Derek Uzzell Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 gp1 - 2018-07-06 7:43 PM ...I am very keen on upgrading my regulator to a more modern and reliable one... At least some of the problems with leisure-vehicle bulkhead-mounted gas regulators becoming blocked seem to have been due to the regulator’s position. Received wisdom nowadays is that the regulator needs to be mounted as high as possible in the gas-locker, and that the gas-hose (‘pigtail’) attaching the gas-bottle to the regulator should always lead upwards and have no downwards bends in it. The 1st attached photo shows the recommended upwards route for gas hoses, whereas the 2nd attached photo shows a gas-hose leading downwards such that contaminants in the hose might tend to flow into the regulator. (Obtaining the ‘upwards’ route may prove tricky, but that’s what’s advised to reduce the chance of blockage occurring.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Looking at the OP (which I didn't read properly at first), this is a 2004 van which, it is now clear, has a bulkhead mounted regulator. I do just wonder if the pig-tail has ever been changed since, if it has not, it must by now be will beyond its service life. If the regulator is the original, it will now be 14 years old. If it has been fed by the same pig-tail for the whole of those 14 years, it seems feasible that some contaminant (either oil residue from the gas, or "rubber" material from the gas hose itself) may have found its way into the regulator and blocked it. As there seems not to be any kind of rupture protection valve on the pig-tail, and none of the gas appliances seem to work, a blocked regulator seems a reasonable assumption - especially as it seems that turning on hob burners with the gas tap on the cylinder open doesn't result in any audible hissing from the gas burners. I think that at this point a change of regulator (buying the same make and type as the original should make the replacement easiest) plus pig-tail would seem the next logical step. Even if the problem persists after that change it will have been a good move to replace both, as it will conclusively eliminate them from the possible causes of the present problem. The alternative would be a trip to the nearest motorhome or caravan dealership for them to test the system to identify the cause. Unless the OP is confident of his gas fitting skills, this may, in the event, prove the best course to take, as if the fault lies elsewhere, it should then show up, and whatever repairs do prove necessary will be properly tested for leaks. OT edit to say, Derek's photos aren't visible in his post, only two squares containing Xs. If I try to open the pictures from the links, I get warnings about needing to turn off "protected mode", and if I do that, I get warnings that my computer will be vulnerable to attack. So, I've temporarily added the forum website to my trusted internet locations, and can now open the pictures via the links without the warnings, but still cannot see the pictures contained within the post. This seems to me to suggest that there may be a problem with the certification of the outandabout live website (at least the forum part of it), and if (as I understand is the case) it has recently been transferred to a new server, possibly a problem that has arisen in that process. Any comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp1 Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 Yes thanks brian thats a good point the age of regulator. Thanks for re reading my original message. I was puzzled about the fact that everyone else recently has been able to light the gas (the seller and the german psychiatrist) but things can go at any time. On friday i will know and let you know the outcome. I will phone the habitation people and ask them to order in one of those ones which were recomended on here if they cant get the gas to work. Having not used the gas on fridge or heater im not able to tell what is going on. But thanks anyway for your time and expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjsbc Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Naff question but does the fridge,space heating work on gas? I live in NZ and we swap our gas bottles they have a valve in the head which only opens when the gas fitting is fully screwed fully in(one of our bbqs regs won't do this) If your game you could start at the beginning crack the first fitting after the reg see what you get (gas no gas)if you are not against it just keep on going. If your fridge etc. works,stupid question but if you have a cover over your hobs is it raised properly and is valve attached working properly been caught out myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 why dont you just go and buy a regulator that screws onto the bottle and never have a regulator problem again my 1 year old german came out of the factory like this there is no requirement to have the type of regulator you have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Brian Kirby - 2018-07-07 3:04 PM ...This seems to me to suggest that there may be a problem with the certification of the outandabout live website (at least the forum part of it), and if (as I understand is the case) it has recently been transferred to a new server, possibly a problem that has arisen in that process. Any comments? I still think it’s your (and pepe63’s) use of IE 11 that’s causing the problem, simply because it’s (apparently) only you two who are experiencing the image-viewing difficulty and your/his use of IE 11 is the common factor. If lots of forum members had begun to experience this problem irrespective of their choice of platform, operating system or browser, then it would be reasonable to suspect that a change at the Warners end was the cause (eg, the move to a different server or a software ‘patch’ having been applied to the Warners system a week or so ago) but that does not seem to be the case. You could ask if other forum members using IE 11 (Are there any?) are having the same difficulties, but I think this is a ‘user problem’ and, if you can’t resolve it yourselves by tweaking your IE 11’s options, I suspect you’ll need to swap to a different browser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp1 Posted July 8, 2018 Author Share Posted July 8, 2018 Yes i did have the cover raised. Maybe i should have tried the fridge on gas. I stupidly thought well the fridge takes hours to cool on electric but then realised its just the flame in the little window you have to spot. Anyway going into a new storage place tomorrow. Habitation check on friday. