Propane tank recertification

dpgllg wrote:
Thanks for the information. Did they stamp a new date on the bottle neck? I have found that some just visually check and do not stamp new date.

I have found a local welding place that will perform a visual inspection and if OK will fill them. My bottles are clean and no rust as they are in inside compartments on my 5th wheel.

They Re-certify with new stickers, which was my goal so that we could refill *anywhere* if we were on the road ;)

I agree it is "Nanny state extortion" Call your Congressman ;)

Everyone shouldn't have to PAY extra fees because there are stupid people out there. Allow the filling stations to do their visual checks and give them discretion to fill or not based upon condition. No fees. Simple.

At least when I am carded at Walmart to buy lighter fluid or spray paint, they don't CHARGE me to do it...yet! :p

BTW, last time they did that at Tractor Supply (don't remember what, but 18+ I think), I told her I could be her father's father. LOL.

Not sure why it is so hard to find a place.
My next step would be to call some places en-route or at my next camping destination.

DiskDoctr wrote:

dpgllg wrote:
The 30lb tanks in my 5th wheel need to be recertified or replaced. I have tried to locate a place that does recertification near me in SW PA but no luck. The propane suppliers don't offer the service and cannot recommend a place.

Does anyone have a suggestion on where to look or is it just better to buy two new tanks?

Thanks!

Dave

Hi Dave.

Dale Oxygen $5 per tank, all over.

Amerigas Delmont. Call ahead to their office

Just had mine done at Dale Oxygen. Less than $50 for both 30lbs filled and recertified.

Thanks for the information. Did they stamp a new date on the bottle neck? I have found that some just visually check and do not stamp new date.

I have found a local welding place that will perform a visual inspection and if OK will fill them. My bottles are clean and no rust as they are in inside compartments on my 5th wheel.

dpgllg wrote:

boston blacky wrote:
dpgllg;

Not all places check the expiry or re-certify date(s). For the past two (2) yrs. I've taken one of my - 'pass due date' tanks to a place where the tech. does not check!! Some readers may feel it might be unsafe to do this - but I think it's just another "rip off". bb

I always got mine filled at Tractor Supply close by and good cost. Never had them check but they updated their policy at least at my store and check every tank. Not in date not filled

THERE'S YOUR PROBLEM, Tractor Supply is a joke.

They used to sell welding gas cylinders then would exchange your empty tank for a filled one..

Paid $150 for a shielding gas cylinder, then about a year ago I needed to exchange my empty.. THEY STOPPED ALL WELDING GAS SALES!

Yeah, my tank I purchased from them now was a $150 DOOR STOP.

Fortunately for me, I remembered the brand name and discovered that the New Rural King store that came into my area HANDLES THE SAME BRAND! RK did the exchange for me and I no longer will set foot in a Tractor Supply store again.

There are PLENTY of places out there that will gladly fill your cylinder. You just need to look around.

I have a small town no name hardware store about 2 miles from my home that fills my cylinders.

Just about any welding supply worth their weight will have propane filling capability (WHY you ask? Well many places that do a lot of steel cutting USE PROPANE as a cheaper alternative to using Acetylene gas for the cutting torches).

You will not find a refilling station at big box stores, Walmart, Sams ect.. You may find some small gas stations sometimes that will have propane filling..

As far as recertifying, YES, pretty much ALL places send them out. The reason for this is not many places will have the facilities to do this properly.. It is cheaper to send out to a third party.

Just about any good welding supply place that sells welding gasses should be able to send out to get recertified.. Yeah, that does take time but you CAN in the mean time use a 20 lb cylinder in place of a 30 lb cylinder as a temporary fix..

So, if you have a gas grill you can borrow that 20 lb cylinder while your 30 lb on is being recertified.

dougrainer wrote:
For peace of mind on a 13 year old tank, I would replace them. $62 at Camping World and about every other place listed. They hold about 7 gallons so add your cost per gallon LP in your area. Doug

Now that is just plain silly and a total waist of your money.

