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I have recently purchased a range top, converted it to propane and am planning to use it with a 5 gallon propane tank.
When I connected it to my tank, I got a second worth of gas flow and then it stopped.
After my plumber troubleshooted with the manufacture for a while, it turns out that new ranges seem to have a minimum working pressure in order to operate.
How is this minimum pressure feature called- so I can look for a different range that doesn't have it?
You may not be able to use a 5 gallon (20 lb?) tank as the supply for a range top - effective propane delivery depends on having adequate tank to boil off the required supply of gas - depending on how much the range uses and the temperature, a 5 gallon tank may "freeze up" (really, self-cool) to the point where it does not provide the gas required - a 100-200lb tank is certainly much more standard as the supply for a propane range.
LP stands for Liquified Propane - it has the useful feature for storage and transport of becoming a liquid at relatively low pressures. when you draw gas from the tank, the liquid boils - as it boils, it cools the tank. If the tank is already cold (question is from February) and the gas use rate is high, the pressure in the tank falls to 0 at roughly -40 (F or C) A larger tank has more area to collect heat from so it cools more slowly for the same rate of gas use.
Using the correct regulator (for delivery pressure with adequate tank pressure driving it) is also required...
This previous answer may also shed more light on the subject.
If my regular propane tank for the house runs out, can I use a BBQ tank as a temporary fix?
The specs for the range will list the minimum pressure required, likely with verbiage along the lines of "Minimum Xinch water column" or "Minimum X psi".
All gas appliances have a minimum requirement, and while it will vary between units, its not something that only applies to new ranges.
One thing that you may need to take care of is the conversion of the gas orifices. If the range top that you purchased was setup for natural gas usage you would have to change the orifices for propane usage.
