Propane Hoses

One more question regarding these propane heaters....hopefully, my final one.

The propane shop installed a Fisher R232-HBF regulator when I told them what my needs were. They told me that they prefer the Fisher brand over the others by a large margin due to the winter corrosion issues here in the Midwest. Okay fine, but I'm sure about it being correct for my needs.

Here are the specs:

Rated for up to 550,000 btu, so that part is more than enough to handle the 180,000 btu heater.
The setting range for the regulator is 9-13" H2O, but the LG suggests 13.82" H2O is ideal.
The outlet on the regulator is 1/2", the heater side is 3/4? 5/8?

This is where things get fuzzy for me again. Little Giant lists the heater hose at 5/8 with a 5/8 fitting on the heater for the #4 heater. Distributors list the hose at 3/4 inch and claims that the 5/8 is too small, yet they still have 5/8 inch fittings on some of the ones that they sell.

So, the questions are the following:

1. Is it supposed to be a 5/8 or 3/4 inch gas hose on a #4 High Psi?
2. Is the fitting at the heater a 5/8 or 3/4? I will go out and measure that one today.
3. Does that regulator setting make any real difference...anyone even adjust theirs?
4. If it is a 3/4 hose with 3/4 fittings...can I adapt the 1/2 inch regulator to it with a fitting 1/2-3/4?

I have the day off today due to a little stomach illness, so I am trying to get some final parts on order and this project wrapped up. Any help is valuable as I never used these heaters before.

If the regulator is a preset type I would leave it alone. As for the hoses I think being your a little worried about it anyway I'd let the gas company connect the hoses and fire the burner up and adjust everything the first time. Then you'll know it's hooked and working right and then you will know what its supposed to look like ,the burner flame when it's working right.

Probably a good idea...I have a guy a few houses over that is HVAC so I think I will check with him.

Rob you really should call little giant they are really helpful over the phone.

Mo wrote:Rob you really should call little giant they are really helpful over the phone.

Now where is the fun in that?

Did America quit after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor....hell no. I am going to hook up a 40 lb gas bomb using a mis-matched pile of parts and then I am going to throw a match at it.

What could possibly go wrong? Geez, you worry too much.

Unlike you most of us only have one life and I think even you might be on your last one

My bank would never let me die for another 15 years at least.

They even gave me an AED as a gift for opening an additional account. I would have been happy with a toaster.

I ordered the new regulator from LG, wasnt cheap... first one only lasted a year which was lame

I think it was 200$, other one failed from road grime so need to build a little shield protector for it

That is why I am hesitant on buying a different regulator. This Fisher one is pretty cheap and made of a ballistic plastic....propane guys here say that they will last 20 years without a problem.

The problem is the output size is 1/2 inch. I might scout a Fisher with a 3/4 outlet and see what I find.

By the way, what are you guys using for a gauge on your tanks?

The factory one on my tank is too cloudy to read and they don't make a replacement that fits the mount anymore. I was told that they were never very accurate anyway, but I have no personal experience on it.

ACpower1 wrote:I ordered the new regulator from LG, wasnt cheap... first one only lasted a year which was lame

I think it was 200$, other one failed from road grime so need to build a little shield protector for it

Now that is a rip off!...........perfect example of them taking advantage of us.  

The regulator is a $30-40 part, and they're charging $200.....might be time to start figuring things out yourself unless you want to keep paying for their vacation home in Nassau.

I bought my dual stage 250K btu rated regulator at my local RV dealer wasn't more than 50.00