Propane attachment on my 85

[maxwellf]

I just bought an 85 vanagon and the owner told me that he had a hard time filling the propane at certain stations. I got it checked out and the RV dealer told me that the VW's (that year and older) have the old attachment on the propane tanks and cannot be filled with the new fill up attachments. Has anyone heard about this? Or does anyone have any suggestions, the propane guy told me it would be about $200. to put on a new attachment.

[msinabottle]

Do a search on 'propane,' 'fittings' and the like, and in the name of a loving God, DO NOT go to the place trying to hit you up for $200. You may well need some new fittings, but not at those rates. RV repair shops and SMALL propane dealerships have treated me very well.

Plan, research, then act, and don't panic.

Best!

[camo westy]

I had the same problem.

PPL motorhomes (online) has 1/2 of what you need. Fast service from these folks.
Get a fill valve from them, if you want to be extra safe, buy a new regulator from them also.

You will also need a valve of some sort to release the gas as you are filling the tank. There is a small 1/4"npt fitting at the 80% line above the fill valve. On my westy, the OEM setup had the 80% or bleed valve built into the fill valve. The fill valve available now does not have this option, so you need some positive easy to operate valve on that 80% or bleed valve location. And.. the gasses should not release straight out toward the fill operator, so you need a 90 degree fitting too.

I bught a 1/4 turn 1/4 inch npt gas valve, atached a female/fenale 1/4 inch npt 'L' to the tank, then the 1/4 turn valve, i then used the OEM flare fitting from thr bleed valve and the small copper line to turn the released gas down and back.

Use a good quality teflon based pipe dope when reassembling.

Tank drops down real easy fron van too, you will probably have to bend the two copper lines to the van if you get a new regulator...
I did get a regulator when I 'did' mine, fancy new safety variety... cheap insurance I think.

Lots of posts here on paint options for the tank, and opinions on teflon tape/ pipe dope.... Use pipe dope, if teflon tape isnt good enough for airplanes, its not good enough for my van.

Yes, teflon tape is a restricted use item on most airplane maintainence and assembly, due to bits of tape getting into whatever system is being plumbed and then causing problems, pipe dope ( when applied sparingly) doesnt do this.

[oldskewlsk8ter]

try to stay away from the teflon tape if you can...if you just have to use it start it on the second or third thread from the starter thread...teflon tape will stop up an orifice in a minute...rectorseal "5" if you can find it is the best IMO...
_________________
1986 Hightop w/EJ25 DOHC & 4EAT auto
1965 Kombi project

[maxwellf]

Thank you people for the info, wow what a resource this site is. We took our first camping trip this weekend to the Oregon dunes, me and the girl friend loved the vw and the propane even worked. I did not do anything but stop at the right fill station with a guy who purged my tank and then refilled it and the stove worked all night. So now I have the propane working, but are the old valves a safety issue? Thanks again for the info.

[msinabottle]

Go and sniff around your valves. If you smell propane, not good.

Get some dish soap and make up some very soapy water and soap solution. Spray it with old spray bottle around every connection of every valve and fitting.

You see bubbles, that's a leak, you see propane repairman or do a very careful job of fixing things yourself--NO TAPES!

You use MATCH to check for gas leaks, you get out of the gene pool. One way or the other.

I didn't catch the leak from Winston's fittings, caused by the thread tape I was using, until my tank was entirely empty. I felt very stupid. My fill valve was shot, there's a long post about the repair, search my posts for 'propane.'

Good luck, and...

Best!

[1621]

Get some of the liquid thread sealer to make the connections. Simple and designed for gas fittings. You'll find it at any hardware store. Have fun and congratulations on your new Westy.

Lundy

[oldskewlsk8ter]

[msinabottle]

No, I'm not THAT dumb. If you want some details on those fittings, see my post 'Winston Hisses His Owner.' That's here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143284&highlight=hisses

No, I used the tape on the fill and shut off valves when I removed Winston's tank, sanded it, and painted it with three coats of Hammerite.

The tank still seems okay, but the guard is rusting again. If I get ambitious, I ought to pull that this winter and take it over to Dod Mattox, for bead-blasting and powder coating. I did that to Winston's old door handles, and, yow!

I do, for a fact, need to pull that fridge again, service Winston's burner, and see if the refrigerator's fan works at all. I rather think it doesn't.

Best!