Michael Janke

On my last outing my propane quit working.

My campervans propane tank is permanently mounted under the van. To make it possible to shut off the propane without crawling under the van, it has a remote shutoff valve operated by a 12-volt solenoid. The valve is held closed by a spring mechanism, so if power is removed or the solenoid fails the propane valve will automatically close & shut off the propane.

The van came with a single toggle switch under the van next to the propane fill valve. The solenoid is powered whenever the propane is switched on, which causes a couple of issues:

1. The solenoid draws about 10 watts (0.8 amps) anytime it’s powered on. That doubles the parasitic draw from the batteries.
2. The longer the solenoid is left on, the more likely it is to fail.

I mitigated these issues somewhat be adding another toggle switch in series, inside the camper next to the stovetop. The second toggle allows us to shut the propane on & off without going outside & reaching under the van.

Troubleshooting

With the help of a couple posters on a forum, I figured it could be bad wiring, a stuck propane valve or a failed solenoid.

To troubleshoot:

• Check for 12v at the solenoid. I had plenty of volts at the solenoid.
• Disconnect and reconnect the solenoid wiring while watching for current draw & listening for the ‘thunk’ that it normally makes. I heard no ‘thunk’ & saw no 0.8 amp current draw.
• While powered, the solenoid should be warm to the touch. (It’s drawing 10 watts, all of which gets dissipated as heat). Mine was not warm.
• Tapp on the valve and solenoid in case either are just stuck. Mine were not.
• Remove the solenoid & check for resistance across the coil. Mine had infinite resistance (open circuit).

Conclusion: Dead solenoid.

Temporary Fix

Because the propane valve operates magnetically – the solenoid creates a magnetic field which pulls open a plunger with opens the valve – it’s possible that in place of the solenoid, a magnet can be used to pull the plunger open.

A magnet like this:

Dropped over the plunger like this:

Another great suggestion from a smart guy on an old-fashioned forum.

The downside is that you need to crawl under the van and place the magnet when you want propane. That’ll get old after a while.

Replacement Solenoids

Good luck finding a solenoid. I tried dealers, Coachmen’s parts department, and a bunch of online RV parts places. All dead ends. Some sources will sell the valve & solenoid as a unit ($150-$200), which would mean either draining the propane tank and replacing a perfectly functional valve or swapping in the good solenoid and leaving the new valve unused. A new propane valve sans solenoid is not very useful unless your valve also fails but it’s what one of our local RV shops does – they charge the customer for both solenoid and valve, swap solenoids and toss the unused valve on the back shelf. Sounds like a scam – but in reality it’s cheaper for the customer to pay for an unused valve than to pay shop labor for draining the propane & swapping the valve.

The solenoid goes by a bunch of part numbers/descriptions, including “V20533.1P Rv Propane Tank 12v Solenoid”, “144251-01-702”, “Rotarex A1572 LPG Solenoid Replacement” and probably others.

I finally (with advice from a forum) found a couple of sources for a bare solenoid: Nash Fuel (out of stock) and American CNG (8-week delivery). Both sources supply natural gas conversions for cars and trucks. Apparently RV parts suppliers and RV manufacturers don’t talk much.

Swapping the solenoid is easy. Unplug the wire harness, unscrew the cap and remove the solenoid, pop on the new solenoid and you should have propane again. Mine was a bit rusted & hard to remove.

I also noticed that Coachmen wasn’t too fussy about wire management. This was built pre-COVID, so they can’t use that as an excuse. I’ll figure out something a bit neater.