Does This Little Piggy Go "Boom!"?

It was one of those unfortunate incidents: Somehow the male of the species had let both of the LP cylinders run out--on a cold night--after the LP supplier was closed. The one gallon barbeque tank was about empty--no hope there. Finally, by stretching his imagination (and finding a suitable "height adjuster") the miscreant male managed a house-warming thought: Steal one of the horizontal tanks off the camper and buy time.
After building up to proper height and stretching the LP "pigtail" hose that runs from the regulator down to the tank, it seemed a good idea to "sniff" for an LP leak, since that old pigtail really had to stretch to reach. "BEEEEEEP!" chided the LP leak detector. Sho 'nuf, those old, age-hardened pig tails were both a bit on the leaky side.

What's to do? Pig tails are by nature, time sensitive. Think of it in terms of tires: They may still "look good" but not hold the pressure. Has it been a while since you replaced your LP pig tails? It's an inexpensive and not-too-difficult a fix. A trip down to your RV supplier will fix you up for parts in short order. But what do you want on the "tank" end of the pig tail? With those new "OPD" gas valves, many think that the new "Acme" fittings that spin on the outside thread of the tank valve are just what the doctor ordered. Use your gas sniffer (we think that's best) or soap n dish soap solution to check out the leak-free-ness of your tails. If in doubt, toss the old ones out.

Well, a lot of LP suppliers are having second thoughts. Those new Acme fittings may not be all they're cracked up to be. As we reported last January, some dealers say the Acmes just don't seem to last too long. Our new pig tails came equipped with the "old school" POL fitting (screws into the valve, counter-clockwise) and a quick "handwheel" that allows us to stick it on the tank and tighten it up without a wrench.

The actual changeout is easy: An appropriate size end-wrench will quickly remove the pigtail from the regulator--it threads in the conventional way. Thread on the new fitting and torque it down snug (use a backup wrench on the regulator side to ensure fitness). A pair of 16" pigtails with fittings set us back less than $20. At the price of LP these days, even a little leak can run up a bill in a hurry, not to mention endangering safety if the gas goes where it shouldn't.

Pictured is a new "capped" POL fitting with the dealer supplied hand-wheel.

RV Builder Pumps Tires With Nitrogen--Should You?

It's a heady season for RV manufacturers: The great Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) trade show is on in Louisville, and everybody wants to show off their stuff. Enter Dutchmen, the maker of fifth wheels and travel trailers by the same name. What's new in the Wooden Shoe? Nitrogen in your tires.

If you remember high school chemistry, you may remember our friend nitrogen, the gas that makes up the majority of earth's atmosphere. While 'plain old air' has been used for years to fill tires, the wrinkle a few years back was to fill tires subjected to a lot of stress with nitrogen. Think race car tires, jet aircraft, etcetera. Why nitrogen?

Plain old "air" molecules are about four times smaller than nitrogen. Because of that, rubber tires slowly "leak" air because the rubber is a bit permeable--the air slowly works its way through the tire pores, if you will. Since the nitrogen molecules are so much bigger, tires tend to lose pressure far more slowly. As a result, the tires run cooler and get better fuel economy. Sounds like "N-inflation" is a shoe in? Hang on, might it lead to a false sense of security? If you don't check your tire pressure as often, will you likewise fail to look your tires over for damage?

Tire permeation isn't the only reducer of tire pressure. Witness a statement from tire maker Michelin, "The existence of several other possible sources of leaks (tire/rim interface, valve, valve/rim interface and the wheel) prevents the guarantee of better pressure maintenance for individuals using nitrogen inflation." The company does not recommend nitrogen inflation, except, "in a high risk environment and/or when the user wants to reduce the consequences of a potential abnormal overheating of the tire-wheel assembly (for example in some aircraft applications)."

Notwithstanding, economics may come into play. A nitrogen tire "fill up," can cost you as much as $10 each. If you're somewhere where nitrogen is unavailable and have a low tire, you can "top off" the tire with ordinary air. But later you'll be advised to have the tire bled out and refilled with nitrogen.

Take Care With Your RV Generator

Got a "built in" RV generator? Don't have to "plug and unplug" shore power cords when switching from shore power to the genset? Then you have an ATS (automatic transfer switch). They're convenient, indeed, as the rest of us without them have to go outside, typically open a door, and plug the shore power cord into a special receptacle fed by the genset.

However, there are a couple of caveats you need to be aware of: An ATS is not a "perfect" device, and problems can occur. Here's a good rule when firing up the generator when using an ATS. In fact, this is a good rule when firing up any RV generator, ATS or not: Reduce power consumption before firing up the generator. That means, make sure the air conditioner, the microwave oven, the portable electric space heater--any of those "big draw" devices are turned off.

