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Post Info TOPIC: Gas Safety Fuse !!
valiant81


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Gas Safety Fuse !!
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Hi all; It happened last year when we were free camping over the Easter period last year ( 2019 ). Our caravan has two 9Kg gas bottles stored in the front boot. Before we left i had spent a little bit of money and bought a couple of gas fuses the go inline between the gas bottle and the change over valve. These fuses have a large hard plastic " grip" so as one does not have to use a spanner to fit the fuse to your gas bottle. 

The first night away and we had run out of gas, strange as i thought that we had plenty of gas. Changed over to the second bottle and re lite the fridge and purged the gas through to the stove. So on the following night i noticed that the flame failure light for the hot water heater was back on and both the hot water and the fridge had gone off.

Trying to get change over gas bottles at 7 pm was a no show as every thing was now closed up and would not be open till Easter Saturday.  So on Saturday ( early ) when and got a couple of change over gas bottles. 

Fitting the bottles and this time i checked the connections between the bottle and safety fuse with soapy water and found little bubbles coming out of the gas valve were the safety fuse screws in to the valve on the bottle. Try as hard as i could with my hands i could not get the connection tight and the plastic "grip" had started to turn , but the brass nut has not moved.

The only way out of the problem was to remove the safety fuse and remove the plastic "grip" with a hacksaw. I refitted the safety fuse and rechecking with more soapy water and this time i was able to tighten the connections up with a couple of spanners. No more leaks and the problem with the gas leak is now a thing of the past .

The other Gas bottle was also treated the same way !! 



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Peter_n_Margaret


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Exactly what are these "gas fuses" supposed to do?
Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 
hako


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My gas fuse has an "O" ring on the bit that screws into the gas bottle that makes a positive seal - I'd assume all connectors that are designed to screw in by hand would have the "O" ring. When mine leaked I just changed the "O" ring with the proper gas one (not one for a water tap).

Good Luck.


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Possum3


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Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

Exactly what are these "gas fuses" supposed to do?
Cheers,
Peter

Shut down gas flow in the event of major leak and indicate if any gas is in tank.

 



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Tony Bev


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A few years ago, my caravan had a five burner oven

Oven, and four top burners

As a bit of experiment, on my newish toy, the gas fuse from a camping shop

I lit all the five burners, to find out if the gas fuse would stop the gas

I can confirm that the gas to the oven, did not slow down

I therefore assumed that if it was a small leak, (like any gas knobs, accidentally turning themselves on), it would not stop the flow of gas

I do not have one, on my motorhome, as I have never travelled with the gas bottle switched on



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Tony

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Peter_n_Margaret


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Possum3 wrote:
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

Exactly what are these "gas fuses" supposed to do?
Cheers,
Peter

Shut down gas flow in the event of major leak and indicate if any gas is in tank.

 

When the fridge is burning gas and you have the gas oven AND the 4 burners AND the BBQ flat out it does NOTHING.

That makes its ability to shut off from an unintended leak very limited.

Solving a problem that does not exist maybe?

Cheers,

Peter



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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 
landy


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I had one many years ago, its probably still in a draw somewhere where I thew it after it lost my second bottle of gas.
Landy

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Mamil


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I bought two of these "gas safety valves" from Bunnings as I have double gas bottles feeding into one manifold. I soon realised they weren't much use as 1. they will only shut down with a major gas pipe rupture, not a leak, and I always have the gas off while travelling. 2. They are no use at all telling you how much gas is left because they work on pressure, and the pressure in an LPG bottle will be fairly constant until the point at which all the liquid is gone and you're down to the last bottle full of just gas, and by then it's too late! I took mine off and they are now somewhere in the shed. If anyone in Perth wants them for free, just let me know.

