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Today, Lisa and I went to Hanneman Service to refill the large (27 gal) propane bottle. However, I'm not healed sufficiently to push the hand cart, and Lisa can't move the bottle when it is full, because it weighs too much. Therefore, we only put 10 gallons in the bottle. We also have two 7-gallon bottles one of which is full and the other half-full. It hasn't been nearly so cold lately, so our fuel (propane and wood) usage is way down.
We have a total of three propane bottles: two small seven-gallon bottles and one large 27-gallon one. As of yesterday, Lisa was down to just the last small bottle. Originally, the plan was to take the large bottle to be refilled; however, it was raining most of yesterday. We can't transport the large bottle in the minivan because you're not supposed to transport vertically-oriented propane bottles on their side. So instead I took the small bottle down to Hanneman Service, transporting it in the back of the minivan.
Today, the weather was dry and warmer, so after work, we put the large bottle on the hand truck and I walked it down to Hanneman's. Lisa and Kuma carried a box of cookies. We have for the past few years given the Hannemans a box of cookies from Cost Plus World Market for the holidays. In this case, we bought two boxes and ate one of them, so we reckon we're giving them a good box.
As is usually the case when someone who has never filled our large bottle does so, we had to walk him through how he has to change the fitting on the propane pump. We got it done in the end, and now we are fully stocked with propane.
Lisa's shoulder feels better when she can keep it and everything around her warm, so I have no problem with making sure she has enough fuel to do so.
Today, the weather was dry and warmer, so after work, we put the large bottle on the hand truck and I walked it down to Hanneman's. Lisa and Kuma carried a box of cookies. We have for the past few years given the Hannemans a box of cookies from Cost Plus World Market for the holidays. In this case, we bought two boxes and ate one of them, so we reckon we're giving them a good box.
As is usually the case when someone who has never filled our large bottle does so, we had to walk him through how he has to change the fitting on the propane pump. We got it done in the end, and now we are fully stocked with propane.
Lisa's shoulder feels better when she can keep it and everything around her warm, so I have no problem with making sure she has enough fuel to do so.
Scratch One Trip
Mar. 2nd, 2023 04:15 pmIt being the first clear and sunny day in quite a while, and with Lisa able to walk on her own again, we tried to go to Reno today on several errands, one of which was as a place that closes at 3 PM. As we neared Mustang (about 2/3 of the way there), traffic came to a halt. I was able to bail off at Mustang, where we could see an electronic sign saying that there was a vehicle fire at Pyramid Way in Sparks, meaning this backup was around ten miles long or more. We decided we could try again tomorrow and we came home. The afternoon was not a total bust, however, as we were able to take the large propane bottle down to Hanneman Service and refill it. Lisa says that if she can lift the bottle, there's not enough propane in it.
Buying Gas While the Sun Shines
Jan. 26th, 2023 07:55 pmToday was notably warmer than the last few days. The snow is starting to melt from the East Lot, and it was warm enough that after I got off work, Lisa put the large propane bottle on the hand truck and we trundled down to Hanneman Service to fill up the 27-gallon bottle. As always, it's a bit of a challenge to push the hand truck back when the bottle is full, as it weighs about 100 pounds full.
Speaking of fuel, I need to call Big R soon to make sure they restocked on Pres-to-Logs, as the wood box is only one-third full. I wish I could depend up on them to always have logs in stock.
Speaking of fuel, I need to call Big R soon to make sure they restocked on Pres-to-Logs, as the wood box is only one-third full. I wish I could depend up on them to always have logs in stock.
Clearer Skies
Jul. 20th, 2021 04:25 pmAfter all of that wind yesterday, we did get some rain with not a lot of lightning in it, which helped get some of the smoke out of the air. Today after lunch, I was able to get that errand done, which was refilling the large propane bottle. We don't go through the propane so fast in the summer, of course, but it's still used for cooking and also to run the refrigerator in the travel trailer, especially when it's sufficiently hot (as it has been) that it doesn't cool as well on electricity only. I didn't know this until Lisa explained it to me, but those multi-mode refrigerators cool better on propane than electricity.
It's a Gas
Mar. 5th, 2021 07:19 pmI mentioned yesterday that we refilled the large propane bottle. Today we took the small one. A few days ago, Lisa discovered to her dismay that she'd run down both bottles. Normally, she keeps the small bottle turned off so she knows when the large one has emptied; however, she'd left both bottles open, so when the big bottle ran out, the automatic transfer valve switched to the smaller bottle. Fortunately, there was still one reserve bottle left, so we weren't completely out of gas while we dealt with refilling both bottles on consecutive days.
