The next project was to replace the propane tanks and plumbing. Of course, I had to get aluminum tanks that soon I will polish to shine like the trailer. But polishing is a task for another day. These are 10 lb tanks, a little smaller than the originals. Given that we plan to run only the stove and our gas grill from these tanks, they should provide plenty of capacity for us. If in future years we plan to reconnect propane to the refrigerator and install a hot water heater, then I might need to worry about their size. I doubt that I will ever install a new propane furnace. We just don’t plan to go camping in frigid temperatures and even if we did a small electric heater would probably heat our small trailer just fine.
The guy at the hardware store convinced me to use 1/2″ galvanized pipe for the main supply line. You can see it jutting out from under the belly pan. It’s connected to the dual tank regulator by a standard LP hose. When one tank runs out of fuel I just flip the regulator to the other tank.
Copper tubing comes off the main supply line toward the refrigerator on the other side of the trailer. I used the thicker type “L” tubing in hopes that it would be more durable. The original copper tubing was even thicker, but I figure that this tubing will be thick enough.
You can see the copper supply line coming into the stovetop at the lower left corner of this picture. The stove has some surface rust, as you can see, but is generally in pretty good shape.
After all the pipes and fittings were joined I pressurized the system and then tested everything with soapy water. I didn’t see any bubbles, so it must be good, right?
And then came the moment of truth …
