Propane hoses leak -- both of 'em
I had my propane tanks filled for the first time yesterday. When I reinstalled, I checked all connections with soapy water and found that both hoses leak. One tank weighed 36 pounds after filled, ...
Forum Discussion
ECones wrote:coolmom42 wrote:
Sometimes old hoses will be fine as long as they are not moved from a relatively fixed position. But when you move them and flex them in different directions than previously, the previously invisible cracks go on through the material.
Propane cylinders are designed to hold their designated weight at 80% of their absolutely maximum volume. Your 21 lb measurement is probably due to rounding off of the tank empty and full weights; if the weights were at something like 2 or more decimal places, you would probably have exactly 20 lb.
Propane tanks/cylinders are manufactured to pretty tight DOT specs, and they won't vary much coming off the assembly line.
I weighed the empty tanks by weighing myself with and without the tanks and subtracting. The scale is a digital bathroom scale rounded to a full pound. Then, of course, I did the same thing with the full tanks. You're exactly right that after all that subtracting with rounded weights, that 21 pound tank could easily have been 20.
A full 20# tank is full when it has 20# of propane and is 80% full by volume…
The only true measure of propane is by weight or at a temperature of 60* if by volume … obviously we don’t always have those controlled conditions…
Propane has a high expansion rate and the tanks can be overfilled if filled by volume only without a temperature compensation device… all home delivery trucks are required to have these devices for home heating propane but it isn’t required at small tank filling stations…
It is never a good idea to fill you tanks in a cold climate when you will be immediately heading to a warm or a hot climate… expansion can cause the tanks to vent off the excess gas into the atmosphere and be dangerous at times…
It is not always a good idea in the southwest to fill the tanks when going to cold high altitude locations… some propane sold in the SW has a higher concentration of butane in the propane that is less suitable for use in cold temperatures…
Best bet is to fill the tanks near the area where they will be used, although that isn’t always possible…
