The
LPG (Propane) System
Take a
look at the big cover over the propane bottles on your Airstream.
Open it up and you'll see two painted steel or Aluminum bottles
connected to hoses, and a device that regulates the flow of LPG
(Liquid Petroleum Gas), also known as propane. Each bottle has
its own shutoff valve. When the trailer is stored, they should be
closed. When the trailer is in use, they should both be open.
The reason
for this is because you have an "automatic changeover
regulator." The changeover regulator has a switch that points to
one bottle. Try switching it from one bottle to the other. Propane
gas will flow first from the bottle that the black switch is pointing
to. We'll call that the "primary" bottle.
Here's the
automatic part: if the primary bottle runs dry, the regulator starts
to draw gas from the secondary bottle, giving the trailer an
uninterrupted flow of gas. This means that you don't have to get up
in the middle of the night to switch bottles—and believe me, that's
the time propane bottles tend to run dry the most!
To be
extra helpful, a small red indicator will appear on the regulator
when the primary bottle is empty. It's a good idea to check the
indicator on the regulator every day while you are camping. If it is
red, move the black switch to point at the secondary tank, and you'll
see the indicator become green again. Make a note to get the empty
tank refilled at your next opportunity.
Take a
moment to get down on the ground and see where those gas lines go.
You'll find that they go underneath the belly pan, and
disappear up into the body of the Airstream trailer at various
points. The idea is that the propane gas is kept outside the living
space until the last possible moment, when the lines go straight up
to the refrigerator, stove, furnace, and water heater.
You may
also see small valves mounted on the gas lines beneath the trailer or
inside the appliance compartments. These are placed so you can shut
off gas to part of the system, for example, when an appliance has to
be removed for service.
In
an emergency, during storage, or when traveling, always shut off the
gas valves at the propane bottles. This can keep a small problem from
becoming a big one!
