Propane valves are normally off, (closed) spring loaded to keep them that way. You energize an electric coil to pull the valve open. That coil will normally heat up while holding the valve open. Most new ones seem to be made for relatively short term use. At most, a few hours of oven use at a time.  Older solenoid type valves seem to be much more robust and some people leave them on all the time, only turning them off when they leave the boat for extended periods of time.  A good practice may be to use your non-contact thermometer to get a baseline normal reading. (write it down somewhere, make a label for the valve, or something of the sort) Then occasionally re-check it to make sure it stays within what you've learned is the normal parameters for that valve.  Of course you can also rely on the fuse to blow before the solenoid gets too hot to cause a problem too........ but I wouldn't recommend that method. Ken

Thanks to all providing info on propane solenoid , I ordered a replacement xintex valve , on the side is a caution valve operates hot after activation , so I think mine is ok and will add the new one to the spare parts bin . As live aboards we have been leaving the valve on but I am going to start turning it off when not cooking . Thanks Charles Miller Mystic Journey Crown custom 43 Anacortes Wa > On May 20, 2020, at 4:02 PM, Ken Buck via Trawlers-and-Trawlering <trawlers@lists.trawlering.com> wrote: > > > Propane valves are normally off, (closed) spring loaded to keep them that way. You energize an electric coil to pull the valve open. That coil will normally heat up while holding the valve open. Most new ones seem to be made for relatively short term use. At most, a few hours of oven use at a time. Older solenoid type valves seem to be much more robust and some people leave them on all the time, only turning them off when they leave the boat for extended periods of time. > A good practice may be to use your non-contact thermometer to get a baseline normal reading. (write it down somewhere, make a label for the valve, or something of the sort) Then occasionally re-check it to make sure it stays within what you've learned is the normal parameters for that valve. > Of course you can also rely on the fuse to blow before the solenoid gets too hot to cause a problem too........ but I wouldn't recommend that method. > Ken > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options (get password, change email address, etc) go to: http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited.