Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:24:49 -0700
Reply-To: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Marshall "Second Chance" LPG adapter?
In-Reply-To: <0f486d09a9fa7064afd0a27bc0e17a8b@oberon.ark.com>
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Thanks, Phil, for that thorough overview of the situation. In a former
life I camped with a tent trailer that had a 5 gallon LPG tank on the
front. I routinely inverted it to refill green bottles. If I happened to
transport them across state lines, I never lost any sweat, I think that
is more targeted at your commercial operator anyway.
"Son, I see you got some 1lb propane bottles with your camping gear. You
never refilled them, have you?"
"No, officer."
"Well, let's just see what Forensics tells us."
They may state they are for one-time use but I never had any problem
with the valves leaking.
But I reckon that while my back was turned the tanks have changed and my
old invert the tank to get liquid propane technique looks to be a relic
of the past.
I suppose that one of the Second Chance adapters would let a fellow get
some liquid out into a green bottle if the "waterline" in the Westy tank
was above the fill valve. We've never come close to running out of LPG
in the van's main tank. Last time I had it filled it took a whole .6
gallons, and this after a season of camping. Mild weather down here in
the lower left hand corner of the U.S.
That's a POL thread on the one end of the adapter? Will mate with the
Westy fill port?
I have considered the small tank + hose idea. But festooning the camp
site with hoses (the BBQ is over here, the occasional-use mantle lantern
is on a stand or the ground over there, I'd probably stumble over a
hose) and tanks will add even more clutter and setup/teardown time to an
already lengthy process. The green bottles are convenient and quick, but
they suck big time in so many ways.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR
Philip Zimmerman typed:
> Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 13:28:48 -0700
> From: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Marshall "Second Chance" LPG adapter?
>
> I'm looking for an easy way to refill, or at least partially refill, the
> little 1lb propane bottles we use for our BBQ grill.
>
> Has anyone added one of these to their Westy?
>
> http://www.rvupgradestore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1252
>
> Seems to me, though, that it wants to be below the "waterline" of the
> van's LPG tank in order to put much more than gas into the little
> bottle. And it's not clear how a fellow would add this thing into the
> existing main service valve > regulator setup.
> -----------
>
> Mike.... aka Mr. Squirrel... how the heck are you and Mellow Yellow?
>
> Kim's reply covers my experience too, on refilling the 1 lb. "Green
> Bottles".
> Ever read the fine-print on the bottle's label?
> I know I know... real anal... but it is an offence to refill and then
> transport them.
> Pretty much sez it all. YMMV
>
> Further, the present genre of portable tanks and regulators have a
> built-in safety discharge
> restriction that restricts the discharge of liquid propane out of them
> to a mere dribble.
> Gone are the days with the old tanks where you could turn them
> upside-down and they would flow liquid propane into whatever you had
> them connect to....
>
> All this said, I do carry a Green Bottle and one of those nifty
> adapters you linked above. Along with another adapter that connects to
> the Auto-Fill-ACME valve on the Westie Tank.
> If you catch my drift here already.... Yeah, this is kinda illegal too
> as it is real close to "dispensing" liquid propane... which requires a
> dispensing licence in most jurisdictions. The rub or catch is.... it
> aint an offence to refill the Tank on our Westies.... 8-)
>
> If the Westie tank runs out while camping, connect a 1 lb. bottle to
> the Westie Tank and you are good for a couple more days running the
> fridge and stove. Done in the morning when the Westie tank is cool &
> empty and with the 1 lb. Green bottle warmed in the Sun, the fill is
> pretty complete... meaning the 1 lb. bottle is emptied of all its
> liquid propane. Seems the only propane bottles left in service now,
> without a discharge restriction, are the 1 lb. Green Bottles and tall
> portable Propane Touche cylinders...
>
> This being said, you could connect two of those nifty adapters you
> mentioned above, end to end like; then using a "cascade" type of
> filling operation, fill a bunch of half-empty Green Bottles...
> ultimately getting one pretty full 1 lb. bottle! Sounds like a whole
> bunch of illegal dangerous work where you just might blow yourself
> up.... and Mrs Squirrel would then be real sad! Best get a small (1.2
> Gal is the smallest made now AFAIK) refillable Cylinder and use one of
> the various adapter-hoses made to connect to your portable stove. More
> economical in the long run and then you don't need to buy those awful
> "Green Bottle Menaces" anymore.....
>
> Regards
> Phil Z.
> Campbell River, BC
> --------------------------------
>
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