As long as the cylinders paint is in GOOD ORDER (IE no chipped paint, no rust especially along the welded seams) there is no real reason to randomly replace as "just because they are old".

As another poster mentioned the filling station CAN make a "VISUAL" inspection AND REFILL even when the certification time has run out and in fact they ARE supposed to do that for EVERY tank they fill.

The visual inspection amounts to making sure the paint is fine and there is no major deep rust.

Cylinders don't become "unsafe" just because of a date stamped on them, no, they become unsafe due to RUST damage which is caused by worn/damaged paint.

So, if the paint is thin, chipped or has any surface rust you can simply address the problem BEFORE it becomes a problem just by giving the cylinder a good quality paint job.

Some sandpaper and a rattle can and most places won't have an issue filling the tank.. Just be aware, repaint using LIGHT colored paints (had a friend that repainted on with black and didn't understand why they refused to fill it!).

I just got three 20# tanks recertified at my local Southern States farm supply store. They fill everything from mini tanks to 1000gal farm tanks. Check your local farm supply store.

My experience has been with buying 20# Propane Bottles at Lowes and Home Depot.

When you buy, look at the Mfg Date stamped on the Collar... some of the bottles were over three years old right off the shelf. I assume would be true for 30# tanks.

Also, as suggested above I also believe that there was/is a recent change to recertification requirements for portable propane bottles.

If a propane distributor refills 500 gallon bulk tanks the have got to have the certification needed to renew small cylinder qualification.

If my cylinder remains rust free...

I had four 20 lb pots hot galvanized in Oakland California in 1986. When Dale Erb shot Quicksilver he shot the pots with the same seafoam green tie coat as he used to bond to the bus. Then the pots were shot with OSHA white (or minimum temperature gain).

What used to kill old fashioned valves was overfilling the pot. The OPD float shutoff system cannot be used down here because the butane dispensers cannot deal with the OPD filler valve design. Hence my pots could not be filled in the USA. Tough.

But the days of worrying about rust-out are through. These are Manchester 20 lb pots.

I change valves changed every seven years or so for drill. Mexican gas has a lot of methyl ethyl mercapatans (odorant) and a lot of refinery lube oil in it. Many empty pots gain FIVE POUNDS worth of this junk.

A quart of lacquer thinner, resting overnight dilutes the oil enough to flush. But I need to wear throw away clothes, and gloves, and googles. Dig a deep hole and bury the liquid far far away from any structure or popular area. The odor will attract insects, and rise fears of "gas leak".

I have seen both aluminum pots and stainless steel pots. They have a knee-wobbling price tag. I have yet to see a valve assembly that claims to be superior.

dpgllg wrote:
The 30lb tanks in my 5th wheel need to be recertified or replaced. I have tried to locate a place that does recertification near me in SW PA but no luck. The propane suppliers don't offer the service and cannot recommend a place.

Does anyone have a suggestion on where to look or is it just better to buy two new tanks?

Thanks!

Dave

Hi Dave.

Dale Oxygen $5 per tank, all over.

Amerigas Delmont. Call ahead to their office

Just had mine done at Dale Oxygen. Less than $50 for both 30lbs filled and recertified.

RoyB wrote:
I thought I read there was a new ruling that the small tanks didn't need recertified for 12 years now. But a quick search didn't come up with anything... I know I read that somewhere recently...

Roy Ken

DOT requirement has been recert 12 yrs after date of mfg. on propane cylinders 4#-40#

That recert requirement has been rewritten at 1st of year....10 yrs after date of mfg. but has NOT been released (it was and then pulled)
SO as for now it is still 12 yrs after date of mfg. as stamped on protective collar.

Visual inspection is good for 5 additional yrs. and can be done over and over as long as cylinder is NOT damaged, rusted out, dented etc and has appropriate recert stickers/stamps with vendors RIN





OP......

SW PA?
Lot of territory
Do you have a Suburban Propane Vendor?