Airstream LP Detector Overhaul

The original Atwood Liquid Propane Detector (LPD) on my Airstream started acting up.  It would go off overnight and need resetting frequently.  It failed only 1/2 way through its 7 year lifespan.  The replacement Atwood detector is quite a bit smaller than the one they made in 2011 when my trailer was built.  While Atwood lists an adapter bracket part (35181), nobody carries it.

http://www.atwoodmobile.com/images/LP-Gas-brochure.pdf

I was happy to find the bracket included with the retail packaging for part number 36720.  I couldn’t find any photos of the contents of the kit and Atwoods docs are vague so here is a photo of what is included and  my old part disassembled...

Atwood LPD part number 36720 contents

The old part has 4 screws into the wood paneling on the corners while the new part has two screws in the center.  Since the LPD is hard wired to the battery, you’ll need to unplug the trailer and disconnect the battery prior to doing any work.  The bracket isn’t a perfect fit for the original Airstream cutout but looks decent enough.  You’ll notice the bottom of the bracket is not flush with the panel.  I wrote an expiration date on the new part out 7 years as that is the documented life-span.

New LPD Installed

I installed a automotive style connector into the system to make dealing with premature failure and replacement easier down the road.  Replacements next time won’t require unhooking the trailer batteries.  Amazon carries the Chinese made Yiding connectors which are nice.

Automotive style connectors available on amazon

Next failure... Disconnect and go back to sleep

The documentation for the Atwood detector mentions wiring either before or after the storage electrical cutoff solenoid.  I chose to rewire mine to after the storage cutoff as the trailer spends several months at a time in storage and I always have the electrical system on before using propane.  My trailer is a 25’ FB (Front Bedroom) Eddie Bauer and the cutoff solenoid is in the front right corner under the bed.  The wire with the inline fuse holder is the wiring to the LPD and it will need to be removed, lengthened, and have a larger ring terminal installed.

LPD original wiring

I used a 5/16” ring terminal (Dorman part number 85205) which requires a 12 gauge wire minimum so the extension wire is 12 gauge.

Need larger diameter ring connector

The mount moves from the always on 12V bus bar to the switched side of the cutoff storage solenoid.

Rewiring Connector after storage solenoid

It takes some work to keep the safety systems working.  Much better now….