At 10:36 AM 5/21/98 -0400, Erik O wrote:
>Lots of talk about propane tanks lately, I'll throw in my experiences to
>pass along some information and maybe get some help myself.
>
>When I first tried to fill the tanks in the 82' , the auto stop valve
>let it all leak back out. The jerk at the u-haul place told me to go
>away because he shouldn't have been filling that tank anyway because he
>couldn't find the inspection stamp.
>
>So I went to a real "propane and propane accessories" place. The guy
>that helped me seemed to be really knowlegable. He said these tanks were
>certified by the American Association of Mechanical Engineers (???) and
>didn't have to be certified.
That's correct. There is a cloverleaf with letters inside (AME, I think)
inscribed on the certification plate. This means that the tank does not have
to be periodically inspected like some other tanks.

>He then sold me a stop valve that screwed
>on to the old leaking valve, thus doubling them up. He felt guilty
>charging me $35 bucks for it, but he said they were kind of expensive,
>being solid brass.
Euro-American RV (formerly Delta 6) sells a rebuild kit for the original
auto-stop valve.

>Last fall I developed a leak from the regulator. So now the tank comes
>out, gets sandblasted, painted and put back together. Does anyone know
>if you can rebuild these regulators. If you can't, I'm sure there is a
>less expensive replacement than the stock part.
No you generally can't rebuild the regulators because you can't find parts.
Euro-American RV sells the original rectangular-shaped regulators. A cheaper
alternative is to buy a Marshall double-stage regulator, sold at any RV
supply store. Be sure to get the double stage regulator--it's safer than the
single-stage model. You'll have to bend the copper lines a bit, but the
Marshall will fit just fine. You can replace the regulator without removing
the tank.

>Don't all dometics need the same amount of pressure?
Almost all consumer propane accessories (including Westfalia and Winnebago
stuff) run off a pressure of 11 inches of water.

-Mark