Dometic stove doesn’t light at higher elevations

Tabnero

I was able to use my dometic stove at 7500 feet by opening the valve very very slowly. a friend in big rig had same problem of not lighting his Furrion stove. We turned off gas and waited awhile and then opened gas valve very slowly and he was able to light it at that point. this photo is at 7000 feet

burkeks

Apologies in advance for a long post. I'm amazed this is still an issue. Did previouis T@B model years have this problem? 

My inquiry to NuCamp:

I left a message for Creed yesterday (10/5) but missed his return voice mail which suggested relieving pressure by disconnecting the propane supply and opening the stove burners. This was tried previously multiple times along with opening the reconnected propane valve very slowly without success. No propane was reaching the stove while the Alde worked fine. Creed had no other remedy.

This issue is well-documented on the T@B forum. I could contact Dometic as others have but forum posts indicate they say the stove is not designed to operate above 4,500 ft. (ours didn't work at 4,000). Forum posts say Dometic claims this is in their operating instructions, but it is not in ours. It appears NuCamp has equipped 2021 320's with a stove incompatible with mountain camping. Our Boondock 320s has the mountain graphic on the sides. The stove works fine at home at 850 ft. A web search indicates other rv brands have had this problem with Dometic cooktops.

A new cooktop is about $200 which I would pay but Dometic has the only model that will fit and is likely to have the same issue. What is needed is a fix for the stove regulator. On our very first camping trip to Colorado, I contacted all the in-state dealers and each seemed aware of the issue but couldn't look at our camper for weeks. Our closest dealer, Missouri Teardrops, (80 miles) says he has had this issue with several customers but is unaware of a remedy. 

NuCamp needs to work with Dometic to find a solution to this issue. You buy large quantities of their products and have much more influence than an individual. Of the NuCamp dealers I contacted, Bob Scott RV in Grand Junction, CO, at 4,600 ft., seemed most familiar with the problem. Perhaps they could suggest a solution (retrofit stove regulator?) and NuCamp could pass this along to their dealers.  

Creed's message said "I wish I had a better answer". I have to think one can be found. Thanks! 

Nucamp response:

​We can certainly understand your frustration with the stove and it's limitations. While we have tried to find a solution, including talking with Dometic and looking for an alternative stove, we have been unsuccessful. We would love nothing more than to be able to tell you of a solution, but this is not the reality of the situation. 

​

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. 

So, do I just take a Coleman stove when going to Colorado?

DougWW

I'm a bit surprised by the discussion. We've had a 2018 T@B 320S and now a 2021 T@B 320S. We live at 3500ft and camp up to 6000ft with zero stove problems. Maybe Canada has better propane? (kidding)

pthomas745

There are several parts of the Tab's propane system that never get mentioned.  The propane regulator.  And the propane "pressure" adjustment. 

The propane regulator is adjustable.  There is a cap (on mine at least) that offers an adjustment screw.  A propane tech has the proper tool to measure your "water column inches" for the correct pressure to to all of our appliances.

I think this needs to be added to the discussion.  The problem is:  nobody at NuCamp or at Dometic will EVER discuss propane anything with you.  It is pretty much impossible to do the simplest work on your propane gear without professional help, so I kind of understand their reluctance.  It took me the longest time just to move my propane regulator...six inches.  My RV service people had a propane supply company across the street, and they had the proper hoses attached in less than an hour. 

I'd tell NuCamp:  I want my pressure regulator tested by a professional propane company. There has to be a better answer here.  You want someone to tell you what the proper propane pressure is needed at the Dometic stove. 

The issue with propane regulator adjustments came up back in the day of the "Alde Freight Train", etc. 

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/173973

Verna

@burkeks, nüCamp technical support does not read this forum.  Any responses to Creed really need to be sent to him as he will never know without you contacting him. 

bergger

I also still find this problem strange.  Mine lights fine and my house sits at 10,200 feet.  I've never had an issue lighting it nor my portable camp stove or any backpacking stoves.  

DenverJaguar

For what it's worth, I live in Denver at about 5500 feet and my stove works fine. I camped at about 6000 feet last weekend and it worked fine there, too. I'll be upset if it doesn't work above these elevations because most of my camping is/will be above 7,000 feet. 

Verna

In August I camped in Southern Colorado near Alamosa on BLM land with an elevation of over 8,000 ft elevation. My stove lit just fine both days. 

pthomas745

And, here is a quote from an owner who had the same problem with a brand new trailer on the first day of ownership.  Pulled into the dealership in Santa Fe.  This is what the owner wrote:

"The stove had propane gas residue buildup so no propane was getting to the stove. So all the troubleshooting above was all correct. (1) try disconnecting/reconnecting hose, (2) turn line open slowly, (3) try for 10-20 secs to light. (3) Disconnect from shore power and verify heater and/or hot water is still working (Alde), and if it is seek professional help.

And the work was covered by warranty and it all took about 20min once we arrived.

