How to tell if horizontal propane tanks are full

[Bill]

The red / green indicator tells you whether there is gas in the PRIMARY TANK. Which is the PRIMARY TANK? It is the one that you have turned the lever toward.

If the PRIMARY TANK runs out of gas, the indicator will turn red, and the switchover device will start drawing gas from the other tank. If you then turn the lever to the other tank, that second tank now becomes the PRIMARY TANK, and the red / green indicator will now tell you about that tank.

In this way, the indicator warns you when the original PRIMARY TANK has run out of gas. The regulator starts drawing gas from the second tank so you can keep cooking, heating, etc. Having been notified that the first tank is empty, you switch the lever over, and you can now remove the empty tank and take it to the fill station.

Hope this helps.

Bill

[commodor47]

Originally Posted by John Wahlsten

2720SL (04) Horizontal Tanks

In trying to test and understand how the (change over valve) works I have continued to use the one tank even though the arrow points to (E). The color code still showes (Green) and I don't know if it has switched over to the reserve tank or not. Question---if the tanks switched to the reserve tank does the guage still show Green or if it does show Red is that just for a second and I would have to have been lucky enough to see it change Red before it returns back to Green? I'm having a hard time beliving I could still have propane in the main tank with a the arrow pointing to (E).

The automatic switch over valve on our TM will display red when the tank it points to reaches empty. Turning the switch so it points to the opened full tank, the red drops out of sight and the green color appears - almost instantly. As long as you have both tank valves open, the automatic switching device will keep the propane flowing. If, however, you don't have the second tank valve open, propane will no longer be available. The only time this was a minor problem for us - when we set the furnace thermostat to 58 one cold night - and awoke to a mighty cold trailer. I had forgotten to open both propane tank valves. Also keep in mind that the gauges on the tanks (see Bill's thumbnail) are not very accurate. I have found the gauge needle points to "E" for what seems like a long time before the automatic switch over valve displays red.

Dick

Bill and I were answering at the same time - good explanation Bill

According to my local dealer, the gauges do not read correctly when the tanks are horizontal, they read low. It is a pain to remove them to get a reading. I also noticed that my system switched tanks when there was about a gallon left in the first tank. I never noticed any red flag indicating that the system had switched. Where is this flag and what does it look like?

[ShrimpBurrito]

The red flag is very difficult to see. It is in the round sight glass that sits atop the regulator, and has a black top on it. Green appears in the exposed plastic in between the black cover and the regulator when gas remains in the tank in which the regulator lever is pointed; red appears when that tank is empty.

The only way I can really see it is when one of the tanks is empty, and I switch the lever back and forth to see movement in the sight glass.

Dave