in good shape, isolde - part 1

One of the most pesky thing in Isolde is the propane system's ellusive intermittent leak in the twin tank setup. I recently decided to address it once and for all.


I decide to try this braised taro with beef Japanese dish that I watched on NHK Dinning With the Chef. The taros used in this dish are the tiniest. I am familiar with them as they are common place in most Asian countries but I have never cook with them before. Sake (and mirin too if you have on hand) is used in this dish.

this is another steamed dish; I used a stainless steel metal dish to promote even heating; this is now a professional chef would do; for presentation the finished dish is normal transfer to a ceramic dish for serving; if you are not familair with Chinese steamed dish think dim sum for main meals

Down to business. I got around to finish off the propane re-plumbing project on Isolde. the reason for the re-plumbing is to resolve a perpetual and elusive propane leak of the twin tank setup. I made an innocent mistake when installing the second tank during the infancy of Internet search engine, and before the popularity forums. The mistake that I made was to join the two tanks together after their respective pressure regulators. For years the system would suffer from intermittent but very slow leaks. Eventually I would trace the leak to one of the two regulators.

The leak only happen in certain time and would come and go from the vent port of the second stage of the regulator. With this symptom it would be reasonable to conclude the regulator must be defective and developed a hole on the diaphragm. However I suspected otherwise. I suspected that the regulator was designed to do this for safety reason. When the pressure of the outlet is higher than the inlet (of the second stage) this pressure is released by a mechanism through the vent port. I read all there are to read on the principles of design of propane two stage regulator and not one article mention or diagram depict this.

I finally decided to call up technical support of one US based propane products company. He confirmed in some regulators there is a release mechanism when the pressure differential is reversed. While on the phone I immediately thought of grabbing the regulator and blow it from the outlet port with my mouth. Initially there is no sign of leak. I then blow hard and I could feel a sudden release. This solved a very long mastery. The work that I have done to eliminate consolidate the two regulators into one will solve this leak.

this is the second 3-gallon tank that I added; the dual tank setup doubles the capacity, but most importantly, I would never again caught by surprise in running out of propane in the middle of a camp

the 12-foot high pressure hose finally arrived from Amazon - a significant delay due to some scumbag swapped out the content of the first hose package and returned to Amazon

with the addition of this high pressure hose the two tanks are joint after the service valve; i prefer this manual setup as oppose to automatic change over - there is no space to elegantly mount a common RV regulator with change over

this is a typical RV 2-stage regulator with manual change over which i purchased; after considering all manners and locations of mounting it i concluded that there is not feasible without creating a mess or reduction in ground clearance

The only flexible hose used in the entire system is the high pressure hose that connects the two tanks together post service valve. To gaurd againt being surprised when both tanks are depleted during a camp I only turn on one valve. When the first tank becomes empty, I shut its valve off and open the valve of the reserve tank. I would then refill the empty tank (and top up the reserve tank) in the next opportunity.

there is a very minute leak on this flare fitting while I took this photo - the copper flare has been work-hardened so I have to tighten it really hard

this is the original tank with the old style auto fill valve

Here is one blog post about servicing this fill valve. When I first took delivery of Isolde 25 years ago, soon after the valve failed and the symptom is one cannot refill the empty tank with propane. I took it to a local propane specialist. He was very experience with it and I watch him took the valve apart and free the sliding piston and lubricate the cylinder bores and o-rings with lithium grease. I came home happily with a full tank of propane.

A word of caution. Propane storage tank can have in excess of 250 PSI pressure. Unless you are dead very sure of your skills and knowledge, and take extreme care, servicing the high pressure fittings on the tank is not recommended.

The happiness only lasted until the next propane refill. The valve seized again! Instead of going back I took the matter into my own hands. After ensuring the tank is indeed empty by opening the outage valve fully I removed the valve from the tank. I took it apart and it was clear to me the reason it fail is due to the lithium grease. It is not a suitable lubricant due to it's paste like consistency. Instead of heavy grease I removed all trace of the grease and apply 30w motor oil. The valve has been trouble free thereafter.

jazzing up a frozen pizza

amazing they think consumers are stupid enough to believe the pizza crust is hand made as in the photo

home made smoked salmon

i came across these big blood cockles (right) and snapped up some

the smaller blood cockles taste better than large ones, but it is ill advised to eat them in many Asian countries for the risk of contracting deadly bacteria due to rampant pollution in their habitat; blood cockles taste best if they are briefly blenched

more baby taros - they are not the young growth of the bigger taros; they are naturally small and taste different from the very large ones

with the propane system finally well sorted the major gas appliance is happy - carver p4 furnace

it has a tastefully designed control panel

return air temperature (left); temperature at the table surface (right)

the Carver consumes only 0.79A at low setting and 1.79A max at high setting; the current consumption is kept to the minimum as the burner motor and blower motor are both PWM controlled by microcontrollers; they spin only as fast as the temperatures requires

the Carver is the quietest camper furnace that I am aware of as well as having the lowest electricity consumption; additionally it has a true two burner BTU settings - full and half power

propane furnace is the cleanest burning compared to gasoline and diesel alternatives and one biggest benefit is it needs the least of maintenance not to mention safety and reliability

i went to Ikea to pick up a comforter for Isolde

this new dinning table caught my eye - it has the appearance of made with solid wood even under careful scrutiny; what I don't like is the gap in the middle of the table surface for fashion sake but such is typical of Ikea's product design - always some fatal quirk due to half-baked design

Ikea only stocks the extra-warm one in advance of winter season, as I found out by trial and error; I was very disciplined of not buying anything else

Update 2015.11.27:
here is the final photos of the passenger side tank that has the regulator; all the fittings are tucked well above the bottom of the tank and the skid plate; this photo is taken at the level of the door sill

this photo is taken at the skid plate level; the vent port could point a little lower closer to 8:30 o'clock