"daft question" thread!

herecomesbod

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can we use this thread to ask all those silly niggly little questions that we may have (ok, so i seem to have plenty) ... please humour me, i am hoping that if others put their questions alongside mine, i wont feel such a numpty!!!
 
so to start... i will fire away with ....
... is it really 'wrong' to forget to turn my gas bottle to the 'off' position before driving off??!!
 
This will get me in trouble may be but been m/hing since 1967 and the only time I have ever turned my gas of is when I change the bottle. :drive: :drive:
 
It's called risk assessment, like smoking, you may or may not get Cancer, if you do you are dead, just like gas bottle explosion and fire, the choice is yours.
 
first of all ,please don't apologise for asking about something you don't know-that's how you find out stuff! second,for your own peace of mind,check to see that your gas bottle cupboard has a drop out hole drilled through the floor to allow any leakage of gas to escape[it's heavier than air,like water] if so then somebody knew what they're doing !
 
also usefull when you flood the van as it lets the water out but make sure it has a grill or some sort of cover on as it can become a mouse entry oport
 
Never turned our gas off in the years we have had the van, however I have just changed our van and this has a Secumotion Valve which closes in the event of an accident, as someone pointed out though the valve is immediately after the bottle valve so the bottle could still leak.
 
When we first got our van, I drove off with gas and fridge left on. We had to drive across a very bumpy field so the liquid would have been sloshed into the regulator. I went pale and sat down for a while when I realised what I had done. Then it occurred to me that we had not gone up in a ball of flames so may have been safe to do. I did a bit of research on here and rang a motorhome service engineer. It seems the chances of liquid getting past the regulator or very low. The number of motor homers driving around, never turning theirs off could be viewed as a long term trial. Result - Mine stays on as long as the van is in use.

Richard
 
We don't turn our gas off except when parked up at home.

Sometimes do I do when we're on the road.... if I remember! :)

I'm 100% with n brown: there is no such thing as a numpty question in my book ! :p ;)
No one is an expert in everything.
Plus... how the hell do you find the answers to your questions if you don't ask those with more know-how than yourself?! :confused::idea:
You don't ask, you don't learn, and you struggle on in frustration when you really don't have to.

I don't ever feel stupid asking a question about anything I don't understand, and neither should anyone else :p :)
 
Leaving your bottle switched on is fine .......... as long as you regularly check your rubber hoses in the gas locker. If you arrive somewhere with empty bottles, it might be a tad annoying. I changed all my hoses when I got the van nearly 4 years ago and this thread has reminded me to go and buy some new ones. So thanks. :dance:
 
Another careless idiot here that leaves the bottles on all the time. At least I know there isn't a leak or they would be empty by now! :dance: LPG is quite smelly & you soon detect a small leak if your schnozz works OK. I also use the fridge when travelling sometimes (to ensure getting a good charge into the leisure battery) - it sometimes blows out, but the flame failure will turn it off so no danger there either really.

Can anyone point out a gas explosion in a van caused by driving with the gas on, please?
 
Intrigued by some who leave their gas fridges on - I'd like to but wondered if it would work!

Next 'numpty' question (and I agree, better to ask than remain ignorant!) does it matter if my zig panel is left switched on when I drive. It's one bit that I keep forgetting to check. I get where I'm going and discover that my hab area has been powered while I drive down the road! Or I switch it off before leaving, stop on the roadside to use the loo (switch it on so the loo will flush,) then once again forget to switch it off! :drive:

I have a split charge relay (newly fitted two days ago) so at long last my LB is being charged when I drive!
 
I turn it off when I get home and on when I leave home. Other than that it stays on, what's the point of having a fridge with an automatic changeover from mains, to gas to 12 volt if you don't let it do its job!

I also check the connections to the bottles, changeover valve and regulator using a bit of washing up liquid, slightly diluted so it is still fairly thick which makes it cling around the joints. I have often found minor leaks this way and a slight tighten normally cures it. I also carry a small paint brush which is ideal for putting the mixture around the joints.

i sleep and travel easy until the other half wakens me!
 
OK, ... what happens when you pull in to a garage with the fridge running on gas! Nice naked flame when someone alongside is filling up with petrol?
 
We always turn our gas cylinders off when on the move.

The reason; many years ago in our boating days, there was a small cruiser on the River Thames, which had a small gas fridge in the cockpit, which was on. The boat was driven by a petrol outboard engine,which had stopped because it ran out of fuel. The owner started to refuel the outboard with petrol and there was an explosion.

Our point is that if the gas fridge is on in the motorhome and one visits a garage to refuel, especially in this hot weather, the petrol vapours could be ignited by the pilot flame of the fridge.

We are also fortunate to have an auto changeover of energy supply selection for our fridge, so turning the gas off whilst on the move simply switches the supply to 12v automatically.
 
Philcott said:
Next 'numpty' question (and I agree, better to ask than remain ignorant!) does it matter if my zig panel is left switched on when I drive. It's one bit that I keep forgetting to check.
Click to expand...
I leave my panel on as I have an electric dump valve for the water heater, which in colder climbs protects from frost damage, however I would also have the heater set to come on in that situation also which needs the power for the controls. I do switch off the water pump supply and the interior lights supply as I find a constant small drain on my batteries in 'standby' mode taken by each circuit.
 
Monkey said:
OK, ... what happens when you pull in to a garage with the fridge running on gas! Nice naked flame when someone alongside is filling up with petrol?
Click to expand...
The manufacturer designed it for running even when driving, that includes the gas heating as well as the fridge, so if it blows up I will sue Rapido!
 
ours stays on when the van is in use, off when parked up for a while as it is an electric switch to an underslung tank and could drain the battery
 
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