Another propane question

The OP was about setting a scale, which involves the safety of propane. Essentially, then, it is a procedure to make sure that a given cylinder is not overfilled (a dangerous condition). It is simple mathematics: the weight of the propane plus anything else that presses down on the scale (the cylinder itself, the hoses and valves -- 6 pounds in our set-up).

Charging for propane is completely separate and certainly does not involve considerations of safety. I suppose there are places that charge by the pound, though i haven't run across any personally. Most places will charge by the gallon (as i do) or will simply have a flat charge (which can be a bit of a rip off, imho).

Note, then, that if we were effectively to underfill a cylinder, then it would also merely involve fewer gallons of propane and, as a result, less money on the sale.

Lynn

Counting the weight of the hose it may or may not have filled it. Odds are I'm betting you filled at a place that charges by the tank which gives them incentive to short change each tank a pound or two. To make sure you are getting your money worth, always fill tanks that charge per gallon and make sure they reset the meter to zero.

The filler sets the scale to include the tare weight of your cylinder (varies a little; it's marked on your cylinder as TW), the weight of the propane when full (your WC X .42), and the weight of the filler's hoses.

For a TW=18 cylinder on our system, the scale would be set to 44 pounds. It'll vary some, depending on your filler's system.

Lynn

All propane tanks have a "tare weight" or "T.W." stamped on the collar of the tank. For a grill sized tank you simply calculate the tare weight + 20 lbs, and that's how much the tank should weigh when it's full. Most 20 lb tanks have a tare weight of +/- 17 pounds when completely empty.