Does This Little Piggy Go "Boom!"?

It was one of those unfortunate incidents: Somehow the male of the species had let both of the LP cylinders run out--on a cold night--after the LP supplier was closed. The one gallon barbeque tank was about empty--no hope there. Finally, by stretching his imagination (and finding a suitable "height adjuster") the miscreant male managed a house-warming thought: Steal one of the horizontal tanks off the camper and buy time.
After building up to proper height and stretching the LP "pigtail" hose that runs from the regulator down to the tank, it seemed a good idea to "sniff" for an LP leak, since that old pigtail really had to stretch to reach. "BEEEEEEP!" chided the LP leak detector. Sho 'nuf, those old, age-hardened pig tails were both a bit on the leaky side.

What's to do? Pig tails are by nature, time sensitive. Think of it in terms of tires: They may still "look good" but not hold the pressure. Has it been a while since you replaced your LP pig tails? It's an inexpensive and not-too-difficult a fix. A trip down to your RV supplier will fix you up for parts in short order. But what do you want on the "tank" end of the pig tail? With those new "OPD" gas valves, many think that the new "Acme" fittings that spin on the outside thread of the tank valve are just what the doctor ordered. Use your gas sniffer (we think that's best) or soap n dish soap solution to check out the leak-free-ness of your tails. If in doubt, toss the old ones out.

Well, a lot of LP suppliers are having second thoughts. Those new Acme fittings may not be all they're cracked up to be. As we reported last January, some dealers say the Acmes just don't seem to last too long. Our new pig tails came equipped with the "old school" POL fitting (screws into the valve, counter-clockwise) and a quick "handwheel" that allows us to stick it on the tank and tighten it up without a wrench.

The actual changeout is easy: An appropriate size end-wrench will quickly remove the pigtail from the regulator--it threads in the conventional way. Thread on the new fitting and torque it down snug (use a backup wrench on the regulator side to ensure fitness). A pair of 16" pigtails with fittings set us back less than $20. At the price of LP these days, even a little leak can run up a bill in a hurry, not to mention endangering safety if the gas goes where it shouldn't.

Pictured is a new "capped" POL fitting with the dealer supplied hand-wheel.

Alternative Light Bulbs

Nearly all of us hassle with the issues of RV interior lighting. The typical "incandescent" bulb is a power hog, and not always the most pleasant thing to try and read with. Fluorescent fixtures are much less "expensive" to feed in terms of how much power they use--a real plus for the boondocking set, however they are expensive to purchase.

Some have tried going to halogen bulbs for their reading lights. Halogens put out a pretty fair amount of light--more than than the same "size" and power consumption xenon bulb. However, a xenon bulb will last a whale of a lot longer than the equivalent halogen bulb.

If you do decide to go the halogen bulb route, take care when handling these bulbs. Back in another life, the male specie of this blog team was a movie house projectionist. Our big machines used halogen projector lamps, and replacing them required donning cotton gloves. It seems finger grease causes hot spots to develop on the glass portion of the bulbs, and premature failure is an almost certain result. When handling a halogen bulb, wear cotton gloves or use a CLEAN rag.

What about LED bulbs? They hold a lot of promise: Far less power consumption for the equivalent amount of light. But the problem many RVers report is this: They seem to be extremely sensitive to over-voltage situations and will burn out easily. Since battery charging is inherent in the life of an RVer, higher voltages can be present, and often create all kinds of grief.

Many RVers say they've had good (inexpensive) experiences purchasing xenon and halogen bulbs on eBay. Be careful and check out any potential seller's record before purchasing, and be sure to read the fine print--particularly information on how much you'll spend on "shipping and handling" charges.

Photo: greg westfall on flickr.com