Cold Weather Dispersed Camping

[CRM]

On 1/28/2025 at 2:08 PM, ScubaRx said:

Everybody with a hull number less than 200 should be aware that their propane tanks are nearing their 10 year fill by expiration date. 

It's 12 years in my neck of the woods with a 5 year extension after recertification. 

[topgun2]

The quote below was prepared by the Franger Gas Company.

Bill

 

How often does a Propane Tank need to be recertified?

Propane tanks are good for 12 years from the date of manufacture. After that, tanks typically need inspecting and recertification every five years. To check your tank’s status, look at the collar at the top of the tank. You’ll find the date of manufacture stamped into the collar using the typical month and year code. A tank stamped 08 18, for example, was manufactured in August 2018.

When the tank is recertified, the company certifying it will either add a sticker to the tank with the inspection date on it or stamp its own mark into the top of the cylinder. A recertified date code consists of the letter A, B, C, or D as well as a two-digit number. The letter in the code indicates the quarter, and the number signals the year that the tank was recertified. A stamp that reads B 20 indicates certification during the second quarter (April, May, or June) of the year 2020.

There are a few more things to note about the dates/tags listed on your propane tank, and how it indicates the propane inspection type performed on your tank:

Date Only

If your propane tank shows only a date, with no letter following it – this is typically the manufacturing date and indicates you will need to have your propane tank recertified within 12 years of the date on the tank.

Date followed by a Letter

An “S” on the tank after the date indicates an internal hydrostatic method was used for inspection. This means you have 7 years before needing your DOT propane tank checked again.

An “E” following the date listed on your tank means the tank was inspected only visually and externally. This means you will need your propane tank inspected within five years of that date.

The codes are meant to let you and any future technicians who examine the tank know when it was last checked and in which way.

How to Recertify a Propane Tank

Now that you understand the reason and timing behind recertification – we will explain the simple process of having your propane tank recertified. You can follow these quick and easy steps and you will be back to grilling or RVing in no time!

1. Visit frangergas.com to find the nearest Franger Gas location.
2. No appointment is necessary!
3. Bring your tank to one of our refilling locations for recertification. We will inscribe your tank with the inspection date and recertification date.  Note: There is a nominal fee for recertification.
4. Once your tank has been recertified, it’s time to get grilling!

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, CRM said:

It's 12 years in my neck of the woods with a 5 year extension after recertification. 

I like how this is worded. After talking to @ScubaRx about this last night. He mentioned that across the country many locations have a 10 year policy. You may have to shop around for a location that will honor 12 years. I've heard 10 from our local Ford dealer who provides the wholesale price of $2.50/gal to their customers. We always leave home with two full 30# tanks. I may have to find the 12-year rule in legal writing from the AZ DOT after my tanks go over 10 years.

[CRM]

45 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

 You may have to shop around for a location that will honor 12 years. 

Just called a propane dealer in my area and they told me that there's a lot of confusion to the Federal law. It was originally 12 years, then changed to 10 a few years back at which point the propane industry made noise and DOT sent out an order to not enforce the new 10 year ruling. But 10 is what the Federal law actually says so better to get it done at ten, IMHO. 

[Patriot]

30 minutes ago, CRM said:

Just called a propane dealer in my area and they told me that there's a lot of confusion to the Federal law. It was originally 12 years, then changed to 10 a few years back at which point the propane industry made noise and DOT sent out an order to not enforce the new 10 year ruling. But 10 is what the Federal law actually says so better to get it done at ten, IMHO. 

I agree with new tanks at the 10 year mark. What could possibly go wrong? 😄

Edited February 4 by Patriot

[CRM]

I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I decided to go down the rabbit hole of looking up the actual law in the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) based on the DOT 4BA  type tanks I have and found these recertification guidelines. Adds even more confusion, but I'm still having it done at 10 years anyway! 

[MAX Burner]

On 1/27/2025 at 2:35 PM, DavePhelps said:

I would rather have a return vent move air directly from the bathroom into that space, not from the cabin, to the closet, to the under sink area.

