More Propain Questions/Concerns...

[S10xGN]

Jay, Dan, anyone?

I have my Propain kit in hand (well, most of it) and was able to bench test the command center last night - works perfect!

I was wanting to know what size wire/fuse is needed as the solenoid is pretty massive. I have an available 16GA wire with 10A fuse, but if not enough, will run heavier.

For concerns, what happens if the solenoid leaks through and fills the intake tract with propane, then an unsuspecting driver tries to start the car? Theoretically, if leaky, the propane could back out through the intake/air filter and travel through the engine/exhaust system and on into the garage! Is there any documentation on "tightness" of the solenoid valves? I'd like to NOT have to turn the bottle on/off every time I drive it...

TIA!

 

[TurboBuickSix]

I don't care how safe anyone says it is,and it probably is safe enough to put on a School Bus, but I will gladly shut the bottle off after and turn it on before each and every flight! IMO safety using this stuff should be dicussed here more and we should lay out some basic safe use guidelines.

 

[JayC]

The valves are rated for 3x more pressure than you will ever use. Short of getting a piece of trash stuck in the valve, I don't forsee a problem and as large as the orifice is on these valves, it would take a pretty large piece of trash to get stuck in there.

I know guys who use a different kit that have some problems with valve seepage. It's still more of an annoyance than anything else. They leave their bottles on constantly and just live with the valve having some leakage. Our valves are better quality and rated for higher pressure.

That being said, you could probably use an NOS remote bottle opener if you are hellbent on opening remotely. We could probably come up with a remote opener also if the demand was there. I have a valve sitting here now we did some prototype work with that would work great for that.

So.. to sum it up.. Im not going to tell you what to do either way. I know people who never cut the bottle off and I know people who do. Personal preference I guess. I know one guy with a Toyota Supra that has a propane tank laying in his passenger floorboard and he rarely closes the tank.

 

[S10xGN]

As far as AMP load goes, I bench-checked to entire circuit and it pulled a max of 0.9A. Oddly, it pulled only 0.4A at 100% duty cycle - the 0.9A load was around 50% duty cycle... So, I guess my 16GA wire and 10A fuse will be plenty good.

 

[S10xGN]

I remember reading somewhere that JayC said to use teflon tape on the pipe fittings, not paste. I'm here to tell you - that's a fact! I don't see what difference it makes, but I tried the paste and had several leaks. Finally undid all the fittings and went back with tape and no leaks! Odd, but true...

I also wire-tied a balloon over the -4 fitting after the solenoid and haven't seen any leakage there at all. Turned the bottle valve to pressure up the regulator and solenoid, then turned the bottle off. Three hours later and the pressure is still up!

 

[JayC]

Actually its the opposite. Paste, not tape.

 

[motorhead]

Originally posted by JayC
Actually its the opposite. Paste, not tape.

Yeah... I used the tape.

 

[S10xGN]

Originally posted by JayC
Actually its the opposite. Paste, not tape.

Hmm, paste leaked like a sieve and tape sealed so well my regulator is still showing over 100# from yesterday's test.