Propane heater question

[Yukon Don]

Question for you guys in the know about propane heaters. I purchased one of those 10 LB mushroom style tanks with the new OPD valve and the new style connector. I have a new Mr. Heater style heater except that it's made by Pauline (looks the same). My question is that the heater had an old style connector which was threaded. I went and bought a new style connector and connected it to the heater. When I tried to connect it to the tank, the heater will not go tight to the tank and ends up falling to one side or the other. The black knob is screwed tight to the tank but the heater is not tight. What am I doing wrong? Is it a faulty connector? Are there different style connectors that I should know about. I bought the black knob style (no O ring) connector at Fleet Farm. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Yukon Don

[Jeremy airjer W]

It sounds like you are trying to use the external thread adapter for you heater. There are still threads on the inside of the valve and your heater should thread in with no adapters! The only difference between the old valve and the new valve is internal (there is a float inside of the tank that "in theory" will stop the flow of propane into the tank when the take is 80% full of liquid). All tanks, with the exception of the quick connect coupler style for the weber grills, have an internal thread.

[Yukon Don]

Hi Airjer

Thanks for your reply. The tank has internal threads and it has external threads (larger ones). The adapter I bought at Fleet Farm has no internal threads to thread into the tank. It only has the black knob that would thread on the outside threads of the tank. Did I buy the wrong adapter?

[The Chemist]

Won't your heater thread directly in without the adapter? From what I can remember is that some of those heaters are set for mounting to a tank and others are made to set seperately from the tank. The internal threads that are referenced are in the valve on the tank not the adapter. In other words does you heater have a male or female fitting? If it's a male it should screw directly to your tank. If it is a female you would need a female-female connector.

I went to the Paulin HSOforum and I am assuming that you have the cooker (has a mounting stand) and there is a union that you would need if you plan on mounting it to the tank. Check the site on the fittings tab and you should be able to see what you would need or if you go back and tell the at FF what you have and what you are planning on doing they should be able to get you the right part.

Good Luck

[Jeremy airjer W]

I just looked at the web site also. If you have just the heater it should thread directly into the tank, whether the tank is new or old. If you have the heater cooker You will need some adapters or why not just purchase a standard hose with the standard male fitting on one end and the male 1lb. fitting on the other end. (I have this hose for the buddy heater and I also use it with my 11lb. new style valve tank with no problems.) Any of the black plastic fittings that use the external thread of your new tank will not work!!!!

[jimh874]

reading your post, it seems like your trying to connect the heater cooker directly to the tank? with out a hose?

i would recomend a hose to connect a heater cooker to a tank. it would let you position the heater in the house, either on its side to direct heat or facing up to cook with. and let you keep the tank out side of the house.

a sunflower heater would be better to directly connect to a tank.

jim

[Jeremy airjer W]

The first fitting on this page is the one you need for the

cooker/heater, in order to mount it directly to a bulk tank

Paulin fitting

[bottomfeeder]

I was just checking out that site airjer. I never new you could run multiple appliances off one tank of gas with a splitter at the tank. Pretty cool! All my nite time ice fishing problems are solved.

[The Chemist]

I have found that running the smaller tanks using a hose to attach the heater and setting outside doesn't work that well or at least when I tried it didn't. But it could have been that it was about 20 below out.

As for the multiple adapters the "tree" one works great attach it to the top of a 20lb tank and place you lantern on top and you can run you heater off the side with a hose and put it in a different area.

[jimh874]

i have fished close to -20 and useing both my 20 and 5 pound tank with the hose i have not had a problem with my heater cooker.

jim

[Yukon Don]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My main problem (I should have stated it more clearly) is that the heater requires a wrench to put it on and off. Just another piece of equipment to have out on the ice. I make it a point to take the heater portion off the tank becasue of the beating it takes in the sled when being pulled across the ice. I've went through a couple of heaters because they got bounced around so bad. The heater will thread into the tank as is but I want something easier than needing a wrench. What I did discover is that Mr. Heater sells adapters with a black knob that looks like a gear and it fits over the nut on the fitting that comes with the heater. This enables you to hand tighten the fitting to the tank. Now my question is, can you just buy that black handle knob instead of buying the handle and fitting together? Waste of money if I only need the knob part. This may seem like a trivial post but it gets people thinking and solves others issues like was stated in some of the other posts.

Appreciate your responses, Yukon Don

[The Chemist]

What was the part # for the adapter you have? Adapter Stock No. F273758

Propane Bulk Cylinder Adapter with Handwheel

from Mr. Heater may work. The other thing that you could do is either contact Paulin or Mr. Heater with what you are looking for and they can direct you to the part you would need.

[Jeremy airjer W]

My guess is you'll never get it tight enough by hand. I bought a 3/4 inch craftsman (i think its 3/4) wrench just for my tanks I keep it in the bucket with all my other gear, never had a problem finding it. A small Adjustable wrench may not be a bad idea either. You never know what might need to be tightened or loosened. Last thought is why not attach a designated wrench permanetly to your tank with some small chain or small braided cable? you can't loose it if it doesn't come of!

[Dan Thiem]

Don,

My Mr. Heater is attached to a 20 lb. cylinder. The cylinder sits in a milk crate. Then I have a bungee strap that goes through a open/box end 3/4" wrench and hooks the tank and wrench to the milk crate. Also makes it very sturdy. That way the wrench is always available to use.

[Yukon Don]

Chemist,

I contacted Paulin and they said I need a wrench. The part number for the adapter is "Paulin tank union #4132 or #4191. Both of these have that black knob I'm talking about. A lot of great ideas though about storing your heaters. I may have to spend the $9.95 for a black piece of plastic that may not work afterall. Airjer brings up a good point as to whether I'll be able to tighten it enough. I had a loose connection once on a tank and ended up with an inferno flame due to the gas escaping from the tank connection. Not a fun time.

Yukon Don