The tech removed the stove and used an air compressor to blow out the connection. It was definitely the issue. Aldi was working, and the exterior propane connection was showing gas there."

I don't really know what was meant by "blowing out the connection".  Or what "gas residue buildup" is or if it is really a thing.

burkeks

Thanks for the constructive suggestions. The three people I contacted at NuCamp all said there was no solution. I’ll see if I can find a local RV service center familiar with regulator adjustment. If not, I’ll try to make an appointment well in advance with a T@B dealer next time I head to Colorado. The three dealers I called on my trip there last week were all familiar with the issue. Cheers. 

rh5555

I might be out in left field here, but I have a theory about what's happening.  But before I embarrass myself, could I get some responses to these questions:

Does your stove work at altitude?

-and-

Is your refrigerator located directly below your stove?

for the record, I'm a yes/yes.

BridgerSunset

2021 400 Boondock.
Have used the stove about 15-20 times; majority above 5000', and a few times at 9500'.
Yes and yes

burkeks

rh5555. We are the second owners of the 2021 320s Boondock that has been used three times. The refrigerator is located directly below the stove. Our cooktop did not work or receive any propane at 7,100 ft. or 4,500 ft. It works fine in our driveway at 850 ft. The Alde works fine on propane at each location. It seems this issue only exists with a few Dometic stoves. I'm very disappointed in the responses from NuCamp.

Chopin

This video addresses this issue and provides a solution. I can't vouch for it as I have not tried, but just providing it as information: https://youtu.be/DnkFbiAwh4E

manyman297

Just thought I'd chime in. We've used our dometic stove in our 2021 BD at 8k feet and it worked fine. I know air in the line can be an issue though.

burkeks

Thank you for passing this along. We had cell service at the State Park in Colorado and I was able to research this solution. We unhooked the propane, opened the burners, reconnected the propane and opened the valve as slowly as possible several times without success. What puzzles me is that many if not most Dometic stoves apparently work at altitude. I plan to have the LP system checked by a technician. The only replacements are either too small (Suburban) or too big (Furrion). With this, AC issues and lack of support from NuCamp, I may be selling the T@B. 

rh5555

The message in the video referenced by @Chopin is:  If you're going to high altitude, release the pressure in your gas lines before you leave low elevation.  In other words, turn off propane at cylinder, then attempt to light stove which will vent out the propane in the lines.

So why would this work?  If you last used your stove at sea level, the pressure in the gas lines would be about 0.5 psi above atmospheric pressure, which is 14.7psi, so you have 15.2 psi total.  Now seal up that system and drive your rig to 5000 feet elevation where the atmospheric pressure is 12.2 psi.  Instead of having propane in your lines that is 0.5 psi above atmospheric pressure, you have propane at 3 psi above atmospheric pressure.  The video implies that there is a "safety" cutoff in the stove that shuts it down if it appears that your main regulator has failed and is providing way too much pressure.  Gas trapped in the lines plus an elevation gain would mimic this.

It seems (and I'm really going out on a limb here) that Dometic may have compounded this problem by including a one-way valve before this safety cutoff so you cannot bleed off the high pressure by running another propane consumer (Alde or 3-way fridge).  If this is the case, then the ultimate solution would be to re-bleed the stove for every 4000' elevation gain.

ColoradoSun

We regularly use the stove in our 2021 T@B 400 at elevations of 8,000' to 10,000'. Every time we light it for the first time at a campsite it takes up to 30 seconds for it to light. After that it works fine.

rh5555

@ColoradoSun, what elevation do you start from?

manyman297

I have to agree with @ColoradoSun I usually have to give it a little bit of time to light at higher elevations. I just push the button in for maybe 20 seconds and that seems to clear the line. We live at around 5k elevation but have camped as high as 8k.

burkeks

It seems some Dometic stoves work, others do not. Ours wouldn't light this morning at 850 ft. After closing the tank valve, removing and reattaching the propane line and opening the burners several times, it finally began to work. The Dometic warranty is limited to the original purchaser...we are second owners. A local RV repair center wants $125 just to look at it. A new Dometic stove is $200. Other brands are less. Has anyone retrofitted a different brand of cooktop in their T@B? There doesn't seem to be anything to gain by contacting Dometic or nuCamp.

Verna

@burkeks, actually the warranty is with Dometic on the stove. If you have performed all the maintenance the other owners suggested and if the stove is out of warranty, I personally would be checking dimensions of the hole in the countertop and seeing which stove would fit. 

I prefer the current stove over the ones used previously in the other T@B’s. It does have more room for pots and pans, and the large grill is so much better than the individual grills over each burner. The previous stove was used in my 2014 T@B S Max and in my 2019 T@B 400. The igniter is a great addition to the new stove in my 2021 320. 

