Propane Sensor/switch

[Ron Odenheimer]

Hi,

New owner with a question about propane for the stove. The stove at the moment doesn’t light, even with propane bottle open and fuel confirmed. The sniffer appears to be sniffing but the solenoid is not engaged.  I can’t help feeling there is another switch to engage the solenoid (if there is no leak). Doesn’t make sense to me, the solenoid should be engaged  normally.

Anybody have advice?

Thanks

Ron & Judy (Endeavor) Nordic 32

 

 

 

[Tom Easterbrook]

Hi Ron,

Congratulations on your new Tug, and welcome to the forum.

On my boat, I have a propane “breaker” on the DC panel as well as a “switch” at the stove on the propane control panel. With the breaker on, and the tank valve open (obviously propane in the tank), when I turn on the “switch”, there will be a continuous sound like a “clicking or chirping” sound until the solenoid is fully open and propane is ready to flow. When the clicking stops, you should be able to light.

My 2002 model can still sometimes be difficult to light (especially after it has not been used for a period of time) and then I resort to using a butane lighter.

If your issue is that you did not know about the 12 volt breaker and that gets you up and running, good. If not, it could be a faulty solenoid or propane sensor. By the way, if it turns out you need to actually service the system, I advise using a certified propane “gas fitter” to do the work. Many insurance companies do not like it when someone who is not “trained” and certified works on such a safety sensitive system and coverage could be affected if something were to go wrong.

Hope this helps,

Tom

[Ron Odenheimer]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the welcome. I’m looking forward to being  an active member in what seems like a good group of people.

The boat is on the hard right now for some initial repairs, but I can head up there today to check for those two switches. I appreciate the reply.

We have yet to put her in the water, but until she gets her rudder repaired, we will have to wait to actually try it out in the water.

Ron & Judy

Endeavor

Nordic 32

Portland, Or.

 

[Tom Easterbrook]

Well Ron, I guess that having a working rudder is important! 🙂

Hopefully all goes well with your repairs. You will probably take a bit of time to get things up to your standards (unless you were lucky enough to have a complete maintenance log come with the boat), and make any changes along the way to “make her your own”.

Enjoy all aspects of her, including this “process”.

Tom

[Ron Odenheimer]

Hi Tom,

The rudder post had been significantly corroded by stray electric currents so it really needed to be repaired. Tthe previous owners kept meticulous records and kept all the original manuals, a really good and thorough job.

I have yet to go through all the logs  but I’m going to start from scratch and replace/clean as much as I can in addition to  finding why the bonding and isolation diodes  didn’t mitigate the currents in the first place.

It’s kind of nice to have winter as an excuse to stay in port and do the maintenance.

Thanks for the info on the propane system, I did find a DC  panel breaker label “Accessory” that turned on the propane solenoid. So that mystery is now solved. I’d like to put a red LED or light near the stove to remind us that the breaker is on, but that may have to wait.

Thanks again

Ron

Endeavor

Nordic 32, Portland, Or.

 

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