Propane |
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tsunami
Senior Member Joined: 05 Oct 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Status: Offline Points: 426 |
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Posted: 28 Sep 2011 at 12:28pm |
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Federal Law mandates the use of OPD valves on all portable propane tanks! Tanks that are installed as part of an RV chassis do not have to have OPD valves. Propane dealers are NOT supposed to fill the older valved tanks. You can bring in an older tank and see if a local propane dealer would be willing to replace the older valve with the newer OPD. However, as mentioned by another member, propane tanks have to be inspected every few years...you wouldn't want it to rupture because of corrosion or other damage. The 85% fill level is built-in to allow expansion of the propane as it warms up in the tank. You do not need to flare out any more of the gas to provide additional expansion.
Here in the Midwest, portable propane tanks are usually set on a weight scale as the tank is being filled. So rather than gallonage, the fill is registered as 20 lbs, 30 lbs, etc. Most refill stations charge for a complete fill. That is, if my 20 lb tank is half full, I still get charged for the '20 lb' fill...I guess this because the attendant still has to work with the tank, regardless how much propane is in the tank to begin with. On my RV, which has a built-in propane tank...the fill station registers the gallonage of the fill. So the cost is usually more accurate than when I fill a portable tank. Because of this, I installed dual tanks on my Pod, with an automatic change-over valve. I don't bring in the tank until it is completely empty. The weight of the empty tank should be stamped on the tank. You can set it on a bathroom scale to see how much propane remains in a partially filled tank. Remember that a 'full' 20 lb tank should weigh only 17lbs more than the empty weight because of the 85% fill control. |
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tsunami
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GaRedneck81
Senior Member Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Location: Kennesaw, Ga. Status: Offline Points: 158 |
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The reason not to fill the tank to the top is not for safety...it is to allow enough room for the liquid to boil off and turn to gas; so you can use it.
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GaRedneck81
U.S.Navy-Retired Heavy Chevy 5.7 liter RP-172 Kennesaw, Ga. |
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pod people
Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 2011 Location: chapel Hill, NC Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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I have used a propane tank level indicator that I got from Lowe's. It screws onto the tank valve and the regulator hose screw into the indicator body. It has a needle dial that goes into color ranges of green, yellow and red-not exact measurements, but a good indicator. They cost about $12. I've used them for years on my gas grill-they are effective, but not absolute. Much better than guessing.
Vann Evans |
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joe&carol
Senior Member Joined: 22 Apr 2009 Location: Golden, CO Status: Offline Points: 126 |
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A couple things - - - - First, I've always understood that a tank only gets filled to something like 85% as a safety factor. And it isn't just your little old 20# tanks that are subject to this, if you have a 250 gal or 500 gal tank it will be the same thing.
The other thing has to do with checking the fill level. (This isn't original with me, it appeared on this site sometime back.) Just go to your kitchen sink and let the hot water run until you get a good head of hot water - - - draw yourself a pan worth or a pitcher full and go out to your tank. Pour the hot water down the side of the propane tank and wait 10-15 seconds. Then place your hand along the side of the propane tank where you poured the hot water. The empty portion of the tank will feel warm; the full portion of the tank will feel cold. Good luck and happy camping. Joe
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Joe & Carol
r-pod 173 |
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pentachris
Senior Member Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Location: Alabama Status: Offline Points: 114 |
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I obviously had some misunderstanding. I will say this, even though it's tangential to the topic: since I have stopped using tanks that are filled until the OPD operates and started using Blue Rhino "swap your tank" tanks which are filled by weight (to 15 instead of 20 lbs, by the way...), I have never had a problem with my BBQ grill's regulator.
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Larry
Senior Member Joined: 22 Jan 2010 Location: Fairfield, CA Status: Offline Points: 344 |
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Furpod, the guy who filled my tanks also told me about the OPD; it shuts down the flow of propane to the tank which is being filled and he told me that this often occurs prior to the tank being completely filled; leaving some space at the top; he also said that the person filling the tank should bleed the propane tank after it has been filled to allow for some space. Thanks for mentioning the automatic switch over regulator I have to look into that! Skooterpod, I am not disputing what you have said, but if propane is safer than gasoline how come customers are not allowed to fill their own tank as they do when filling their car with gasoline? |
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furpod
Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2011 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 966 |
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You have not been able to "overfill" a propane tank for a decade. NO one will fill or exchange a tank with out a OPD valve. The only purpose of the OPD valve is to protect the head space in the tank. Well and to confound every gas grill user in the country about 10 years ago. lol Stolen from a website that knows.. "
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furpod
Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2011 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 966 |
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If you are running dual tanks, get an automatic switch over regulator/valve, when it switches over, remove the empty tank and go get it filled.The one we have actually has a little red pointer that points at the empty..
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pentachris
Senior Member Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Location: Alabama Status: Offline Points: 114 |
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My understanding is contrary to the info you were told. As I understand it, tanks will hold the amount they are rated for with some headspace at the top of the tank. I've been to several places that don't fill the tank by weight; they fill it until propane is coming out of the overflow valve, leaving virtually no headspace. This is actually more than the tank is rated for, although they just charged me what the tank is supposed to hold. Not really dangerous for the tank - it has safety features to compensate. But, it is potentially harmful to the regulator you hook it up to because liquid propane, not gas, will be going to it. If you've ever seen a regulator ice over, it's probably because it was getting liquid propane. The regulator on my Weber Q is particularly sensitive, and I've had to replace it because of this. The info about filling capacity was given to me by the Weber rep I talked to. As for knowing how much is in the tank, I pick it up and swirl it around. If it feels like it's getting low, I put it on the bathroom scale. There's a marking on the collar that says "TW: xx lb" that tells you the tare weight of the tank. From there, you can figure how much propane is in the tank. Some people use the hot water trick, and that's something I should try, but haven't yet. I'm sure someone else will be able to explain it; I'm not 100% sure, but I remember it sounding simple enough. I think the danger with propane is the combination of flammability with high pressure.
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Skooterpod
Groupie Joined: 02 Jul 2010 Location: middle TN Status: Offline Points: 80 |
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Propane is one of the safest fuels there is. At least, that's what I read somewhere. MUCH safer than gasoline.
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2011 RP-177
2010 Honda Ridgeline RTL |
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