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  • Regulator LP gas is not putting out gas

    Posted by guest on June 26, 2017 at 12:00 am

    I have brand new regulator when hook up to LP very little gas comes out

    fixbear replied 5 years, 3 months ago 1 Member · 15 Replies
  • 15 Replies
  • fixbear

    Member
    June 26, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    First, is this a regulator on a portable bottle or a regulator installed on a fixed unit.  I imagine it is a portable, and that it probably has a POL safety fitting ..  If that is the case, the fitting has a flow limiter that has to have a bit of back pressure.  Also the valve on the tank has to have the right fitting to open all the way.  Again, it requires some back pressure to fully open.  You should also check the appliance tag, as some outdoor equipment requires a 15 pound regulator instead of 11 inch water column.  They have a red cap or a red twist handle..

  • ectofix

    Member
    June 26, 2017 at 7:21 pm

    You haven’t provided enough information.  Your question simply leaves too many unanswered question, such as:

    What’s the oven model number? What’s the gas line size feeding the oven? What’s the gas line size feeding your new regulator? Is there other cooking equipment on the line? What is the make/model of that regulator? Would you happen to know what your new regulator’s maximum rated input pressure is? What is the gas pressure feeding the regulator? What pressure did you set your new regulator to? What’s the source of your LP? (i.e., a huge tank outside, a tank like what’s used for gas grills or one of those setups used on catering trucks)

     

    I’ll wait patiently for you to respond to these questions.  Then we can proceed from there.

  • ectofix

    Member
    June 26, 2017 at 7:22 pm

    OOP!  Didn’t see ya there.  I’m too slow.

  • fixbear

    Member
    June 26, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    Not really, a Guest question with all the vagueness for our magic balls.

  • ectofix

    Member
    June 26, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    Just too many ways to go wrong with LP installations.

     

    I ran a warranty call one time in which my customer said his convection oven wouldn’t light.  After what I found and through some conversation, he’d had his plumber do the the gas connection.

     

    His plumber had run a 3/8″ copper line straight from a 100lb. LP bottle (located outside) that he’d bought at Home Depot.  The copper line ran inside to his brand-spankin’ new full-sized convection oven (ironically…I think it was a Baker’s Pride).  There was NO regulator at play there…except the 1/2 psi rated combination valve within the oven.

     

    Based upon the temperature that day, I’d crudely calculated that there was about 120 psi of LP gas pressure going into that oven. 

     

  • fixbear

    Member
    June 27, 2017 at 6:09 am

    Some people like to live dangerously. And, the plumber was not a plumber.  A true plumber would know better.  Sounds like a friend or something that he is calling a plumber..

     

    A propane gas company here installed a heater in a office conversion of a old post beam barn with 3/8 copper through the wall from a 100 gallon tank. . Building movement caused a crack in the line and eventual fire.  Burned to the ground.  That was about 2 years before they started requiring the stainless hook up lines.

  • bush

    Member
    June 27, 2017 at 7:45 am

    the submitter didn’t indicate this was an oven installation at all…  just sayin’!!!

  • ectofix

    Member
    June 27, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    Thanks for “sayin’!!!

     

    The question was posted as a Bakers Pride.  All the things I’ve ever seen of theirs were ovens.  However, I looked it up and now I see that they make things OTHER than ovens.

     

    Thanks for enlightening me.

  • guest

    Member
    June 30, 2017 at 5:25 am

    Ecto and Fixbear, Thasnks for all the propane info. Living in a large metro area, I seldom run across propane units. In fact, the last one was for a DFG 100 that a caterer wanted converted, so he could put it in the back of his truck.

    When it comes to all the all the nuances with propane, what I know, you could probably stick in your eye. Just the little you posted, expanded my knowelge base greatly.

    Thanks Rico

  • fixbear

    Member
    June 30, 2017 at 10:20 am

    I’m familiar with the portable operation idea.  Some things to keep in mind when a customer wants to do this. He is allowed to transport a maximum of 50 lb’s hazardous material without hazmat rules going into effect. Bonding, Insurance, placarding, and CDL with hazmat stamp all fall into effect.  Including a special physical.annually.  Add’s a lot of cost. And yes, there are a lot of food trucks and potable operations that want to use 100 lb cylinders instead of 20, 30, or 40’s. Even vehicle mounted tanks for RV use are under 12 gallons. 

     

    Everything in the gas industry is designed with safety as the number one function.  Sometimes that does create usability problems, but safety does come in as number one. As part of this, the industry does provide free training.  You just have to find it.

     

    Lastly, Regulators are rated by BTU’s. Those commonly available for domestic BBQ’s and outside burners do not have the capacity for a Large commercial oven. The black ACME quick connect fitting are limited to 70,000 BTU’s.  Green are from 71,000 to 200,000 BTU. But you will have a hart time finding them.  Add to that that sometimes tanks either get overfilled or tipped and liquid gets to the regulator causing damage or freeze up. Another problem is that the liquid can contain particulates that plug the regulator limiting orifice or valve. The newer POL hand tighten fittings have a filter just for that reason. And yes, they do plug.

     

    Now let’s explore portable tanks. A new tank was good for 15 years,  It then dropped to 12 years,  And is now down to 10 years.  It then has to be re-certified and is good for 5 years.  Problem is that to correctly re-certify one it is supposed to be hydro-ed and visually inspected. To Hydro it one has to fill it with water with no air space,  place in a water filled chamber to contain it if it burst.and measure displacement.  then pressurize while measuring the displacement from expansion. Each different tank has a published test pressure and displacement allowance due to different steels, thickness and shape. It then is drained and dried. Problem is, that some have moisture still in them even when new.  That is why the internal visual is so important. It is also the source of particulates that give us so much regulator, fitting problems.   The other source of particulates, and most common is the graphite vanes used in the transfer pumps. They wear and build up in your tanks with time.  The more the tank is used, the more build-up of carbon. After all, the tank is a vaporizer. I’ll give you a tank capacity chart to understand the other problem.  Basically you can’t legally carry enough capacity for anything commercial.

    Vaporization Rate
    100 LB Propane Cylinders (approximate)
    Maximum Continuous Draw In BTU Per Hour At Various Temperatures In Degrees F.

    Lbs. of Propane in Cylinder 0 degree F
    1 Tank 20 degree F
    1 Tank 0 degree F
    2 Tanks 20 degree F
    2 Tanks 0 degree F
    3 Tanks 20 degree F
    3 Tanks 100 113,000 167,000 248,000 367,000 545,000 807,000 90 104,000 152,000 228,000 334,000 501,000 734,000 80 94,000 137,000 206,000 301,000 400,000 662,000 70 83,000 122,000 182,000 268,000 363,000 589,000 60 75,000 109,000 165,000 239,000 310,000 453,000 50 64,000 94,000 141,000 206,000 260,000 382,000 40 55,000 79,000 121,000 174,000 217,000 319,000 30 45,000 66,000 99,000 145,000 217,000 319,000 20 36,000 51,000 79,000 112,000 174,000 246,000
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