One of these days, I hope to buy an actual propane-bottle rack, rather than carrying the large and heavy (100 pound) bottle on the hand truck.
One of these days, I hope to buy an actual propane-bottle rack, rather than carrying the large and heavy (100 pound) bottle on the hand truck.
Spring Break
Feb. 2nd, 2021 07:16 pmWhile it's snowing again in the Sierra Nevada, this set of storms hasn't passed over Fernley and indeed with temperatures above 10°C, I all but let the fire go out today, and I have a fan running to push warm air back toward the back end of the house. We wrestled the large 100-pound propane bottle down to Hanneman Service and refilled it, and refilled the small porch-top wood box, so we're all set should the weather turn cold again. Lisa took advantage of relatively pleasant weather to work on breaking up another pallet. I burned the pieces she was able to reduce to a size small enough to fit into the fireplace, but this particular pallet was more nails that wood, and she gave up and put the remaining nail-ridden pieces into the trash.
Spreading the Word
Jan. 6th, 2020 03:04 pmLisa and I walked to the post office today after my lunch, as is our common practice. On the way back we saw that Bob Hanneman, owner of the place where we buy our propane, was out and about getting ready to do a AAA service call. We stopped and showed him pictures of the adapter fitting to allow the 100# propane bottle to be used with "hard nose" POL fittings like those found on many RVs and travel trailers. He was glad to know about this, because his business fills lots of different kinds of propane bottles and now he can advise people with the large bottle if they say they're having problems attaching it to the equipment. If we have prevented even one propane leak, it's worth it.
Learning About Propane Connectors
Jan. 4th, 2020 06:28 pmLisa and I went to Reno this morning and started the day with a leisurely brunch at the Peppermill (possibly the best meal value with our locals' discount that they have, in my opinion). Well-fed, we went to Safari RV to seek out the adapter to allow us to connect our new large propane bottle to the existing trailer fittings. Now the adapter we bought was not cheap (and appears to cost significantly less online than from Safari), but we were able to hold it in our hands, confirm that it will connect to both one of the large bottles (they had one on display) and to our fittings (we brought a spare fitting with us), and that it had the necessary rubber O rings in the right places. Also, we could see with our own eyes that it was US-made, not a cheap Chinese knock-off.
After dealing with RV parts, we stopped at Smart Foodservice in Reno so that Lisa could look over what they had and see their prices, in order to give her a better handle on what she would need to budget for Westercon 74. We currently expect to buy much of what we need in wholesale quantities in Reno and transport them to Tonopah, so we only need to buy perishables and last-minute stuff from the grocery store there. It was good to have had such a big breakfast before examining the store, as it allowed us to consider the selection academically, not with growling stomachs.
Returning home, it was time to work on installing and connecting the propane adapter. You can skip the rest of this if you are uninterested in the trivia of different types of propane plumbing connectors and why our first attempt to connect things could have led to a very dangerous or even deadly situation.
( It's a Gas, Really it is! )
Now we have a large bottle that holds roughly 3x as much gas as a single "normal" bottle. We still have a second 7.5-gallon bottle connected to the trailer. The propane regulator on the trailer is designed to hold two bottles, with a fail-over valve that will redirect propane to the other bottle if the pressure falls below a critical point. The idea of course is that you then change bottles, but you do have to remember to go look at the regulator periodically as it displays a red bar when it has failed over. Having the larger bottle (with the adapter) on the trailer will be useful when it is "moored" at home, while still allowing us to have both smaller bottles when traveling without having to change fittings or hoses. We'll still have to refill propane bottles, as the 100# bottle is portable (just barely) on the hand truck, but we shouldn't have to go buy propane so often.
After dealing with RV parts, we stopped at Smart Foodservice in Reno so that Lisa could look over what they had and see their prices, in order to give her a better handle on what she would need to budget for Westercon 74. We currently expect to buy much of what we need in wholesale quantities in Reno and transport them to Tonopah, so we only need to buy perishables and last-minute stuff from the grocery store there. It was good to have had such a big breakfast before examining the store, as it allowed us to consider the selection academically, not with growling stomachs.
Returning home, it was time to work on installing and connecting the propane adapter. You can skip the rest of this if you are uninterested in the trivia of different types of propane plumbing connectors and why our first attempt to connect things could have led to a very dangerous or even deadly situation.
