How long will a propane tank last in typical use?

[troy]

I just bought a pop-up camper this weekend, with the intent on using some mod ideas from this forum. It is a little larger than what you'd typically see converted to expo use, but the price was right and it had the options/condition I was looking for. It had some poorly repaired hail damage, and I think the seller was having some financial issues, so I got what I feel is a good deal.

1997 Palomino Filly
Sleep 6
Fridge
Furnace
New battery and box
Full propane tank
Awning
New tires/rims
New hubs
New trailer wiring hookup.
New fresh water tank and lines.


I'm prepping it for an outdoor music festival, I know it is not technicaly expo, but please humor me. A couple buddies are coming from out of town and said they would pay me rent for the weekend if I wanted to buy a camper instead of us renting one. That sealed the deal for me.

I have not owned a pop-up before, or camper for that matter, and was wondering a couple things:

1. The fridge appears to be both 110V and propane. How does this work and how long would a typical propane tank last?

2. There appears to be some master electrical converter (says centurion 3000) that both the battery and the electric hookup goes into. It does not have any switches or anything to turn it on or off. What does this do and how do I use it?

Expo mods will be coming at a later date.

 

[Funrover]

many of your answers will be answered quickly on www.popupportal.com

My campers don't have all of that, however without the fridge the 20lb propane so far has lasted 2 summers and still has a fair portion left

 

[troy]

Thanks for the link. I'll start reading up.

 

[cnynrat]

I have not owned a pop-up before, or camper for that matter, and was wondering a couple things:

1. The fridge appears to be both 110V and propane. How does this work and how long would a typical propane tank last?

Sounds like you have what is called a 2-way fridge that can run off 110VAC if available, or if not it will run off of propane. Typically the fridge has a switch on it that controls the mode of operation, but often they can be set to use AC power if available, and automatically switch to propane if AC power isn't hooked up. Propane usage is subject to a lot of variables (size of the fridge, ambient temps, etc.), but generally the fridge is not a big user of propane.

2. There appears to be some master electrical converter (says centurion 3000) that both the battery and the electric hookup goes into. It does not have any switches or anything to turn it on or off. What does this do and how do I use it?

That would be your power converter. Its main functions are to convert 110VAC to 12VDC. Most of the electrical stuff in your camper will run off 12VDC even when AC power is available. It also controls battery charging when you are plugged into AC power. They typically don't have on/off switches, they just work whenever you are plugged into AC power.

 

[proto]

You can get a handle on propane consumption if you know the the rating on the propane burner. There's something like 90,000 BTU in a gallon of propane (I'm sure it's known exactly, but not by me). So if the burner is rated at, say 1000 BTU and you're running full throttle --you can do the math. As noted, there are a lot of variables so your propane 'mileage' will vary, but I'd expect to get roughly a week out of a gallon of propane on a decent sized Dometic fridge in a modern RV.

BTW: (at least the fridges I'm familiar with) don't cycle on and off in propane mode. There's no thermostat, they just run constantly and you have to set the internal temperature dial to whatever works. It would be wise to get a fridge thermometer/alarm to keep tabs on things and zero in on the proper setting.

Also, you'll probably have heard these fridges are sensitive to tilt. This is true. Running for long intervals off-level can actually damage the cooling unit in this kind of fridge. How far off-level? Dunno. A bubble level is your friend.

It's definitely worth trying out the thing before heading on each long trip. This is easy because standard procedure is to get it cold on 110V a day or two before departure and pre-cool everything in your house refrigerator before you load it.

Good luck and have a frosty beverage for me!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

A long time. I've got about... 5 days of use out of a 5lb tank, and it's not empty yet. Using it only for cooking and heating water.

 

[ntsqd]

Cooking for 5-8 people 2 meals a day on Camp Chef stove plus running the lantern at night leaves fuel in the bottle after a week-long trip.

Lower Heating Value of LPG: 82,400 Btu/gal (23,000 kJ/L) @ STP.
(Alternative Fuels Guidebook; Bechtold, SAE 1997, ISBN 0-7680-0052-1)