Propane Alarm

dharte said:
I suspect my Zamp controller is possibly overcharging my dual 6v's because it will indicate 3/4 charge when the Victron monitor says 100%. Eventually it switches to "full" during the day but I think it's staying on absorption charge too long. Usually, but not always, this is when the alarm goes off.
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That sounds very plausable. If the Victron says full... it is reacting to how it is setup. Did you get the spec sheet on your batteries and program the key values into the Victron?

I run into a similar situation when I am driving. The Victron says the batteries are full, but if I leave them connected to the alternator via the ML-ACR switch on my overhead console, I can see via my Ammeter that the alternator is still sending a charge their way. So I manually disconnect.

The Victron has a "relay" function I need to investigate, and see if it could fire off a relay when it notices that the batteries are fully charged... hmmmm.
 
longhorn1 said:
I replaced the water spigot on Tuesday and caulked around the flange. Early Wednesday morning I heard the propane alarm going off. I didn't smell any gas. I hit the re-set button, the alarm stopped and the red light blinked for a short time. Thought maybe the sealant smell caused it. No issues on Thursday or Friday, but this morning (Saturday) the alarm was going off again. No smell of gas, nothing is on. 2014 Grandby. The propane alarm is hard wired. I would think we should get 10 years before replacement is required. Appreciate some help. Thanks, jd
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Longhorn, I had a problem w/my alarm going off, although different circumstances....when I would leave the camper in my garage overnight, plugged into shore power, the alarm would go off eventually. Called FW in California, they sent me another alarm. Did the same thing. I eventually drilled a little hole into the wall next to the alarm and installed an on/off toggle switch, similar to this one:

https://www.delcity.net/store/Non-Illuminated-with-Legends/p_788799.h_788828.r_IF1003?mkwid=sehbDWRnT&crid=38094426869&mp_kw=&mp_mt=&gclid=CjwKCAjwyMfZBRAXEiwA-R3gMyj0208wPpztUu5-3RZsTL2XOCvwDOkO13eu2ZDkkVwfzeDjZvEUaxoCU0YQAvD_BwE

It didn't really solve the problem, but I was able to go to bed at night and not have the alarm go off at 3am. When I'm camping I put it back on, no issues. Probably happening because the garage is a closed space, and the alarm is picking something up. I don't worry about it, it could be a gas other than propane, maybe exhaust fumes from my truck.
 
I am using MTI Industries 35-742-BL RV LP/CO alarm and I really like this device, since installing it we no longer get false alarms in the night. Easy to install and use.
 
Alternative is to pull the blade fuse at night....Oh-Dark-30 alarms get very old very quick; especially when no wolf at the door...

Seriously, has the propane alarm in a FWC ever alerted anyone to a dangerous propane leak?
 
I replaced my propane detector after about 7 years. It was a slow death with it going off randomly with no propane around for about months before. I now carry a spare since the replacement is a few years old. Sleepless nights get old quickly.
 
Weirdly, all I have to do to keep it from going off is to crack the battery compartment door just a smidge. Works every time. I have no idea why, except some sort of vapor build up around the batteries? If it happens, it is when it wet outside. But can go months without a repeat alarm under any conditions, then it starts. So I prop the battery door open with something thin, just enough to keep it from closing, and then the alarm never goes off. Weird, but not too troublesome.
 
Again...is this much ado about an alarm that has never saved anyone from harm inside a FWC? I asked before; has anyone had a propane leak in a FWC and the FWC alarm came to the rescue?
 
Keep in mind that a replacement propane alarm is aging in storage just as much as if it were the working alarm. Most of us have a second propane detector in the middle of our face. It is CO that has no odor and that can directly end us. I find that most of concern.

Of course, because my propane detector has never false alarmed, I may not fully appreciate the annoyance of a faulty one. \_(ツ)_/

Paul
 
Wallowa said:
Again...is this much ado about an alarm that has never saved anyone from harm inside a FWC? I asked before; has anyone had a propane leak in a FWC and the FWC alarm came to the rescue?
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Yes, friends with a fwc were startled awake by the propane alarm. Their propane bottle had been overfilled and was leaking.
 
Not in a FWC but in my Class A. Apparently we had not turned off the oven completely and there was a small pilot leak that we couldn’t smell right away. This was with a new unit that replaced the malfunctioning, false alarm original.
 
