LPG woes

[rf2]

I'm having issues with LPG! Last year I had a 420 lb LPG tank installed at my off-grid cottage to accommodate an on-demand hot water system. While I was at it, I also had lines run to provide fuel to my generator, stove (this was already piped in for the old system I had, but I have it connected to the large tank now), and BBQ. The system worked great all summer and fall.
It's a 3 season cottage, but I like to go occasionally in the winter too. The wood stove can more or less heat the place up, but I ended up buying a Big Buddy heater to provide supplemental heat and to get some quick heat into the place while the stove gets going. I bought a long line to connect the Buddy heater to the central LPG system. When I went to try it out in some recent cold weather, I found that there was not enough fuel getting to the unit to keep it lit. I could get the pilot light on after purging the line, but when I went to switch it to low, it would flame out. The heater works fine with the small green tanks. I figured that maybe there was an issue due to the fact that the line was really long (20 ft). I then tried to get my generator going to charge the batteries, and it wouldn't run on LPG either. It ran fine on gasoline.
All of this leads me to believe that my LPG tank is not providing enough vapour due to the cold temperatures. The thing is, it wasn't even that cold when I had these issues. It was maybe -20 °C over night, and then I think it warmed to -13 °C or even warmer during the day. But by the time it warmed up, I had given up on trying the central LPG system. The tank is at about 65%, so it's not an issue related to that.

My question is: do others have this issue at this relatively mild temperature? I thought it only happens when it gets really cold, or maybe at these temperatures if the tank gets pretty low. I know I started having issues with my BBQ at home even in the late fall, but I assume that's because my 20 lb tank was close to empty.

For those of you in rural areas who rely on LPG year round, do you heat your tanks? I know there are heating blankets, but they are expensive and I have to worry about electricity load due to the fact that the cottage is off-grid. Also, it's too much investment for the few times each winter that I would need a proper heating blanket. Has anyone had success MacGyvering something? I was thinking of trying waterline heating cable, but I figure I would also need to insulate the tank - by the end of it all, the cost would probably be getting close to a proper heating blanket, plus I would also have the worry about safety of the system.

[js4fn]

Regulator freeze up ?

[rf2]

Regulator freeze up ?

Not sure. Doesn't that happen after it runs for a while, causing the temperature at the regulator to drop? Wouldn't that cut the flow off completely? I wasn't able to get anything running properly, so I wasn't pulling LPG for very long at all. Also, I know some LPG was coming out, since I could get the pilot light going on the Buddy heater, and I also put my nose to the open end of a hose when I was trying to get the generator going. I'm thinking that some LPG is flowing, just not enough to run these things.

[js4fn]

Not sure. Doesn't that happen after it runs for a while, causing the temperature at the regulator to drop? Wouldn't that cut the flow off completely? I wasn't able to get anything running properly, so I wasn't pulling LPG for very long at all. Also, I know some LPG was coming out, since I could get the pilot light going on the Buddy heater, and I also put my nose to the open end of a hose when I was trying to get the generator going. I'm thinking that some LPG is flowing, just not enough to run these things.

Moisture will freeze up regulator reg set high so it drain back into tank. Hand hot pockets on reg next time see if it works

[JoePa]

Over the years I have had trouble with my propane system on my camper - each time it was something to do with the regulator - as already mentioned I would look at that first

[impact]

Check the installation of your regulator. It should allow the condensate to drain back and prevent freezing.

https://www.marshallexcelsior.com/si...%202-10-17.pdf

[rf2]

The system was installed by professionals, but I will have a look and try some heat on the regulator to see if that solves the problem. If it does, the installer will be getting a call from me.

Edit: based on the info in the link in the above post, I don't think it's the regulator freezing that is the problem. If that were the case, there would be no flow at all - the ice would completely plug the orifice. As I mentioned, I did verify that there was some gas flow. Anyway, I'll try heating the regulator a bit, but I suspect that won't resolve the issue.

[Fox]

Propane is a lazy gas, at my house they keep us topped up around 70-80% when it is really cold, although we have never had it stop.

[johnjyb]

I have heard some ice fisherman have invested in an inline filter for use with their Buddy Heaters when using the 20lb tanks as the heaters would not work after a while, unsure of type/brands though.
John

[impact]

I have heard some ice fisherman have invested in an inline filter for use with their Buddy Heaters when using the 20lb tanks as the heaters would not work after a while, unsure of type/brands though.
John

Good tip on your part!