LP gas regulator leak (Brand: FAIRVIEW) on my Oliver Elite II (I have the upgrade to 30 lb tanks)

[Vic and Wanda Shumate]

I have come across an issue with my LP propane system that I believe can easily be remedied by replacing the regulator (which appears pretty straight forward), My unit 1139 is still under warranty but i'm in Florida and can't make it to the factory.  i have an Oliver ticket on the issue and was told by service to take it to a service center.  I've called two so far. One does not have a full-time LP gas tech and the other I'm waiting on a call followup. I'm looking at changing out the regulator (only if needed)  (Its a $40 part plus my labor......Wife & I are readying the camper for a trip too and its frustrating to hook it up to take to a service center, who would need to check the system and order the part, which could take two days or more! 

My issue: I purchased a Champion 3500 electric start dual fuel generator (Awesome generator)  Until I could get hoses & connections for the Quick connect gas fittings, on the camper, to run a line to the generator, I removed one of the propane tanks and connected directly to the LP tank with the supplied hose that came with the generator.  The generator ran great.  I did find out, that to get steady power to the Camper (the onboard surge protector was not recognizing the generator and would not let power go to the camper) I needed a Neural ground plug to go into the generator's 110 outlet.  This has been addressed.  After fitting my hose with the proper fittings, I connected it to the LP Quick connect, supplied during manufacturing of the camper on the street side right under the LP tank holding compartment.  I turned on the gas and noticed I smelled a slight odor of gas and could hear an air sound coming from the round piece that's part of the regulator, under the switch valve handle (we now believe this is normal sound of the regulator adjusting the pressure).  I put soapy water on the connections of the hoses to check for leaks but nothing! All appeared tight with no leaks.  However, I was not getting propane to the generator through the Quick connect on the camper?!  I then noticed the regulator indicator was showing green on the switch on the valve  when the gas was turned off, indicating there appeared to be an issue with the regulator!?......but now don't believe that's the case!

I have ordered the part just for backup at this time!  (I can always have it installed or checked by a LP gas Tech, when I can find one lol)....Part should arrive on Sunday 2/12/23.

I'm throwing this out here in the Forum to see if anyone else has had this issue and has any advice for me or experienced anything that would be of help. 

UPDATE: Having second thoughts that it might be the regulator, other than the camper regulator may not supply the right pressure to fuel the generator?!  Found out my neighbor has dealt with these issues before, so we are thinking the regulator is working properly, just having to figure out if you can run a generator from the QC supplied by Oliver from the camper!?  

Thanks,

Vic Shumate 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Vic and Wanda Shumate
found out additional info that made me think I was on the wrong diagnosis!

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, Vic and Wanda Shumate said:

[J]ust having to figure out if you can run a generator from the QC supplied by Oliver from the camper!?  

I am not sure the Champion dual fuel generators will run properly with a different regulator than the ones they come with.

Can you carry a spare 20-lb. propane tank, and use it to run your Champion generator with the regulator that came with it?

Fearing the same issues you report (running my Champion dual fuel generator from the low-pressure Quick Connect ports on the Oliver), I just carry a separate tank and use it to run the generator.

[Patriot]

14 hours ago, Vic and Wanda Shumate said:

I have come across an issue with my LP propane system that I believe can easily be remedied by replacing the regulator (which appears pretty straight forward), My unit 1139 is still under warranty but i'm in Florida and can't make it to the factory.  i have an Oliver ticket on the issue and was told by service to take it to a service center.  I've called two so far. One does not have a full-time LP gas tech and the other I'm waiting on a call followup. I'm looking at changing out the regulator (only if needed)  (Its a $40 part plus my labor......Wife & I are readying the camper for a trip too and its frustrating to hook it up to take to a service center, who would need to check the system and order the part, which could take two days or more! 

