I am sorry to report that Marshall Gass which makes the 260-00 regulator
supplied on Vanagon Campers to control the propane system has discontinued
production as of two months ago. They have replaced this unit with the 290
but according to Chris Tourney at Marshall Brass (1-800-877-2495) the new
model 290 will not fit in place of the 260 because the black plastic shield
housing won't fit over the 290.

Tourney said there is no black plastic sheld made for the 290. He also
stressed that if you install the 290 without any shield you will be violating
code, and worse than that, you will trash your regulator by allowing dirt to
foul it up. 

Tourney said that there is no solution to this problem. He also said that
some of the 260s which might be in stock in RV distributorships might not be
good any more. He said this is because the 260 has certain polymers which
escape and deteriorate when the unit is not connected to a running propane
system. 

My conversation with Tourney was initiated after I lit my refrigerator on the
streets of Manhattan yesterday and returned two hours later to find propane
spewing out of the regulator into the atmosphere on the sidewalk. I asked
Tourney what might cause this and he said it was definitely the 260 going bad
and that I should replace it.

I asked Tourney whether, since there appears to be no solution to the Vanagon
owner whose regulator has gone bad, whether I should kill myself immediately.

(just kidding).

It seems like someone should fabricate a new plastic box that goes around the
290 and then sell this box to the rest of us on the list that don't have the
time for this kind of thing.

Comments anyone?

derekdrew@aol.com