IMG_20190816_114033.jpg



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Tony Bev


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Hi Peter (Peter n Margaret)

When the fridge is burning gas and you have the gas oven AND the 4 burners

I did not have the gas fridge going, as I was at home experimenting, (err playing around)

My gut feeling is, that the gas fuse, was designed for either a BBQ, (which usually has an un-braided rubber hose), or an older caravan (which also has an un-braided rubber hose)

I have heard of people, when a rubber hose had failed, as they turned on their gas bottle, and had then obviously turned off the gas

 



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Tony

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Peter_n_Margaret


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Hoses typically don't fail catastrophically, they just develop a slow leak, so these devices never shut the gas off.
Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 
Jaahn


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Hi smile

My opinion ! I looked at these years ago and come to the same conclusion as most people here have found, useless smile. The inventor had a thought bubble and then by promoting them they sell lots to newbies who think that because they are sold in gas/camping/caravan places they must be good biggrin. Hmm profitable I guess though. 

IMHO a product looking for a problem to solve !! A one in a million chance of a broken pipe. disbelief When that gauge says low gas the bottle is actually empty of liquid as Mamil said. Misleading gauge in fact !

Jaahn  



-- Edited by Jaahn on Friday 10th of July 2020 12:57:56 PM



-- Edited by Jaahn on Friday 10th of July 2020 12:59:18 PM

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Granty


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My Jayco van came fitted with them 2016. I have had same problems eg no gas when I new bottle should be nearly full. I have thrown them away now and Jayco no longer fit them as they had too much trouble with them.
Rod.

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oldbloke


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Jaahn wrote:

Hi smile

My opinion ! I looked at these years ago and come to the same conclusion as most people here have found, useless smile. The inventor had a thought bubble and then by promoting them they sell lots to newbies who think that because they are sold in gas/camping/caravan places they must be good biggrin. Hmm profitable I guess though. 

IMHO a product looking for a problem to solve !! A one in a million chance of a broken pipe. disbelief When that gauge says low gas the bottle is actually empty of liquid as Mamil said. Misleading gauge in fact !

Jaahn  



-- Edited by Jaahn on Friday 10th of July 2020 12:57:56 PM



-- Edited by Jaahn on Friday 10th of July 2020 12:59:18 PM

 

 

Same here. Tried one, useless. Now in the man cave.....some where.



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Sta
Aus-Kiwi


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I agree with Pete ^^ I have two gas sensors though !! Looking under motorhome the gas shuts off when engine is started . By gas / elect solinoid switch .

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oldtrack123


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Mamil wrote:

I bought two of these "gas safety valves" from Bunnings as I have double gas bottles feeding into one manifold. I soon realised they weren't much use as 1. they will only shut down with a major gas pipe rupture, not a leak, and I always have the gas off while travelling. 2. They are no use at all telling you how much gas is left because they work on pressure, and the pressure in an LPG bottle will be fairly constant until the point at which all the liquid is gone and you're down to the last bottle full of just gas, and by then it's too late! I took mine off and they are now somewhere in the shed. If anyone in Perth wants them for free, just let me know.

IMG_20190816_114033.jpg

 Yes .

Totally agree with you



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Dick0


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I have been using two of these in the den, one for each bottle, for several years.

Also, the same for the BBQ at home.

Never had a problem with any of them.

When changing over bottles, or after having turned off the bottles, just need to press the display down firmly to reset the fuse.

I do agree that you don't get much time to determine when gas bottle is empty, therefore, I check the readout early morning and evening to assess gas level.

Works fine for me, and...always be prepared, have a spare full gas bottle.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"

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The Travelling Dillberries


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Yes agree Dicko, I have been using them for 5 years and find they are an indicator of gas level in the bottle,(go from full green down to low yellow) and its good to know they will shut gas off if there is a major rupture (as they are designed to do). I have at times had trouble with slight leaking but it is only a matter of tightening  a little. Always check with soap spray.



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Craig1


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www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/mayo-hardware-grillman-gas-safety-shut-off-valve-and-grillman-gas-safety-shut-off-valve-with-hose-and-regulator

This one is on Product safety Recall Today, could break apart

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Cheers Craig
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