A big surge in electrical current can actually damage an ATS, and in some cases, the genset itself. There have been cases, too, when the ATS somehow wasn't fast enough to isolate the generator from the shore power system--with very nasty and sometimes expensive results. Take the extra moment to reduce your power consumption before you hit the start switch.

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High Tech Propane Leak Finder Beats Bubbles

We all face it: With LP gas such a major supplier of energy in our rigs, sooner or later you'll have to deal with a gas leak. Left "unfixed" as quick as you can say, "Hindenberg!" your dream rig can go up in smoke, taking you with it.


For years the industry standard for leak detection was a bath of soapy water. Paint our pour a stiff solution of dish soap and water on a suspect fitting, and if it bubbles, you found it. Well, technology has its "one upmanship." How about an electronic gas leak detector? A whole lot less mess, and certainly sensitive, we've found "Pocket Air Check" put out by a midwest firm just the thing.


For those with older truck campers, you're still probably using the old style "POL" fitting propane tanks. When you refill these tanks, you have to be extremely careful about firmly tightening the fittings--the least bit of looseness can lead to a leak.
We keep our Pocket Air Check detector handy, and more than once have found the fellows who've tightened the fittings haven't done such a good job.


The detector does more though: Just turn it on, and run it along any gas line or fitting, holding it a quarter inch away. If a bit of gas is found, both an audible alarm and an LED light warn you of the danger. Not expensive either, Camping World sells them for less than $25, an inexpensive way to a lot more safety.

Don't Become a Carbon Monoxide Victim

Nearly every new home built in the US has them: Carbon monoxide detectors. These little units can save your life. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and often deadly gas, the byproduct incomplete combustion. The combustion source in an RV could be anything from in improperly operating furnace, water heater, oven, generator, or any other device that burns fossil fuels. Small amounts of CO can make you sick--in fact it’s the leading cause of accidental poisoning in the US, with almost 10,000 cases heading into ERs every year. Larger amounts can make you dead: Roughly 200 Americans a year join that statistical tragedy.

The symptoms of CO poisoning include headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and two real bad ones: Unconsciousness followed by death. Carbon monoxide is a tricky thing: A little bit of CO over a long time can do harm you, or a lot over a short period of time can do the same. Since there are plenty of devices in an RV that could produce carbon monoxide, it’s good for RVers to know the symptoms of CO poisoning. But it’s much better to have a CO detector warn you before you get any of the symptoms.

All new RVs come from the plant with a CO detector, but hang on. These devices have a limited "shelf life." After five years from manufacture, you detector needs to be replaced. The hard part is, CO detectors for RVs have to meet special requirements--after all they're exposed to a wide range of temperature conditions and get knocked about with road bumps. Result: Like a lot of things "RV," prices for CO detectors for your rig are typically more costly than the ones off the shelf at Homer D. Poe's.

If you’re replacing an older, out of date detector that was originally manufacturer installed, replacement should be fairly easy. Simply dismount the old detector, observe wiring polarity, and reinstall the new detector following the instructions included. Many OEM detectors are "hard wired" into the RV 12-volt system. However, before you go shopping for the new detector, make sure that it is rig-powered. If you buy a new detector that "looks" for 12 volt RV power and your old one was battery powered, you’ll be up to your neck with a wiring issue.

If your new detector wants 12-volt rig power and there are no handy 12 volt wire stubs you'll have to locate a source of 12 volt power near our installation area and run the wires out to it. MAKE SURE the wires are not switched, that is, you can’t accidentally shut off the power to the wires you tap into. Lighting circuits are a good bet, but they should not be switch controlled.

Where should CO detectors be located? CO is slightly lighter than air, hence it rises. So putting the detector above the floor is right. You might even place it on the ceiling, but generally about five feet above floor level is best. If you have a big rig, make sure you install it close to your sleeping area so you’ll be able to hear the alarm when you’re asleep. Of course, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on "siting" the unit.

RV Extension Cord Safety

Ever come up just a "scoatch" short on managing to plug your RV shore power cord into the outlet? It's a frustrating experience, and there's always the temptation to use an adapter and a light duty extension cord to make up the difference. Please don't. Electricity is a funny thing--when too "light" a wiring is used, not only do you endanger yourself with fire, you also run a good risk for your expensive RV equipment.

Here's the deal: Electrical wiring actually does have a certain amount of resistance to the flow of electrical current. The longer the run of wire, the greater the amount of resistance. As the current struggles against this resistance, it produces heat energy--hence electrical cables can actually get hot--sometimes hot enough to create that hideous problem known as fire. What usually "goes first," however is the under-rated fittings on the end of the cables. These can overheat and burn up, or on the way to that create even greater resistance to electrical flow. But even if that doesn't occur, the resistance of the wiring actually reduces the amount of voltage that can reach your RV.

