We filled up two 8 kg propane tanks less than two months ago which are now dry. Is this typical? No one has been living in it! We used it when we were in it for a couple of days, but even our fridge was not working due to a blown fuse, and we never turned on the stove except to test it. We did use the furnace for a few days off and on in order to "dry" the space out but that was it. I'd love to know if this is typical or is something amiss?
-- Edited by Little Dipper on Saturday 25th of June 2011 01:55:54 AM
Ckerr said
08:02 AM Jun 25, 2011
I'm not 100% sure on the size of 8kg bottles, but that sure doesn't sound right to me. We go 4-6 months without refilling ours and we live in it most of the time....
Bill Adams said
09:38 AM Jun 25, 2011
8KG (1 KG = about 2.2 pounds) is a little less than the 20# propane bottles used with a gas grill. We have one of these which we only use for our gas cook-top and nothing else. It last us about a year and a half. A furnace in an RV could eat up one of these bottles pretty quickly, however, depending upon the size of the furnace and the duration of use.
bjoyce said
01:18 PM Jun 25, 2011
We can go through a gallon a day running our furnace which is about 2 KG so it can go quickly. We carry over 60 KG.
Bill and Linda said
02:08 PM Jun 25, 2011
This is a good question, but the answers are just so variable.
As Bill J. said, you can go through quite a bit of a tank in a single day running heat.
Our generator runs on LP and a 4+ kilo tank will only last about 12 hours.We don’t do that very often. Then again, I’ve gone a month and never made a dent in the 4+ kilo (approx.) tanks when all we were running was the refrigerator.It just really depends. But please be advised, most of the furnaces can really use a lot of fuel.
As a general rule, the finance uses a lot, next the gas water heater, then ovens, stoves and lastly the fridge.That is our experience over the years.
None of our answers will help a lot till you get some time with your rig and have some usage experience remembering that if have good power and your water heater, refrigerator and possibly a reverse cycle air-conditioner (heat-pump) are all on shore power you could go for a very long time. It just depends.
Safe travels
Bill
Terry and Jo said
02:09 PM Jun 25, 2011
The smaller propane cylinders (outdoor cooker size) are routinely called a 20 lb cylinder, or roughly 5 gallons. However, in filling a propane cylinder, one never fills them much beyond 80 to 85 percent full, so your "5 gallon" cylinder would only be a bit over 4 gallons of actual fuel.
Last winter, I was uncertain as to whether our washer was properly drained so I kept the coach at about 62 degrees so as to not let it freeze up. (We weren't living in it full-time yet.) Our cylinders are 40 lb cylinders, holding about 9.5 gallons and I was refilling one about every 3 or 4 days with keeping the coach at 62 degrees. Our coach (fifth wheel) is 38 feet long.
In answer to your question, I would suspect that it was normal to run out in a short period of time. I guess it kind of depends on how big a space you were talking about heating to "dry things out" and to how long your furnace ran over that period of time.
Terry
Luvglass said
02:57 PM Jun 25, 2011
Your cylinders are smaller than most, but from your description of usage I suspect there may be a leak. I'd have it checked. Good luck,
flyone said
11:57 AM Jun 27, 2011
8kg is 17.63 lb, in your post you say you filled up two of these. I agree with Luvglass something sounds not right. Unless you have a huge RV and are under estimating the useage you proably have a leak or the tanks did not get filled as you suspect. You need to get the system checked out. Top to bottom, prior to lighting any appliances.
Flyone
NorCal Dan said
08:53 PM Jun 27, 2011
Hot water tank, stove/oven, refrigerator, and furnace are the propane users on most RV's. If you weren't using any of these appliances then I agree you need to have a leak check done on your propane tanks and connections.
We filled up two 8 kg propane tanks less than two months ago which are now dry. Is this typical? No one has been living in it! We used it when we were in it for a couple of days, but even our fridge was not working due to a blown fuse, and we never turned on the stove except to test it. We did use the furnace for a few days off and on in order to "dry" the space out but that was it. I'd love to know if this is typical or is something amiss?
-- Edited by Little Dipper on Saturday 25th of June 2011 01:55:54 AM
This is a good question, but the answers are just so variable.
As Bill J. said, you can go through quite a bit of a tank in a single day running heat.
Our generator runs on LP and a 4+ kilo tank will only last about 12 hours. We don’t do that very often. Then again, I’ve gone a month and never made a dent in the 4+ kilo (approx.) tanks when all we were running was the refrigerator. It just really depends. But please be advised, most of the furnaces can really use a lot of fuel.
As a general rule, the finance uses a lot, next the gas water heater, then ovens, stoves and lastly the fridge. That is our experience over the years.
None of our answers will help a lot till you get some time with your rig and have some usage experience remembering that if have good power and your water heater, refrigerator and possibly a reverse cycle air-conditioner (heat-pump) are all on shore power you could go for a very long time. It just depends.
Safe travels
Bill
The smaller propane cylinders (outdoor cooker size) are routinely called a 20 lb cylinder, or roughly 5 gallons. However, in filling a propane cylinder, one never fills them much beyond 80 to 85 percent full, so your "5 gallon" cylinder would only be a bit over 4 gallons of actual fuel.
Last winter, I was uncertain as to whether our washer was properly drained so I kept the coach at about 62 degrees so as to not let it freeze up. (We weren't living in it full-time yet.) Our cylinders are 40 lb cylinders, holding about 9.5 gallons and I was refilling one about every 3 or 4 days with keeping the coach at 62 degrees. Our coach (fifth wheel) is 38 feet long.
In answer to your question, I would suspect that it was normal to run out in a short period of time. I guess it kind of depends on how big a space you were talking about heating to "dry things out" and to how long your furnace ran over that period of time.
Terry
Good luck,
8kg is 17.63 lb, in your post you say you filled up two of these. I agree with Luvglass something sounds not right. Unless you have a huge RV and are under estimating the useage you proably have a leak or the tanks did not get filled as you suspect. You need to get the system checked out. Top to bottom, prior to lighting any appliances.
Flyone