Hardly any flame on Atwood stovetop

ClydesdaleKevin · July 19, 2019, 09:48 AM

So when we got this Itasca this past winter, I replaced the propane regulator at the propane holding tank, since the stove was acting funny...as was the water heater.

For the last few days, the stovetop is doing the same thing it was before: A very low flame even on high (not even enough to perk the coffee)...and then when you turn it off, the flame POPS out with an audible sound. It is an Atwood "Wedgewood."

Do you think it might be that the new propane regulator is faulty? Or is there a propane regulator in the stove/oven itself?

After writing the first part of this, I decided to turn on the hot water heater to see what it would do (since we were running it on electric in this RV park we are at)...and it is also a pathetically weak flame.

So it looks like I answered my own question: It HAS to be the new propane regulator I installed last winter, since both the stovetop and the water heater have pathetically weak flames and are obviously under-pressured.

I'll have to find an RV store somewhere around the Sterling, NY area after the weekend!

Kev

Rickf1985 · July 19, 2019, 10:18 AM

Got to love Chinese garbage!!! Now they are hiding the country of manufacture to get around the tarifs.

Shawn62 · July 19, 2019, 10:32 AM

Kev,

Tractor supply company stores carry them. There are stores in Fulton and Oswego. Both are about 12 miles from Sterling. Check their web site out. There is a Runnings store in Clay. About 20 miles from you. If u have never been to a Runnings you should check it out. Their web site isnÃ¢â,¬â,,¢t great. They are like Home Depot, CabelaÃ¢â,¬â,,¢s, tractor supply and gander mountain all rolled into one. Of course there is Walmart also.

Rickf1985 · July 19, 2019, 10:56 AM

And no matter where you go they are all the same so don't agonize over which store to go to.
The only other thing that comes to mind is clogged lines but that usually shows up after sitting for very long periods and you have been using yours regularly. When you replaced it before it solved the problem didn't it? If so I would just go ahead and do it again and chalk it up to a junk regulator. If it stays bad then the lines are clogged and will need to be flushed. I forget what solvent is used but google flushing propane lines and I am sure it will pop up. Propane is a petroleum product and it will leave behind a nasty gunk over time.

Here is one I found but it does not discuss cleaning out the line. The only time I had a clogged line it was in fact close to the regulator, the next section down at the lowest point and I just replaced it and was good ever since. I have read about the flushing before but have never done it myself.

http://blog.goodsam.com/rv-doctor-propane-lines/

Shawn62 · July 19, 2019, 11:14 AM

Kev,

You might want to try resetting the regulator. I had to do that on a heater regulator that failed after a few months. You may want to replace the hose that goes from the regulator to the metal pipe system/ manifold. Maybe youÃ¢â,¬â,,¢ll get lucky and find some spider or mud wasp plugged the regulator vent.

ClydesdaleKevin · July 20, 2019, 08:19 AM

I ended up driving to a RV dealer yesterday and bought a new regulator...and replaced it. And everything is working just fine again!

The brand was Camco (Campco?), same as the last one I bought. And Rick is right...no country of origin on the regulator or the packaging.

Anyhow, it was indeed the regulator and I am enjoying my morning coffee as I type this because the stovetop is working again.

Kev

Rickf1985 · July 20, 2019, 10:25 AM

Was there any sign of oil in the old regulator? If there was you may need to have the tank flushed out. As it said in the link I attached and a few more I read that if the tank was over filled or if it was filled with contaminated propane you could have this issue. A friend of mine has an old big hit or miss oil field engine. I mean BIG. It weighs 42,000 lbs!! But it runs on propane and is started by one, or preferably two, guys turning the flywheels. He had a situation at a show where the 100 lb. bottles he was using were all contaminated and the engine simply would not run. Of course it took hours of hauling on this thing to figure this out and he found out when someone brought over one of their bottle and it fired right up. 5 100 lb. bottles, all contaminated. They all came from the same supplier so his main tank was most likely the culprit.

ClydesdaleKevin · July 22, 2019, 08:01 PM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on July 20, 2019, 10:25 AM
Was there any sign of oil in the old regulator? If there was you may need to have the tank flushed out. As it said in the link I attached and a few more I read that if the tank was over filled or if it was filled with contaminated propane you could have this issue. A friend of mine has an old big hit or miss oil field engine. I mean BIG. It weighs 42,000 lbs!! But it runs on propane and is started by one, or preferably two, guys turning the flywheels. He had a situation at a show where the 100 lb. bottles he was using were all contaminated and the engine simply would not run. Of course it took hours of hauling on this thing to figure this out and he found out when someone brought over one of their bottle and it fired right up. 5 100 lb. bottles, all contaminated. They all came from the same supplier so his main tank was most likely the culprit.

Nope. No sign of oil and still looked brand new. Just defective.

Kev