Enforcement of - and prosecutions for - LPG Installation non-compliances in the Australia-wide RV Industry is virtually non-existent.
My brief visit to the Sandown Racecourse Motorhome Show in Melbourne on Sunday 11 October convinced me of this fact.

So many RV builders spruik and spout in their advertising brochures that they have 40+ years experience in building RVs.This is nothing but misleading and deceptive advertising being used to give the impression they must know what theyre doing and doing it well if theyve been doing it for so long. To me it doesnt show.
Obviously,even 10 years ago AS5601-2004 was not read thoroughly enough!

AS5601-2004 was a very comprehensive standard. There were no major deletions,amendments,additions or alterations in both AS5601-2010 or AS5601-2013. The only difference with 2010 & 2013 was the separate summary for caravans and boats. (A similar brief summary of AS5601-2004 for caravans and mobile homes was published in April 2004 by Victorias then GasSafe Authority.)

Lets look at a few AS5601-2004 non-compliances.(NB: I did not have time to inspect Avida Motorhomes or the imported American Winnebago Motorhomes).

(A)LPG cylinder compartments(page refs.& clause numbers given where I had them available).

AS5601-2004 covered compartment ventilation very thoroughly.

1/cylinders must be installed where air movement across,through, down between,around etc.is provided. Ref:p229 J3.1 (d). Locations not providing such airflow are prohibited.

2/Any enclosure a LPG cylinder compartment containing a regulator must have ventilation and drainage. Ref: p62 4.15,clauses 4.15.1.1 and 1.2 Two(2)openings shall be provided directly to outside. Size of airvent calculation is shown: allow 7cm2 per m3 of the internal volume of the compartment.

The best and only option in my view is to have an airvent near the top of the compartment door and a tubular drain in the rear bottom corner with a champfered end facing away from the forward direction of travel.(This shape provides the best outward suction according to aerodynamic information.)

What do we see?

(*) no airvents in doors or bottom drains in LPG compartments, with exception of Jayco which had no door airvents but two(2) L-shaped plastic pipe drains about 25mm wide diameter at either end of the compartment base, one assumes one drain for each cylinder!

NB: AS5601-2-2013 page 32 (f) and fig.3.4 is wrong displaying the two air ventilation options. One shows the LPG cylinder compartment with the bottom drain only but no door airvent! This is inadequate venting.

Air must be sucked through the compartment. (I argue that no consideration whatsoever should be given to adventitious gaps around the door edges if they do not seal properly.That is such a very weak unprofessional excuse for poor design and door construction.)

The door option with two airvents but no bottom drain is also very unsatisfactory. Airflow - and wind turbulence will force/suck in air through both airvents by the venturi effect and hold it there.

(NB: compare with those air ingress stoppers on caravans to prevent dust entering. All windows and any other openings are closed when travelling through dusty areas. Open the stopper vent (I call it),the van fills with air during travel but nothing else comes in - especially dust - because it is full of air stopping ingress!)

 I also strongly recommend Gas Authorities adopt OH&S precautions with lift up doors. I believe signs warning of collision risk must be affixed to both sides of these door types. Also an additional warning must be included stating the door must be closed when appliances are in use.

(B)Main piping run from LPG cylinder compartment to be outside the Motorhome! (AS5601-2004 p 108/109 clause 6.2.5...)

Too many main LPG runs are out of sight,concealed and inaccessible in sub-floor voids. Australia-wide LPG Authorities must review their own interpretations for these concealed piping runs because being so concealed this raises the need for a fire rating and the installation of adequately sized airvents at either end of the sub-floor enclosure. I argue strongly that adventitious gaps and openings throughout the structure must NOT be considered at all.

(NB: Avan RVs sub-floor inaccessible void containing the whole LPG piping system including the vertical branches off it to appliance connection points needs a full review. In one Avan model the pipe runs under the bed over a metre in length across and touching a 240V pp to behind the refrigerator where it runs next to and almost touches the flame chamber with no heat shield! The refrigerator is installed over a rear wheel so the vibration affects the pipe flexibility and it could touch the chamber which is only 2mm away! Now, surely, nobody can possibly regard this as good practice because no other RV builder does it!

(C)Upper and Lower LPG ventilation.

AS5601-2004, nor any Standard thereafter gives any consideration to the amount of permanent air supply entering through skylights. Why not?

It is though a very common recognised good/best practice to install the lower LPG airvent in the bottom of the entrance door or in the first step riser. It is so common it really must be worded in the next Standard.

Again the better option is the bottom of the entrance door, but the best option in my opinion is the rear wall of the entrance stairwell with a tapered/champfered vent on the outside to draw air out. Lower airvents provide dual purposeventilation: air for human habitation but also an outlet - at the lowest point in the RV for LPG leakage dispersal.

Airvents in the first step riser can have a detrimental effect in that contaminated polluted air- including road grime and dust etc. - can be sucked in by the venturi effect because the opening is parallel to the airflow when travelling. This effect is worse in Avan Motorhomes because the engine exhaust and diesel heater exhausts if installed -are in front of the opening causing polluted contaminated air to be sucked in.

NB: It is the full responsibility of the licensed person who carried out the LPG installation to ensure that the lower LPG airvent cannot be contaminated in any way whatsoever with polluted air, especially from engine exhaust fumes.

A full review by Australia-wide LPG Authorities is immediately required to fully and comprehensively re-examine Avans two(2)lower airvent installation options: one in the first step riser and the other through a vertical shaft built through the floor exiting under the vehicle into a large metal box with one open end covered in undersized wiremesh! The open end is at right angles to the airflow opposite to the venturis parallel effect -so polluted contaminated air of lower pressure will be forced by air of higher pressure into and up the said vertical shaft.This type of construction is a health and safety risk.

(D)HWS flues

Truma brand installation instructions clearly state not to install their unit under an openable window.If it is then warning signs must be affixed to the windows above the flue worded with:This window must be closed when the hot water boiler is in operation. These warning signs should be used for all HWS flues installed close under openable windows. Also it is safer to have a clearly visible warning sign like the red LPG storage sign affixed to the HWS. It is not enough in my view to have: Warning hot to touch embossed on the shiny metal tag on the unit.

NB: too often forgotten is the Standard requirement for HWS flues to be more than 700mm radius from a LPG cylinder valve,even within an RVs LPG cylinder compartment.

(E)Ovens

I believe all ovens should be installed on outside walls so vented combustion fumes and/or unburnt LPG can be vented to the outside air.

Action to compile and serve Rectification Notices on the RV builders responsible for these LPG Installation faults needs to be taken now.

E.& O.E