My issue: I purchased a Champion 3500 electric start dual fuel generator (Awesome generator)  Until I could get hoses & connections for the Quick connect gas fittings, on the camper, to run a line to the generator, I removed one of the propane tanks and connected directly to the LP tank with the supplied hose that came with the generator.  The generator ran great.  I did find out, that to get steady power to the Camper (the onboard surge protector was not recognizing the generator and would not let power go to the camper) I needed a Neural ground plug to go into the generator's 110 outlet.  This has been addressed.  After fitting my hose with the proper fittings, I connected it to the LP Quick connect, supplied during manufacturing of the camper on the street side right under the LP tank holding compartment.  I turned on the gas and noticed I smelled a slight odor of gas and could hear an air sound coming from the round piece that's part of the regulator, under the switch valve handle (we now believe this is normal sound of the regulator adjusting the pressure).  I put soapy water on the connections of the hoses to check for leaks but nothing! All appeared tight with no leaks.  However, I was not getting propane to the generator through the Quick connect on the camper?!  I then noticed the regulator indicator was showing green on the switch on the valve  when the gas was turned off, indicating there appeared to be an issue with the regulator!?......but now don't believe that's the case!

I have ordered the part just for backup at this time!  (I can always have it installed or checked by a LP gas Tech, when I can find one lol)....Part should arrive on Sunday 2/12/23.

I'm throwing this out here in the Forum to see if anyone else has had this issue and has any advice for me or experienced anything that would be of help. 

UPDATE: Having second thoughts that it might be the regulator, other than the camper regulator may not supply the right pressure to fuel the generator?!  Found out my neighbor has dealt with these issues before, so we are thinking the regulator is working properly, just having to figure out if you can run a generator from the QC supplied by Oliver from the camper!?  

Thanks,

Vic Shumate 

 

I have a Honda eu3000is which I converted to LP not wanting to carry any gasoline in my TV. I have successfully run my generator off our Oliver’s QC. I retrofit the Hutchmountain LP conversion kit to this Honda. It does require a demand regulator to run the generator. Look closely at my photo and you will see the demand regulator. It has a small button which I push to prime the generator when starting to get the flow of LP going. It only requires one touch of the button and the Honda fires right up. I don’t know if this helps since you have a different brand generator but thought I would share what works for my whisper quiet Honda.

 

Patriot🇺🇸

 

[taylor.coyote]

 I have run both the Champion 3500 duel fuel and a Honda 2200 converted with the Hutch Mt gear as a single and/or paired (two 2200's)  successfully from the quick release propane value at the nose of the trailer. I have found the generator can get starved for fuel if I'm running the furnace and refrigerator at the same time as the generator.  I simple turned off one of the appliances inside the trailer to run the generator. 

[Patriot]

2 hours ago, taylor.coyote said:

 I have run both the Champion 3500 duel fuel and a Honda 2200 converted with the Hutch Mt gear as a single and/or paired (two 2200's)  successfully from the quick release propane value at the nose of the trailer. I have found the generator can get starved for fuel if I'm running the furnace and refrigerator at the same time as the generator.  I simple turned off one of the appliances inside the trailer to run the generator. 

Interesting..something does not sound right.
I can run the Dometic AC with an easy start and micro wave without any issues with my Honda. The new Truma Aventa we are having Oliver install in May will require the power of our eu3000is. As of right now the Truma Aventa can not be installed with an easy start as it will void the Truma warranty. We’ll learn more in May once we get the Truma installed,
 

[taylor.coyote]

we are getting off the core topic but i have plenty of power to run the trailer components with the generator(s). the issue I experience: I don't seem to have enough propane flow to run the generator and trailer components that run on propane at the same time. This could be solved by switching the hot water and refrigerator to AC and run them from the generator's power. I believe the author of this post is having trouble with getting propane to the generator when tapped into the trailer propane line.  I was suggesting  they might try turning off the propane flow to these trailer components and see if this gives more propane flow to run the generator.   

[GraniteStaters]

I changed out the original regulator on our LEII and went with a larger capacity regulator to allow for more concurrent usage.  I kept the original regulator as a spare.

[Patriot]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:35 AM, GraniteStaters said:

I changed out the original regulator on our LEII and went with a larger capacity regulator to allow for more concurrent usage.  I kept the original regulator as a spare.

GraniteStaters,
Sounds like a really good idea. Has this addressed the low flow issue of running multiple LP appliances at the same time off the QC?

Can you share the model and specs of the larger regulator and where you purchased. 

Thanks!

Patriot🇺🇸