Forum Discussion

pauly_boy's avatar
pauly_boy
Explorer
Aug 13, 2020

Propane tank

On the control panel for your various readings the propane tells me 3/4 full. How accurate would everyone consider this to be? Pretty close...not close at all. Is there a gauge on the propane unit that will tell me? Still new to all this.
Thanks Paul

15 Replies

  • bukhrn's avatar
    bukhrn
    Explorer III
    Those propane gauges are fairly accurate but confusing, the one on the panel reads in thirds, the one on the tank itself reads in 1/4s.
  • You might check out Scan Gauge. It is a much better system for knowing how much is in your tanks.
    Takes some time to install, but not all that hard.
  • Thanks guy's. Your probably right. It's a 40lb tank that reads 3/4 so I'm assuming its good for 4 days worth of use.
    Thanks again...Paul
  • DrewE wrote:
    A full tank lasts a good long time if you don't use the furnace (or generator, if you have a propane fueled generator), a number of weeks in my case.

    Agreed - even in the BBQ case. I've had a 5 gallon tank last a whole season, and that included running the BBQ long after the food was cooked to burn off the mess. For sure, trailer usage is more demanding, but I still find propane capacity to last more than a week.

    Where I've gotten into trouble is/was leaving the propane on during storage and underestimating the fridge usage while stored.
  • It should be approximately accurate, or at least repeatable in where it changes from full to 2/3 to 1/3 to empty, but clearly not very precise at all. There is a gauge on the tank itself that is more useful but often not the easiest to see, in as much as there's usually a sender module for the control panel's gauge covering the middle of the tank gauge's dial.

    The tank gauge itself is based on a simple float arrangement inside the tank. Note that there must be some headspace in the tank, so the 80% level on the tank gauge is full. Whether the inside gauge is calibrated in terms of usable capacity or tank capacity (or indeed is calibrated in any practical sense of the word) is anyone's guess without making some tests.

    I find mine is handy as a general guide for when I should start thinking about getting more propane. A full tank lasts a good long time if you don't use the furnace (or generator, if you have a propane fueled generator), a number of weeks in my case.