Explosive Post… Propane Grill

[brad barton]

Thanks, Bill. I have one of the weak electric pullout grills in my coach..and I was thinking about doing something different. If and when I do, your post will come in very handy.

Brad Barton 00LXiDFW bbartonwx@...

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To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
From: billgaramella@...
Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 12:52:15 +0000
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Explosive Post… Propane Grill

Explosive Post… Propane Grill

I decided to get a grill for the coach and found a nice little 304 stainless infrared unit called the Stow- N- Go on sale at West Marine on sale for just under $100 < http://tinyurl.com/qndj25 >. It works great and is small enough to fit in front basement of our FC, gets real hot fast and cools off fast too and temp is easy to control and cleans up nicely. Although its not heavy duty, its beefy enough (pun intended).

The grill is set up to run on small propane bottles and this works fine. Like many off the shelf grills, this unit comes equipped with a high-pressure regulator and in this case the control is on the regulator itself. I wanted to get a hose and fittings to use with the coach's dedicated Bar-B-Q valve. I just thought it would be a simple thing to do.

I went to the hardware store and told the hardware man what I wanted to do and he said "Son, I got hose and fittings, but I don't want assist you in making a bomb. You best go talk with a propane man.

I started doing some reading and spoke with a couple of seasoned propane specialists and the both sources stated to go with low pressure. This is the safe way and the right to do it. Therefore, one needs to MODIFY the GRILL to accommodate the factory RV system NOT the other way around.

More than once I have heard some members talk about modifying the coach's propane system to accommodate the grill because they were not getting sufficient pressure from the on board outlet. This is a real concern to me. Perhaps I'm making a big deal out of something that is no big deal, but I ain't taking chances with propane gas NO SIR!

With that, I started investigating what I need to do to use the Bar-B-Q outlet from the coach and learned that the coach is set up with a low-pressure regulator (6 ounces -10.5 inches water column). Apparently this is an industry standard for large RV systems and the safest way to run a grill off a large tank. This is similar to residential installations.

"Another often asked question is "I have a low pressure regulator but it does not seem to supply enough gas for my appliance." Unfortunately, many of the preset low pressure regulators available in the marketplace use 1/4"ID hose and some are attached to a propane regulator with a 1/4" NPT (normal pipe thread) outlet on the propane regulator. There is a limit to the volume of gas that can be delivered through this small ID hose at a fixed low propane pressure of 6 ounces . What can you do? Use a low pressure regulator with a 3/8"ID gas outlet and a gas hose of 3/8"ID. The amount of propane that can be delivered to the appliance is increased by a factor of 2.26 so the chances of starving your appliance for propane are greatly diminished. GasHosesandRegulators.com sells only 3/8" NPT outlet low pressure gas regulators and 3/8"ID low pressure hoses for this very reason. Our grey hose carries UL , CSA, and American Gas Association approvals and is designed to supply up to about 100,000 btu/hr of propane gas."

http://www.gashosesandregulators.com/propaneregulatorfacts.html

So, from this I conclude the best way to set up my grill is to

• Eliminate the high pressure regulator at the grill
• Use low pressure regulator from coach Bar-B-Q outlet 3/8" ID
• Low pressure hose 3/8" ID
• Install control valve between regulator and grill

If I am wrong about this please let me know. Your comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.

Wishing you all a happy and safe Memorial Day!

NH Bill 1983 FC 35 "Casa Billisa"

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