( It's a Gas, Really it is! )
Now we have a large bottle that holds roughly 3x as much gas as a single "normal" bottle. We still have a second 7.5-gallon bottle connected to the trailer. The propane regulator on the trailer is designed to hold two bottles, with a fail-over valve that will redirect propane to the other bottle if the pressure falls below a critical point. The idea of course is that you then change bottles, but you do have to remember to go look at the regulator periodically as it displays a red bar when it has failed over. Having the larger bottle (with the adapter) on the trailer will be useful when it is "moored" at home, while still allowing us to have both smaller bottles when traveling without having to change fittings or hoses. We'll still have to refill propane bottles, as the 100# bottle is portable (just barely) on the hand truck, but we shouldn't have to go buy propane so often.
Not-so-Expert Advice
Jan. 3rd, 2020 01:30 pmAfter trying the advice we got from the propane service person (not the one at the place where we normally buy our propane) about connecting our RV fittings to the larger bottle (it did not work; there was still a tiny leak so we disconnected the bottle and set it aside) and then comparing it to some research I did online about the POL and ACME gas fittings, we concluded that the advice was wrong. Just telling us "use a large crescent wrench to tighten it down so tightly that you can't get it back off again" is roughly equivalent to saying, "just hit things with a hammer until they start working again."
Anyway, we appear to have identified the adapter part necessary to connect a POL (large bottle) female outlet to a POL (RV/small bottle) male connector. This is good because we'd be out a couple hundred dollars otherwise and be stuck with a bottle of propane we couldn't use.
I was amused to discover that one of the two standards for connecting propane bottles is called ACME. Surprisingly, it's the newer of the two, not one that was deprecated due to unfortunate incidents with a coyote.
Anyway, we appear to have identified the adapter part necessary to connect a POL (large bottle) female outlet to a POL (RV/small bottle) male connector. This is good because we'd be out a couple hundred dollars otherwise and be stuck with a bottle of propane we couldn't use.
I was amused to discover that one of the two standards for connecting propane bottles is called ACME. Surprisingly, it's the newer of the two, not one that was deprecated due to unfortunate incidents with a coyote.
It's a Gas
Dec. 22nd, 2013 07:40 pmWe took things fairly easy today. Because the weather was so nice (a high of 12° C seems positively tropical), we did deal with one outside chore: installing the new propane gas hose on the travel trailer. This was more difficult than I thought it would be. First, the replacement hose is five inches longer than the one it is replacing (we couldn't get anything shorter), which means finding a way to loop the hose around to use up the extra length without kinking it or preventing putting the propane bottle cover back on the trailer. Second, and more seriously, you have to get the fitting very tight so there are no propane leaks.
I held a wrench on the regulator while Lisa tightened the fitting. How to test for a leak in the fitting:hold a match near the fitting dribble dish soap onto the fitting and look for bubbles. Every time it seemed like the fitting could be no tighter, there were still a few bubbles in the soap. Finally, after several additional tightening attempts, there were no bubbles and Lisa pronounced herself satisfied with the replacement.
The trailer has two seven-gallon propane bottles. Because of the cold weather, Lisa is using the gas furnace in the trailer a lot, and it's also what runs the stove for cooking. Furthermore, as the electrical part of the refrigerator has stopped working (again) but the propane version is working, that's even more gas being burned. As I mentioned yesterday, normally you want to have both bottles running with a "failover" valve in the regulator that swaps bottles automatically when one is empty. In weather like this you check the valve daily. If it shows red, that means one bottle is empty and you replace it with a full bottle, then move the valve over to the other bottle so that it swaps the other way. In our case, we then roll the empty bottle down to Hanneman's Service and buy seven more gallons of propane. This time of year, we're regulars at their place, and they've been very nice to us, including fixing the tires on our hand cart when they went flat.
I held a wrench on the regulator while Lisa tightened the fitting. How to test for a leak in the fitting:
The trailer has two seven-gallon propane bottles. Because of the cold weather, Lisa is using the gas furnace in the trailer a lot, and it's also what runs the stove for cooking. Furthermore, as the electrical part of the refrigerator has stopped working (again) but the propane version is working, that's even more gas being burned. As I mentioned yesterday, normally you want to have both bottles running with a "failover" valve in the regulator that swaps bottles automatically when one is empty. In weather like this you check the valve daily. If it shows red, that means one bottle is empty and you replace it with a full bottle, then move the valve over to the other bottle so that it swaps the other way. In our case, we then roll the empty bottle down to Hanneman's Service and buy seven more gallons of propane. This time of year, we're regulars at their place, and they've been very nice to us, including fixing the tires on our hand cart when they went flat.