ColoradoSun

rh5555 Our home is at 5,800 ft. We've successfully used the stove at elevations above 10,000 ft on Grand Mesa.

runaway30

I have had my 400 for 11 months now. 
My post at the start of this discussion documents what happened on our first trip. 
My experience of the stove on our first trip not working has not happened again.
We have been out for 60 nights.  
Many if not most have been above 3500 feet.
Our last trip we stayed between 5000 to 7500 most of the time, with temps in the upper twenties in Great Basin National Park stove worked just fine.
I will say it's the first thing I check when we set-up.
I also make sure to change tanks before we run out.
I store the trailer at 161 feet above sea level, and test it before hitting the road.
Beats the heck out of me what happened that first time just glad it's not happened again.
My fridge is below the stove.

Maxcamp8

We lost propane flow to both stove and Alde at some point heading west at increasing altitudes, and were unable to recover it for several weeks until returned east.

Disconnecting, purging lines, reconnecting, and even swapping tanks did not correct the issue.
NuCamp was not able to help on phone, seeming to guess at component locations.
Alde manual references a Gas Solenoid (shutoff) Valve which we could not find and NuCamp said is NOT installed our our Jan.2021 320S Boondock.  Could not find one.

We theorized the dual pressure regulator (behind tank, on front of trailer) might have collapsed or quit but that seems rather unlikely.  Purchased a replacement late in trip but not installed due to need to demount the aluminum front tray (which we'd done twice for other reasons.... ).

NuCamp also theorized the stove might have a manufacturer internal regulator that categorically will not work at moderate altitudes.  Does gas flow the Alde from the stove??  

Based on many postings it seems lots of folks use propane at altitude.
Have others experienced this issue and what did you find?
Anyone have a diagram of the gas piping, valves, and regulators?

Hoping to avoid repeat of this experience.  
Thank you.


T&B 320S Boondock (mfg. Jan. 2021)/ Tacoma 4 cylinder truck in (sigh) low gears

Sharon_is_SAM

@Maxcamp8 - please check out this thread to which your post has been moved.

Denny16

The gas line goes to a three-way manifold, routing gas to the stove and Alde, so if gas is not getting to both, then the issue has to be the front gas regulator, or a malfunctioning  gas bottle (or a broken gas line, in which gas you would smell gas leaking from under the trailer).
cheers

pthomas745

The stoves not lighting on the newer trailers has been reported over and over this last year.  In Runaway30's original thread, there was even FB post that claimed a dealer in Santa Fe somehow made a stove work by "something", either adjusting the regulator or cleaning out "propane residue."  The stoves seem to magically work themselves back to normal, just like Runaway reported. 

I opened up a "spare" regulator...and was surprised to find it pretty simple device.  A couple of small springs and thin metal plates to "regulate" the gas, and a very thin "gasket" of rubber to seal the halves. This is an inexpensive "non adjustable" regulator, and I have since bought a newer spare that is "adjustable".  So, maybe the adjustable one is built a little better.   (The gasket in the photo is a little battered from taking it apart). 

Reading about regulators: many things can go wrong.  A new propane tank may have too much water in it...and the expanding gas, as it cools, can "freeze" inside a regulator.  Or, a new regulator may need time to "break in" and seal properly, etc.  (But.....I know more about glycol than I know about these things...and that ain't much.) 

So:  maybe altitude is a factor for a new regulator and a new propane tank. And then the problems disappear as everything settles in.  Or...."propane residue", whatever that is!  This post explains better than I can. 

https://thecampingnerd.com/rv-propane-regulators-freeze/

Maxcamp8

We had the same problem where both Dometic stove AND Alde propane in our Jan. 2021 320S stopped working somewhere between Missouri (3000 ft) and Colorado (6000-12000ft) and never worked again till we checked in TN at 2000 ft.  Very frustrating.  Problem was not with the lines nor the master regulator nor the replaced cylinder.  NuCamp Customer Service did not know anything about the issue.  We also used a cheap outdoor camp stove but the loss of Alde heat was not welcome, our noisy undersized generator will get an upgrade soon.

If  someone determines a specific fix for the stove (orifice replacement size) that would be helpful.  We did not know of or try the Alde high altitude setting, we got "gas failure" message and assumed there was no flow.  Tough to replicate conditions out East without driving into a tunnelling barimetric chamber. 

320S Boondock (mfg. Jan. 2021) / Tacoma tow 4 cylinder in (sigh) low low gears.

markhanks

Well, I’m jealous of all you folks with a functioning Dometic cooktop.  We just picked up our new CSS in CA where the stove tested fine.  The first night in Nevada on the way to our home in CO (10,000’) and the stove would not light.  It’s been two weeks and both Dometic and Nucamp have washed their hands of us.  Not a great customer experience thus far.  I’m buying a manometer and will ck pressures after the regulator. If no dice I’ll search European makes, I can’t imagine they would give the Dometic line I got “our stoves do not work beyond a certain elevation”. And what’s that?  It varies and we do not have a specific number”. I can give you a local service center who may help you out (for a two week old stove!). Then proceeded to give me REI’s number.  Really!  Am I on Candid Camera!?  Love the Alde unit with the high elevation setting!  But the Dometic, errr!