Propane Tank Level Indicators

None. When a tank empties I switch over manually and fill the empty tank. Gives me an excuse to go to town for lunch.

for my home 5 gallon tanks, I get tanks from costco that have a real float and gauge in them. Last ones I bought at Costco were made by flame king. They work very very well.

Unfortunetly, 7.5 gallon tanks with gauges are about as rare as hens teeth.

Another option is the tank check system, I have one with a readout in the trailer. It's pretty fussy on getting the sensor in the correct location on the bottom of the tank along with some grease to make sure the sensor has good coupling.

ktmrfs wrote:
Another option is the tank check system, I have one with a readout in the trailer. It's pretty fussy on getting the sensor in the correct location on the bottom of the tank along with some grease to make sure the sensor has good coupling.

What brand? How well does it work?

My Cavagna brand regulator indicates red as soon as one of the cylinders is ready to be filled.

I'm using Mopeka sensors on my supplemental LP cylinders and the 330 gallon LP tank at our Adirondack family cottage. The sensors can be read using bluetooth and with an optional Internet bridge device on a phone app.

AP Products 024-1002 Propane Tank Gas Level Indicator

hedgehopper wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
Another option is the tank check system, I have one with a readout in the trailer. It's pretty fussy on getting the sensor in the correct location on the bottom of the tank along with some grease to make sure the sensor has good coupling.

What brand? How well does it work?

Mopeka, sensors are pretty fussy on getting placed properly. Need to be near the center of the bottom of the tank, and need some grease between the sensor transmitter (ultrasonic) pad and the tank. They use bluetooth and once I get them set they work well. But seems like every time I take a 30gallon tank off the trailer, cart it to gas station to refill, get it back home it needs some fussing. It does do a good job of telling level. there is an optional bluetooth reciever for two tanks that I mounted in the trailer (battery powered) or you can use phone bluetooth.

And a typical 20 or 30 lb tank needs spacers to give enough extra height to mount the sensor. I think the sensors now come with aluminum spacer tabs. But they have a habit of falling off.

So it isn't perfect, they seem to be improving it, newer sensors are thinner and better than older ones.

I have These on my trailer tanks. They work well enough to let me know when I'm running low on a tank so that I don't run out in the middle of cooking or cleaning. I check them before a trip and fill the tank(s) if needed so I have at least one full and one partial tank for the trip. If I know one tank is less than full when I start out, I check it every few days during the trip.


I also installed These in my cover so I can easily check the gauges. Without these, I have to remove the big front cover that protects the two tanks and battery. These make checking much quicker.

There are 4 types of propane tank level indicators.
The most common is some kind of RED/Green indicator.. IT works well but.. GREEN means "Tank not empty" red means "Empty" there is only about 10 seconds of in between.. if the tank is 1% full.. it's not empty

The second type is a magnetic or adheasive strip you apply to the tank, then you use the stove (Propane) to heat a pan of water to boiling and pour it over the strip which contains LCD crystals. the color change indicates the level of liquid in the tank (it is colder) and these are fairly accurate. also work.

Type 3 is a scale.. also accurate

Type 4 is a dial indicator on the tank.... Accuracy is variable bur readings are consistant.. if for example it says 1/4 when you are empty IT WILL always say 1/4 when you are empty.... or the other way around. This type however has to be built into the tank at ye old factory.

wa8yxm wrote:
There are 4 types of propane tank level indicators.
The most common is some kind of RED/Green indicator.. IT works well but.. GREEN means "Tank not empty" red means "Empty" there is only about 10 seconds of in between.. if the tank is 1% full.. it's not empty

Assuming you run a 2 tank system and fill your empties within a week or so, RED means you are at 50%.

wa8yxm didn't include the Mopeka in his list so that makes 5 types.

I have used the Mopeka for several years now. They are way more accurate than most of the others. I have made some modifications that have improved their operation considerably.

1. We don't use much propane so the battery life was less than I would have liked as the battery ran down before the propane needed filling. I modified the sensors with a remote battery holder with 2 AA batteries.

2. I made my own spacers which are bolted to the tank so they don't fall off.

3. I shimmed and added a spot of Velcro to the free end of the sensor so that it maintains good contact with the tank.