I was getting false propane alarms in my Fleet with two 12 volt AGM batteries. I had the alarm unhooked. I recently switched to a single 100 Ah lithium BB. No more false alarms! Apparently, off gassing from the AGM batteries was setting off the alarm.
 
ski3pin said:
Yes, friends with a fwc were startled awake by the propane alarm. Their propane bottle had been overfilled and was leaking.
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I thought all FWC propane bottles resided in their own sealed, vented compartments like in my Hawk...never checked the rubber hose from the tank to the interior to see if it is sealed where it enters the inside of the camper...
 
Wallowa said:
I thought all FWC propane bottles resided in their own sealed, vented compartments like in my Hawk...never checked the rubber hose from the tank to the interior to see if it is sealed where it enters the inside of the camper...
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The box is vented to the outside with slots in the door. The propane was leaking. An FWC is not airtight.
 
ski3pin said:
The box is vented to the outside with slots in the door. The propane was leaking. An FWC is not airtight.
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Not belaboring this but with propane vented outside the camper, and unless window and vents open/fan drawing in outside air, will enough propane enter the FWC to be dangerous? I just never thought that with over pressurizing [I assume ambient air temp was high] that escaping propane would pose a threat as dilution is very high...but hey, I could be wrong.

PS..I can see if a burner was on but not lit or if any of the propane tubing/fittings inside the camper leaked propane that it could be a big issue...hot water heater and space heater are also vented outside but I believe propane plumbing runs inside the FWC...
 
I know a guy who was severely burned when an overfilled tank leaked and caught fire. He had to be air lifted out. I've never had a leak but no way am I going to disable the alarm.

I also responded to a hunters trailer that burned down due to an overfilled propane tank. There is a good reason they mandated the OPD.
 
craig333 said:
I know a guy who was severely burned when an overfilled tank leaked and caught fire. He had to be air lifted out. I've never had a leak but no way am I going to disable the alarm.

I also responded to a hunters trailer that burned down due to an overfilled propane tank. There is a good reason they mandated the OPD.
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Craig....more details on person being severely burned? I agree, do not disconnect your alarm if that would make you feel vulnerable or fearful of a propane leak creating a disaster...never understood how any manufacturer would mount propane tanks inside a camper of any style.

Just for me the assumption of risk involving a propane leak inside a FWC is so low as to be non-existent...but that is my choice and not for everyone. And, of course I could be wrong...
 
I don't have any first hand knowledge of a propane alarm saving someone from imminent death, but I do think the risk of a propane leak is not zero. I have had one of those green 1lb bottles leak inside my previous camper, which I was notified of by the propane alarm. We did smell it as well, but thought it was just some residual smell from our camp stove not an active leak. Now that I have outside storage, I no longer keep those bottles in the camper.

Furthermore there is gas plumbing running inside your FWC to the stove, furnace, hot water heater and fridge. This was hopefully leak tested when it left the factory (but who really knows), but after many thousands of rough miles of vibration and temperature cycles, I don't 100% trust that the dozen or so copper fittings haven't loosened up or been bashed by a pot sliding around in a cupboard. We leave the gas bottle on at night for the stove and furnace, so those lines are all pressurized while we are in the camper. So for me, running a propane alarm is inexpensive insurance (kind of like a smoke and CO detector) against calamity, and in the past 5-6 years I have never had a false alarm.

Do as you choose, but I am not so sure the risk is non-existent.
 
Beating a dead hose....but that is my specialty.. :cool: Of course with plumbing inside a FWC [as noted above] a leak of propane can occur inside the camper...and of course if you bring any propane device into the camper, that poses a threat of propane release inside...as does the aforementioned, leaving a FWC stove burner on but not lighted...

Danger is never zero.....my questioning was if anyone has had an original, unmodified FWC have a propane leak inside the camper...reason I asked is not to refute the possibility of a propane threat in a FWC but to find out the specific circumstances that has actually introduced propane inside the FWC camper so that I could hopefully prevent such a propane leak inside my Hawk.

Forewarned; forearmed.
 
I’m in my first year of ownership and have had no leaks, but I can imagine someone drilling or driving a screw into a line while doing a repair or modification.
 
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