Selecting Lp Fuel Types; Lp Tank System - Winnebago Ultimate Advantage Owner's Manual

SECTION 5
LP GAS SYSTEM
SELECTING LP
FUEL TYPES
We recommend using straight propane in your
LP tank. Propane gas is commonly available at
all LP gas outlets in the U.S. and Canada (Ac-
cording to the National LP Gas Association, LP
gas outlets in the United States do not offer any
other type of liquefied petroleum gas than pro-
pane to the general public.) Check local phone di-
rectory yellow pages for locations of local LP gas
refilling stations or bulk dealerships.
NOTE: If you travel outside the U.S. with your
motor home, you may find butane or pro-
pane/butane mixtures available in addi-
tion to propane. Because gas-burning
RV appliances are designed to run on
propane only, we recommend that you
request straight propane only. Butane
burns about 30 percent hotter than pro-
pane and can overheat some appliances,
particularly refrigerators, and cause
permanent damage. Other appliances
designed to operate on propane can be-
come sooted and lose efficiency by using
butane fuel.
LP GAS OUTPUT
Each gallon of liquid LP gas contains approx-
imately 92,000 BTU's of heat energy; or about
36.2 cubic feet of dry gas for cooking, heating,
water heating and refrigeration.
LP gas tank capacities are often listed in
pounds rather than gallons. A gallon of LP
weighs 4.24 pounds. LP tanks can only be filled
to 80% of their total capacity, so your 130-pound
tank would actually hold 104 pounds, or about
24.5 gallons.
To find out how long a gallon of LP gas will
last, you should determine the total BTU input
on all your LP gas appliances in use. Let's say
you have a furnace that has a 10,000 BTU input
per hour of operation. A gallon of LP gas would
last 9.2 hours of continuous operation (92,000
BTU's ¸ by 10,000 BTU's = 9.2). To estimate
how long a gallon of LP gas lasts, try to deter-
mine what your total daily BTU input is, then di-
vide into 92,000 to arrive at an approximate daily
LP gas consumption.
5-2

LP TANK SYSTEM

The storage reservoir for the LP gas system is
a horizontally mounted tank which is permanent-
ly attached to the vehicle frame. The tank is ac-
cessible only from the outside of the vehicle. The
tank supply valve is located near the top center of
the tank, next to the regulator. Before opening the
supply valve, check to be sure all controls for gas
appliances are in the "Off" or "Pilot Off" posi-
tion. If this step is not performed, LP gas could
accumulate inside the motor home creating a fire
or explosion hazard.
REFILLING LP TANK
There are many LP gas refueling stations lo-
cated throughout the country. These stations are
listed in the telephone directory Yellow Pages
under "Gas - Liquefied Petroleum - Bottled and
Bulk."
Since the LP tank is permanently mounted to
the frame, the motor home must be driven to an
LP supplier for filling. Do not attempt to remove
the LP tank from the vehicle. The tank is
equipped with a fill adapter with both internal
and external threads which allows easy filling
with any LP filling equipment. The tank is full
when liquid LP gas appears at the overflow
valve.