[animal]

Anyone know what the specs are for the tank side propane regulator on a WGEN9500DFC ? Wife closed the overhead door & broke the regulator off at the tank fitting . Nothing is threaded on the hose , it's either crimped or moulded in .
I need to see wht I can find to get this back online .
thanks
animal

 

[GenKnot]

You will need a dual stage regulator to get you down to 7” to 14” of water column.

Amazon.com : propane dual stage pressure regulator

 

[animal]

Thank you . I see Lowes has a dual-stage , but they don't way what the WC spec is .

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Char-Broil-Dual-Stage-Propane-Tank-Regulator/999919552

thanks
animal

 

[GenKnot]

they don't way what the WC spec is .

According to the Char-Broil site, it is 11" W.C. (in the Q&A section), and the same answer is in the Q&A section of the Lowes site:

Dual Stage Propane Tank Regulator | Char-Broil®

For appliances up to 200,000 BTUs. Char-Broil universal grill parts.

www.charbroil.com

However, this regulator sure has a lot of reviews on the Lowes site saying that it freezes up. Maybe that is not an issue where you live.

 

[animal]

Thanks ,yea icing is definatly a problem here . My propane company had one of their gals met my son at the top of our road late yesterday with a new regulator & hose . The guy I talked to missunderstood me when I asked for a 2 stage 7-14 WC small tank regulator , he sent me a 2 stage house regulator , so we'll work on fixing that on monday . I was trying to avoid putting any gas in the gas tank cause now I have to worry about the tank rusting from our Calif gas .
If they don't have the part I need I'll try WW Grainger or one of the other propane co's out here .
thanks
animal

 

[PBP]

Thanks ,yea icing is definatly a problem here . My propane company had one of their gals met my son at the top of our road late yesterday with a new regulator & hose . The guy I talked to missunderstood me when I asked for a 2 stage 7-14 WC small tank regulator , he sent me a 2 stage house regulator , so we'll work on fixing that on monday . I was trying to avoid putting any gas in the gas tank cause now I have to worry about the tank rusting from our Calif gas .
If they don't have the part I need I'll try WW Grainger or one of the other propane co's out here .
thanks
animal

Greetings all. Been lurking here for awhile. Just a little background. Been running small engines on propane for about 6 years now. It’s been a steep learning curve because there’s just not that much information out there. But it works great. Never go back to gasoline. First of all propane regulators do not ever “freeze “. They have an operating temperature of -40 to M+250 degrees. If your regulator is frosting up you’re getting liquid which should not happen. Most likely you’re tripping the excess flow prevention valve if you’re having issues. Seems to be the best kept secret on the internet. For your application 150 to 200k flow should be fine. Guessing about 18 hp. Single stage or 2 stage regulator doesn’t matter. Any grill regulator is going to be that since your generator has a KN type regulator.

 

[animal]

SO is there some BTU-WC conversion formula ? Seems that all the add's I'm seeing are in BTU rating .
thanks
animal

 

[GenKnot]

SO is there some BTU-WC conversion formula ?

No. BTU is a unit of energy. WC is a unit of pressure. So, two totally different things.

 

[animal]

SO is there some BTU-WC conversion formula ? Seems that all the add's I'm seeing are in BTU rating .
thanks
animal

 

[GenKnot]

propane regulators do not ever “freeze “.

There are at least three ways a regulator can freeze up.

1. As mentioned by PBP, overfilling the tank.
2. Moisture in the tank. Mounting the regulator higher than the tank can somewhat minimize this as moisture will drain back towards the tank.
3. Vent holes in the regulator allowing moisture into it. The vent(s) on a regulator should always be facing down or under a protective cover. Large vents also need a screen to keep out the critters.

Frost on the outside of a regulator is common and does not affect the operation.

Here is a good article discussing some of this.

 

[GenKnot]

All regulators will have some pressure excursions as the input pressure and flow rate changes. A 2-stage regulator will have less variation than a single-stage regulator. A BBQ grill would care less about that than a generator.

A regulator with a changeover valve is really handy if you have multiple tanks.

 

[sledman8002002]

2. Moisture in the tank. Mounting the regulator higher than the tank can somewhat minimize this as moisture will drain back towards the tank.

The regulator on my house tanks has frozen up 3 or 4 times the last 2 winters. Mind you each time temps were -33F 'ish. Since 2017 those temps never affected it's use until 2022. Two new tanks were installed in Nov of '22.
I'll take a pic later today to see if anyone has feedback on it's mount.
Do regulators get worn out (so to speak) with age?

 

[GenKnot]

Do regulators get worn out (so to speak) with age?

Yes, regulators are recommended to be replaced every 10 years. But, I don't think people do that unless they fail. An outdoor regulator that fails and vents outside is much less of an issue than one that is inside the house. The inside regulators are supposed to have a vent limiter on them to slowly release gas if the diaphragm fails. Hopefully people smell the gas leak before their house goes boom.

One other thing that can cause a "frozen" regulator is that some of them tend to stick the valve on the seat in cold weather. The regulator is not broken, but it can be just another issue to deal with if you are trying to get the genny up and running in an outage because you have to warm the regulator a little to get it unstuck.

 

[animal]

Thanks . Sorry bout the double post . don't know what I did there . Keeping the vent clear is super important . Maybe 20 yers back we had a building explode at a pizza parlor & kill a little girl , they said te culprit was teh propane regulatir was burried/full of snow .
animal

 

[PBP]

The regulator on my house tanks has frozen up 3 or 4 times the last 2 winters. Mind you each time temps were -33F 'ish. Since 2017 those temps never affected it's use until 2022. Two new tanks were installed in Nov of '22.
I'll take a pic later today to see if anyone has feedback on it's mount.
Do regulators get worn out (so to speak) with age?

Well a couple things. Don’t want to be contrary here since I’m new and this thread has gotten off topic. I find it interesting that your regulator “froze “ up at -33 degrees. If there’s moisture in your propane tank why does it not freeze up at anything colder than +32F??? The freezing temperature of water? Propane has a freezing temperature of - 304F. Not possible in the real world under normal conditions . Propane has a boiling temperature of -44F so at -33 it cannot absorb enough heat energy to continue boiling/vaporizing. Guessing you have a propane furnace. Even a at -33F the propane in your tank simply can’t supply that. Got nothing to do with the regulator. When propane gets to -44 it stops boiling =0 pressure hence furnace stops working. Not the regulator.

 

[sledman8002002]

this thread has gotten off topic

Yes, I agree and will start a new post. My bad animal.

Propane Regulator Or?

In a recent gen/regulator post the subject of freezing regulator came up in which I have an extreme cold issue with my propane/furnace. There are at least three ways a regulator can freeze up. 1. As mentioned by PBP, overfilling the tank. 2. Moisture in the tank. Mounting the regulator higher...

www.powerequipmentforum.com

 

[GenKnot]

this thread has gotten off topic

Not really. The freezing issue was brought up in response to the OP's post #3.

 

[animal]

No proplem at all . WHen topics like this go off topic to some they are still bringing new information to those of that do not know this info . I for one had no idea about the freezing temps of propane . This is all new to me & I'm sure to others that may read this post .
thanks for all the info

animal