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 pagey - 2018-07-08 8:44 AM why dont you just go and buy a regulator that screws onto the bottle and never have a regulator problem again my 1 year old german came out of the factory like this there is no requirement to have the type of regulator you have I’m surprised that your 2017 Sunlight motorhome has an ‘on-bottle’ regulator as - if the vehicle has the usual Truma “Combi” gas heater - that type of unsophisticated regulator would preclude the gas heater from being used legally while the motorhome is being driven in European countries that have national laws about this (eg. France). It would be interesting to know exactly what regulator you have (a photo of the regulator attached to the bottle would be nice) as 30mbar on-bottle regulators have been factory-fitted to German-built motorhomes in the past (my self-imported 2005 Hobby had one) but I would have thought this practice would have ceased some years ago due to the gas-heater-use-while-driving regulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 hi derek its just a standard cavagna reg connected by a gok pig tail to a 8mm steel pipe like the one below but 30mb and without the wheel https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Low-Pres-Regulator-Propane-37mbar-Hwheel-RE69-1-490-2263-Cavagna-New/232415660359?epid=1661658821&hash=item361d0d8947:g:bDQAAOSw3QpZbtzx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 Still seems odd to me that your 2017 Sunlight would have been provided with a Cavagna 30mbar regulator that had a UK-norm POL (propane) inlet-fitting. My 2005 Hobby LHD motorhome - bought in Germany - was factory-fitted with a GOK ‘on-bottle’ 30mbar regulator as shown in the attached photo, with that regulator being connected to the motorhome’s metal gas pipework by a flexible ‘pigtail’ with appropriate threaded fixings at each end. (This arrangement differs from the type of connection employed for the Cavagna 37mbar regulator pictured in the ebay advert you gave a link to, as the 37mbar regulator would use ‘push-on’ flexible hose with worm-drive clips at each end.) As my Hobby’s GOK on-bottle regulator was designed to attach to Germany-norm gas bottles I replaced it with a Truma/GOK bulkhead-mounted regulator that, in principle, would facilitate different types of gas-bottles being used. I had two subsequent regulator-blockage failures fairly soon after (Truma provided replacements under warranty) though the 3rd regulator lasted much longer and was still functioning OK when I sold the Hobby in 2014. In 2003 it was the the 30mbar regulated gas-pressure that was standardised for leisure-vehicles and not (as is often advised) the fitting of bulkhead-mounted regulators. It ought to be fairly straightforward to replace gp1’s Swift’s bulkhead-mounted regulator with a 30mbar on-bottle one if an appropriate pigtail and regulator could be sourced in the UK and (as far as I’m aware) there would be no legal implications doing this. However, it would probably be little or no more expensive to replace the Swift’s present Truma/GOK bulkhead-mounted regulator with a Clesse 30mbar equivalent (that’s supposed to be bomb-proof!) and retain the versatility of retaining a pigtail between the regulator and gas-bottle. (I’ve occasionally read claims that on-bottle regulators are immortal, but I recall that (back in the pre-bulkhead-mounting days) received wisdom within the motorhome/caravanning community was that carrying a spare regulator in the leisure-vehicle was advisable due to the high on-bottle regulator failure rate. And, of course, as simple single-stage on-bottle regulators cost a pittance, there was no really persuasive reason not to do this.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 derek i will say that i am happy to have the on the bottle regulator as you say they are a pittance and already have a spare also it is so easy to move it back and forth onto any uk bottle and my gasit bottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-07-08 8:57 AM I still think it’s your (and pepe63’s) use of IE 11 that’s causing the problem, simply because it’s (apparently) only you two who are experiencing the image-viewing difficulty and your/his use of IE 11 is the common factor. If lots of forum members had begun to experience this problem irrespective of their choice of platform, operating system or browser, then it would be reasonable to suspect that a change at the Warners end was the cause (eg, the move to a different server or a software ‘patch’ having been applied to the Warners system a week or so ago) but that does not seem to be the case.…….. Apologies for the further OT, but I think you are right, Derek. I did what I should have done earlier and tried using two different computers, also Win 10, also IE11, and got the same result. So, it is, as you suggest, clearly an IE settings problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 pagey - 2018-07-09 3:17 PM derek i will say that i am happy to have the on the bottle regulator as you say they are a pittance and already have a spare also it is so easy to move it back and forth onto any uk bottle and my gasit bottle The attached photo is of a ‘single-stage’ Cavagna 30mbar regulator with a POL inlet connection. This regulator would attach directly to steel UK propane gas bottles, but without an adapter being employed to convert the POL connection it would not attach to any UK butane botte, nor to a BP Gaslight propane bottle, nor (as far as I’m aware) to a Gas-It refillable bottle. Is this regulator what you’ve got? I continue to be perplexed that your brand-new Sunlight motorhome was fitted with an on-bottle regulator in the German factory where the motorhome was built. Sunlight-brand motorhomes are marketed throughout Europe and motorhomes/caravans sold in France cannot be marketed with on-bottle regulators. It’s also the norm nowadays for a motorhome’s gas system to include the capability to legally use gas heating while the vehicle is being driven anywhere in Europe, and that demands integrated safety features like crash and/or gas-leak sensors that (to the best of my knowledge) could not be provided if a traditional on-bottle regulator were fitted. So I’d really expect that, in 2017, all new Sunlight motorhomes would have been fitted with a bulkhead-mounted regulator (probably a Truma CS type). I was unaware that the Cavagna 30mbar regulator shown in the attached photo was available in the UK. As you’ve got a spare one, can you say where you got it from, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 hi derek the spare is not quite the same as it has different connectors it was in the gas cupboard of my previous bavaria that had been converted to twin gaslows the one fitted is the same as the one in the photo except a spanner is required to tighten it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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