Anyone convert to Natural Gas

[brycesteiner]

Anyone convert to their stationed Montana natural Gas? Is it just changing out the orifice on the gas equipment - stove, refrigerator and furnace?

[dadnjesse]

It should just be a change of the orifice if you can get at them. Probably should ask the Gas Company.

[rohrmann]

Just be aware that your propane detector may not do much good. They are usually located close to the floor because propane is heavier than air, but natural gas is lighter than air, so concentration of natural gas could occur without setting off the detector.

[Foldbak]

Have a professional do the conversion! If it's possible...

[RMcNeal]

Just curious...what would be the benefit of going with natural gas vs propane?
I've heard natural gas is cheaper, but honestly, I've only used about 40lbs of propane in 4 years. Just started on my second tank and I camp several weeks a year in northern West Virginia mountains.

[brycesteiner]

This will be placed in south east kentucky - pretty much permanently. Just means I wouldn't have to connect and disconnect the tanks and refill. I also think that natural gas is less expensive, but maybe it wouldn't be with minimum fees.

[Bourbon County]

Regulator(s) would have to be adjusted or possibly replaced. NG burns at a much lower pressure than LP. An LP appliance is >2X as efficient as NG, in other words a 40K BTU furnace would only be about 20K BTU, same with water heater, cooktop, etc. I would be surprised if the gas company would connect to an RV.

[Mikendebbie]

For what it’s worth…
2010-2013 We rented a home in Central Austin (with intention to purchase it and move from the sticks to the city) with natural gas…furnace, water heater, stove, couple of wall heaters in bathrooms. Over a 4 yr period our gas bill averaged $25/mo.

We have 500 gal propane tank at our place in the sticks, and I have the propane company top off the tank every September when they run their annual sale. We have propane stove and clothes dryer. Our propane cost over the past 4 years has been ~$25/mo.

Based on this highly scientific single study - I proclaim natural gas to be a bit cheaper than propane - but they both beat the heck out of being all electric at the S&B. My proclamation does not include cost of getting the infrastructure installed at your domicile.

[brycesteiner]

[QUOTE=I would be surprised if the gas company would connect to an RV.[/QUOTE]

That's a good point. Sometimes good ideas stop with rules and better ideas. I'm guessing no one here as attempted to do this then.

[mhs4771]

About 50 years ago we went the other direction. Moved a Mobile Home from Town on Natural Gas to the sticks and Propane. In addition to re-jeting I think things had to be adjusted for the difference pressure.

[DutchmenSport]

Originally Posted by RMcNeal

.... I've only used about 40lbs of propane in 4 years. Just started on my second tank and I camp several weeks a year in northern West Virginia mountains.

Wow! I'm currently burning through a 30 pound tank every 2 days right now keeping the trailer heated until we head South on December 26 for the next 3 months.

[brycesteiner]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

Wow! I'm currently burning through a 30 pound tank every 2 days right now keeping the trailer heated until we head South on December 26 for the next 3 months.

Where you locate?

[DutchmenSport]

Originally Posted by brycesteiner

Where you locate?

Anderson, Indiana (central Indiana). It got down to 17 degrees last night.

[brycesteiner]

Ok. Not too far. I'm near Fort Wayne, just on the Ohio side of the state line. I've been working on putting plank flooring in the Montana and found that I have to turn on the heat in order for the planks to not "shatter" when I try to cut them.
It was cold. I'm concerned how much propane I'm going through since I'm new to this.

[RMcNeal]

I do have to admit, we are quite unusual. We camp about 2 weeks every month on average, but only about 8 weeks in very cold weather. When it's cold, we use heat pump, fireplace and 2 ceramic heaters instead of the furnace and keep the temp around 55 to 60 degrees. Only run the furnace very little to break the chill in the early morning when it's "really" cold, like single digit or below zero cold. We've only used the stove twice in 4 years and I ran the water heater on propane once for a short time to make sure it worked. We use the Blackstone, air fryer and microwave mostly.
I bought the Mopeka tank sensors shortly after we got the rig in 2019 because I expected to use more propane, especially in cold weather. I've really been surprised how little we've used. I'm currently sitting with one full tank that I had filled last year and 90% on the other.

[Moondragon]

Might make more sense to talk to your local propane company. Have them install a big external tank and connect it to your rig. They will come on whatever schedule you agree on and refill the tank. That's what we did when we over-wintered in New Hampshire.

[Majorpolk]

Would require new regulators. Every one of them. Propane appliance regulators are almost exclusively not convertible. You may find it difficult to find NG appliance regulator for RV appliances. Also the regulators on the bottles are not convertible. The lines and hoses are ok, but the hoses hooked to the bottles will have to go. Natural Gas operates at about 1/2 the pressure of propane, so it is easier to have leaks often with NG depending on the type of fitting used. That is my 2 cents as a licensed propane dealer.

[Doug Brown]

Originally Posted by brycesteiner

Anyone convert to their stationed Montana natural Gas? Is it just changing out the orifice on the gas equipment - stove, refrigerator and furnace?

I have converted hundreds of mobile homes from propane to natural gas. If there are copper parts in any of the RVs, they must be replaced natural gas parts copper and natural gas corrode. also the pressures are different natural gas runs at 8 1/2 inches and propane runs in about 11 inches. The BTU difference is greater in propane natural gas is less propane burns much hotter. Many appliances have regulators that operate at 3 1/2 inches water column Get someone that knows what they’re doing. It’s not just changing the orifices.

[pitman44]

Originally Posted by Bourbon County

Regulator(s) would have to be adjusted or possibly replaced. NG burns at a much lower pressure than LP. An LP appliance is >2X as efficient as NG, in other words a 40K BTU furnace would only be about 20K BTU, same with water heater, cooktop, etc. I would be surprised if the gas company would connect to an RV.

Partially correct. NG operates at 7"wc vs propane at 11"wc. NG has about 1000 btu/cu ft vs propane at about 2500/cu ft. However a furnace that can run on NG or propane has very close to the same output although propane is usually slightly less output than propane. A NG orifice is much larger than a propane orifice in the same appliance.

To answer the OP's question, you would need to change the orifices as well as either install a NG kit or replace the gas valve. My guess is you won't find the necessary components to convert to NG because the demand isn't there to justify the investment. On that point I could be wrong.

[pitman44]

Originally Posted by Doug Brown

I have converted hundreds of mobile homes from propane to natural gas. If there are copper parts in any of the RVs, they must be replaced natural gas parts copper and natural gas corrode. also the pressures are different natural gas runs at 8 1/2 inches and propane runs in about 11 inches. The BTU difference is greater in propane natural gas is less propane burns much hotter. Many appliances have regulators that operate at 3 1/2 inches water column Get someone that knows what they’re doing. It’s not just changing the orifices.

I always thought the same regarding NG and copper until I went thru my brother-in-law's home in Chantilly, VA. All copper lines for NG throughout the home. They also ran secondary regulators at the appliances so they could run 3/8" soft copper to most appliances where we ran 1/2" to 1" black iron to most residential appliances.

I wonder if there is difference in NG from location to location or simply a difference in codes.