and tried the stove. Voila! Gas flows and lights!
So I am fairly certain I have either an overly sensitive OPD on the tank or some senstive overflow prevention device in the stove regulator.
I will dig further into this once home. For now, I have my stove back to get through this trip in Baja!

 

[TheLooks]

The runaway gas protector is in the valve on the bottle. When you open the valve, if you listen closely and your line is empty, there will be a click that is followed by another smaller click. This is the spring loaded safety popping out to prevent rapid flow, followed by it returning to the operation position after pressure builds up on the line side. I am not aware of a regulator that has a high flow limit in it. They are a high flow limit.