[Motor31]

Originally Posted by LindaH

On every fifth wheel we've had, we DO have a visual clue when one of our tanks is empty: the indicator changes from green to red. When we take the empty tank out to get it refilled, we flip the switch to point at the full tank and the indicator then goes from red to green. We are in the habit of opening the door to the propane tanks every day to check the color of the indicator. Once it turns red, we know we have a tank to fill.

Linda the quote, which you took out of context, was not about an indicator if the tank is empty. It is about the automatic switch over to the remaining tank. The switch will transfer internally and does not move the external lever to show that you are now drawing from the full tank. At the same time the red indicator also does not change until you manually flip the change over valve. It does not indicate the status of the second tank when it changes internally.

The internal switch over operation and tank level indicator are separate functions of the switch.

Bill you are incorrect. The lever does change which tank you can draw from if moved manually. As I stated earlier, it will not show that the switch has moved internally to the full tank if you run the other one dry. For this to happen you have to have the valves on both tanks open. The valve senses the empty tank and internally changes to the full tank. There is no flop of the main valve lever to show the change has occurred. The red indicator also does not change unless you manually flip the lever over.

It is very easy to run both tanks dry in the Winter if you leave both tank top valves open. That is why I only open one valve at a time. When that tank runs dry I manually flip the switch, open the second tank top valve and then go fill the empty tank. This way I keep the second tank in reserve at all times. I normally put the refilled tank in the rear and close the valve so I know I have a completely full tank there and run off of the tank I just opened. This rotates the tanks and propane for our rig. I've run out totally before and Murphy's law says it will happen on a holiday weekend in the middle of the night on the coldest night of the year. Doing it my way means I will only have to fill one tank at a time and will have a full one to draw on in the mean time. I also monitor a tank as it gets low, checking the actual level by the warm water method so I don't get caught by surprise by running out. I have no problem switching manually before the first tank runs completely dry.