I know this doesnt pertain to trucks exactly, but it does if my truck is pulling my trailer. My family and I are about to go camping in the snow with my TT and was told that I needed to be carefull because my propane lines will freeze. So now I need to know at what temperature could this happen?

 

The boiling point of propane is -44F . We see problems start at about -37F with our production well running off of propane.

If your camping and your propane won't vaporize, YOU ARE DIE HARD CAMPERS!!

 

Burning off LP will also lower the tank temp below ambient temp. So factor this in when using LP in below zero (F) conditions.

 

There seems to be no end to the things I can learn on this site.


Never would have thought about Propane freezing.

 

I went to light a propane torch last January to heat up my oil pan after the truck sat for 48hours between -40* to -50* not plugged in. Well as I opened the valve the propane started running out....in liquid form That snowmobiling weekend ended up costing an extra $130 for a tow & thaw But we did meet some new friends
Last weekend (New Years) we camped/snowmobiled for two days and had no problems with the twin tanks in the camper. Coldest we saw while parked was only about -15* though...daytime highs around 5*, but only for an hour or two.

 

Another LP tid-bit. A full tank can boil off more gas vapor than a tank near empty. The liquid LP in a near empty tank will reach the non-producing temp state quicker than a full tank when trying to keep up gas demands such as with a furnace in sub-zero conditions.

 

Be aware that if by chance you have Butane rather the Propane, your tanks will freeze up quickly!! The boiling point for Butane is much higher than for Propane.

 

Explain more on that. You mean its better to run a furnace off a tank with less LP? Its late and I'm tired and I cant really understand anything I'm reading.

 

Katoom, one is better off with full tanks. Full tanks have a greater liquid volume and can boil off more gas vapor/pressure compared to a near empty tank.

 

Once you get past about 60k BTU only a 100 lber can keep up to the demand in cold weather.

Another is the vaporization rate. Horizontal tanks perform much better due to the surface area of the LPG.

 

Interesting. I only have two tanks, and after reading this, would it be better to have three? I realize the new trailers have three or on motorhomes, one big one.

 

Yes. The more surface area you can get the better the vaporization will be. Also, the more liquid you have in the tank, the less it cools off as it vaporizes. Like John said, the horizontal tanks that mount under the floor are the best in this respect.

 

OK here's a lot of data that may not make sense, but I'll try. It summarizes many previous posts

You need a lot of LPG capacity for winter camping. A bigger tank or multiple tanks gives better vaporization of fuel both by the volume of liquid to help with the cooling, but also a larger surface area of liquid to boil off gas.
Cold LPG will only boil off XX amount of vapor per minute based on the surface area of the liquid factored by the total volume of liquid. A 20 lb. tank cannot keep up to larger demands. Even a 40 lber has trouble as the tank diameter isn't much larger. Twins and triples give more total capacity plus the surface area is larger. Big horizontals are nice both for capacity and the surface are of the liquid factor.

My slide in only has a 20 lb. horizontal. Summer capacity is marginal. Winter would mean carrying a 100 lb. tank on a trailer.

Another tip. Carry lots of skirting. Even a covered insulated floor looses a lot of heat from the wind blowing under the unit. Banking the unit with cardboard or other light weight material really helps keep the water lines and holding tanks from freezing and the floors much warmer.

I used to winter camp with my father in a 12 foot trailer for deer hunting. The floor was cold from no basement or insulation. Sometimes we went through 2 100 lbers in a 2 week stay. Heat, cooking, and lights all on LPG. No running water.

-John

 

This brings up a topic I've been thinking about-

I'm planning on getting a new 5er soon, & one of the alterations I want the mfg to make is to replace the propane-fired furnace with something like the Espar diesel-fuel-fired hot-air heater they make (seems to be VERY pricey, tho).

This way, since I'm planning for a diesel-fired generator, & will have a diesel tank for it, I could get a lot more heating from this kind of setup than with propane.

It seems to me that heating with diesel would be cheaper than propane too, but I not sure about that yet....

Any thoughts out there?

Anybody already doing this?

Thanks -

Rene

 

I remember when travel trailers came with fuel oil heaters. These were the ornate parlor stove style, too.
Two draw backs I see and you've already resolved one. Carrying two types of fuel. Being you plan to use a a diesel fired generator unit to share with heating helps lighten the load.
I don't think the Espar or Webasto cab heater are very large. They do make units for boats that put out lots of BTUs. They require electricity to operate and either big storage batteries or generator is a must.
You'll still carry LP for water, cooking, and possible lighting.

The other drawback is odor. No getting around that flue. Fellow campers may not be happy with you.

Our old hunting shack came with an oil heater. Much nicer after converting to a LP unit.

-John