What is the safe way to fill a propane tank?
I run into three types of propane fill attendants. (Class A horizontal) One just connects to the valve and fills the tank. Another opens the bleed valve as they fill the tank until propane sputters ou...
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Using the scale for weight on a bottle, adding tare weight to nominal capacity as shown by the WC ( water capacity) is the only absolute method of filling a bottle to its 80% safe level. Weight is the absolute regarless of temperature.
Propane is an expansive liquid between its boiling , which expands or contracts with temperature, unlike water, which does not change volume in its liquid state. Propane weight is 4.24# / gal. at 68 deg. F. Raise or lower the temp, volume changes, thats why the 80% fill rule.
# 2 is the correct filling method on mounted or dismounted tanks when weight cannot be measured absolutely as the 'spitter' tube is a static fluid level that vents liquid at that level. OPD valves should not be counted upon as a fail safe. They are mechanical float valves that can and do sometimes fail to shut off flow at the 80% level. They are meant as a fail safe, not as an absolute measure.
There is no air or any other gas to vent to refill a tank. As the liquid is pumped in, the vapor condenses back into liquid.
NFPA 1158 requires propane dispensers and their operators to undergo training, each fill operator must pass written and demonstrate practical knowledge tests to qualify in my state.
I 'm in my 60s . I teach younger staff not what we did, but what to do.
Propane is an expansive liquid between its boiling , which expands or contracts with temperature, unlike water, which does not change volume in its liquid state. Propane weight is 4.24# / gal. at 68 deg. F. Raise or lower the temp, volume changes, thats why the 80% fill rule.
# 2 is the correct filling method on mounted or dismounted tanks when weight cannot be measured absolutely as the 'spitter' tube is a static fluid level that vents liquid at that level. OPD valves should not be counted upon as a fail safe. They are mechanical float valves that can and do sometimes fail to shut off flow at the 80% level. They are meant as a fail safe, not as an absolute measure.
There is no air or any other gas to vent to refill a tank. As the liquid is pumped in, the vapor condenses back into liquid.
NFPA 1158 requires propane dispensers and their operators to undergo training, each fill operator must pass written and demonstrate practical knowledge tests to qualify in my state.
I 'm in my 60s . I teach younger staff not what we did, but what to do.