So, we finally got around to doing exactly what Dave's describing here and what other owners have mentioned in different threads.

We've experienced the closet "meat locker" syndrome several times during cold weather trips.  We stopped opening the closet door in the morning to keep the arctic blast of cold air from entering the main cabin.

Started this project by installing the first of 3 return vents in the closet door bulkhead just below the jam:

ABOVE: Measured the height above the floor of the furnace outputs (4.25") so this return vent would match.

ABOVE:  Cut the bulkhead with the trusty 4" hole-saw.  

ABOVE: Used the thickness of the cut-off to trim back the excess material on the stock Valterra vent

ABOVE:  Used a bead of clear silicon to secure return vent to gelcoat.

Next, installed a second return vent between the closet and under the sink:

ABOVE: View from under the sink

ABOVE: View from inside the closet.  Placed the return vent between the two lower shelves.

Finally, installed the 3rd return vent under D's forward dinette seat into the bathroom bulkhead:

ABOVE:  View from under the forward dinette seat looking into the bath area

ABOVE:  View of return vent which was placed as low and as Portside as possible.

The Casablanca has fairly decent furnace output flow in the bath and we have yet to modify the forced air ducts (on the "to-do" list) as @jd1923 JD has described in other threads. Our thought is that the return vents will allow for air to better circulate between the closet, under the sink, and under the forward dinette.  We're hoping that this new air flow should aid in keeping the closet "meat locker syndrome" at bay.  We'll see....

[Geronimo John]

Nicely done!  I think the meat locket cold box issue will be greatly improved.

By adding another vent above the closet door (as has been done by others), the vents would also greatly help reduce the hot box we get in the closet during the summer!

And take a look at those two great shelves we installed in our trailers last summer.   I will admit that getting the curved and tapered front edge template correct was a real PITA.  But in the end they turned out GREAT. 

Sure would save a lot of effort for other owners to have a cardboard template before starting such a project! 

I bet we could be enticed to remove them if an owner wanted to replicate the template out of cardboard, and then share it with others at the rally.  For a couple of cold dark beers we could unload mine pretty easily to greatly simplify template making.  Owners interested: you would need a cardboard box.  

Great use of the unusable space in the closet!  Awesome!

🙂

GJ

 

 

[MAX Burner]

9 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

And take a look at those two great shelves we installed in our trailers last summer. 

These shelves are known around these parts as falling into the "Happy Wife, Happy Life" category of OTT projects, for sure.  D loves these new storage elements!  

[MAX Burner]

10 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

By adding another vent above the closet door (as has been done by others), the vents would also greatly help reduce the hot box we get in the closet during the summer!

 

Concur, John!  Unfortunately, we only bought 3 vents (last spring) -- since then, we've come to the same conclusion you and others have described for addressing the "hot box" in hotter WX conditions.  Now that we're on a roll, the 4th return vent will likely find its way into the upper closet door bulkhead sooner than later!

[Geronimo John]

On 2/17/2025 at 1:26 PM, MAX Burner said:

I would rather have a return vent move air directly from the bathroom into that space, not from the cabin, to the closet, to the under sink area.

OOPS:  When I reread Art's post, I realized i was climbing the wrong tree.  Massive delete of what was below needed as a result.  My bad..... Art was focusing on the bathroom RETURN AIR to the furnace when it is running.  I was addressing the natural convection concept for the wardrobe closet and forced cabin air movement into and out of the bathroom to the below decks area.  My bad.   GJ

One thought for the extreme cold weather campers:  If I were one, I would install the vents as suggested above plus a 4" fan to move air from the bathroom into the inter-hull area.  This would ensure continuous air flow from the cabin via three or more vents and would ameliorate the bathroom temperatures swing between furnace cycles.  I would likely power the fan through a thermostat to auto on the fan at a desired temperature, and with a manual on/off switch and fuse of course.  This and the suggested vents would be a good "Cold Weather Option" for OTT to consider.

GJ

Edited Wednesday at 02:54 AM by Geronimo John
Total rewrite. I misread Art's response.