So if you have too small an extension cord out to the RV, and then fire up a big power consumer--on these days we think of the air conditioner, and not enough voltage is present, then physical damage can happen to devices that need that power. So how do you work with this problem? Well, you could purchase a ready-made RV extension cord. For the 30 amp RV crowd, a 25 foot cord will probably set you back as much as $50. For the 50-amp users, that same length could run you over twice that price.

Tempted to "do it yourself," and build an extension cord? It's do-able. But you need good working data on what size conductors to use in your cord. Here's a link to a site that can help you calculate wire size requirements for a given load. But as you run your calculations, be sure to take into account the length of your existing RV shore power cord. One of our rigs has a 25' shore power cord, so building an additional 25' of extension cord would require figuring a full 50' run. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the wire gauge or the fittings.

If you decide to build your own, always double check your connections before putting your cord into service. We use the ohm meter portion of a digital multimeter to verify that everything it where it should be. Imagine our surprise when we completed a cable and we found two of the conductors reversed. How'd that happen? Squinting through bifocals at the included wiring diagram for one of the fittings, a slight misinterpretation of what the fine print and finer arrow we're pointing to led to what could have been a real problem.

If you're the least bit squeamish about your ability, drop the bucks on a commercially built unit.

And one more thing, when you use any shore power cord, it's never a bad idea to pull all the shore power cable out of the compartment before hooking up and using the shore power. Why? Well, since cable does have resistance, if you put enough load on your shore power cord, you could actually have the equivalent of a "heating cable" in your cabinet--like those things those poor folks in the north use to keep their pipes from freezing in winter.

Charging Batteries Safely

A news item out of Yuma, Arizona, last month points to a couple of reminders--and a product lead--that could affect your safety as an RVer.

Imagine waking up at one in the morning with your smoke detector going off, and that awful sound of a roaring fire outside your bedroom door. It happened in mid-June to a Yuma couple, who were planning an outing with their motorhome. Apparently having a low battery problem with the motorhome, the owner had hooked up a battery charger and left it. Sadly, the battery overcharged, and the resulting heat ignited a fire. In the end the motorhome and the family home were completely wiped out. You can find the whole story on the Yuma Sun website.

We've been around battery chargers since we were 'knee high to a married grasshopper' and some of the "oldy" chargers that our pappy's owned were probably hanging around when they were knee-highs themselves. It just seems like battery chargers are one of those products that rarely give up and die. As a result, many of us are limping along on ancient technology that may work--albeit inefficiently--but can (as it apparently did this time) lead to tragedy.

A lot of us use portable battery chargers, and many of these fall into the category of what's technically called an "unregulated charger." Hook it up, the charger delivers a charging voltage (higher than the "rated" voltage of the battery) and just keeps a charging. The battery voltage increases as it charges up, and it will eventually reach a point where the electrolyte will literally boil. An unregulated charger needs to be monitored. Yes, with this type of charging system, you would want to occasionally hit the boiling point to "equalize" the charge in the cells. However, if you "cook" them too long, you'll kill the battery, or even worse--lead to a fire danger.

A complete discussion of battery charging is an appropriate topic--and we'll cover it in a future blog entry. Now, however, we make this point: For many it's simply safer, and far more efficient, to use what is termed an "intelligent charger." An intelligent charger recognizes the state of the battery's charge, and supplies exactly what is required at any given stage in the recharge process. Enter the Xtreme Charge maintenance charger. A relatively inexpensive ($99 list) charger, Xtreme is an "intelligent charger" that also adds an additional benefit: This charger "pulse charges," inducing a wave into the charging current that breaks up sulfate crystals in batteries. These sulfate crystals, if left to themselves, will eventually kill off an otherwise good battery. The Xtreme can be left hooked up to the battery, and it will maintain a safe current level, along with the sulfate-eradicating pulse.

Xtreme's manufacturer sent us an evaluation unit a couple of months ago. While we're still testing it, so far we've been pleased with it. It's a small unit that can fit in many battery compartments, and even if it won't it's weather proof, so you don't need to worry about a passing rain shower shorting out your system. While the specs indicate the Xtreme is designed for battery systems up to 150 amp-hours, the company whiz-kids tell me that it will work with larger systems, but its relatively low (2.5 amp) maximum charge current will take a while. Amen to that. For a larger system, consider the Xtreme a good investment in battery maintenance, rather than full-scale charging. Find out more at the Pulsetech website.

There are also "intelligent charging" systems available on many after-market (and some OEM) RV converters--those little devices that convert shore power into low-voltage power, suitable for use by RV interior lighting and other uses. In any event, when you hook up a charging system to your RV batteries, make sure you keep an appropriate watch on it--particularly if it's an unregulated charger.

Fire Photo: Yuma Sun Charger: pulsetech.com