Smaller Propane Tanks

Gdetrailer wrote:

rhagfo wrote:
Well yes 40# tanks are heavy so step down to 30#. I am a little lost on how hard many find to get propane. Around here about 1/3 of gas stations fill cylinders.

No "gas stations" around my area or even anywhere near where I camp that fill propane cylinders.

Mine neither. I live in an area with 300k people and I bet I can count on one hand how many places refill tanks. U-Haul is the biggest and you get to wait an hour because the same guy doing refills is handling rentals. Not my idea of fun. I usually try to wait until I'm at an RV park that sells it.

It's almost as frustrating as finding a place that actually does trailer inspections.

Bobbo wrote:
What do you do if you are in an area where you must swap tanks rather than refill them, but the swapper is not the empty one?

Don't be so anal about the propane tanks and have owned or swap tanks. You own both tanks so fill or swap as needed. By the time my tanks get old enough that they need inspected I have no issue swapping them out for a nice shinny painted Blue Rhino tank.

rhagfo wrote:
Well yes 40# tanks are heavy so step down to 30#. I am a little lost on how hard many find to get propane. Around here about 1/3 of gas stations fill cylinders.

You live in a state where only gas station attendants are allowed to pump gasoline.

Gotta give those employees something to do when they're not pumping gas...

rhagfo wrote:
Well yes 40# tanks are heavy so step down to 30#. I am a little lost on how hard many find to get propane. Around here about 1/3 of gas stations fill cylinders.

No "gas stations" around my area or even anywhere near where I camp that fill propane cylinders.

Used to have a building supply/concrete contractor that filled cylinders, they are gone and out of business for going on 20+ yrs.. I have one Mom and Pop hardware store local to me that does fill cylinders.

One bulk propane supplier, one industrial gas supplier about 25 minutes from my home but both of those places charge more per pound than using a cylinder exchange (in other words, 20 lb cylinders cost them more in labor than what it is worth them for the business).

Did have a grocery store 5 minutes from my home that exchanged cylinders, that store closed due to owner fraudulently mishandling funds and the creditor took them down..

Have multiple stores (like Home Depot, Lowes, Tractor Supply, Rural King) 25 minutes from my home including a couple of gas stations which handle cylinder exchanges..

Some areas also regulate where and who is able to have bulk propane storage and require properly trained personnel at all times to handle the filling which may limit how many places you can find that will do refills.. Folks can get hurt not knowing proper procedures and handling and I would not feel comfortable having any old "gas station" or "grocery store" attendant filling my cylinders.

Well yes 40# tanks are heavy so step down to 30#. I am a little lost on how hard many find to get propane. Around here about 1/3 of gas stations fill cylinders.

No need to go past the second post (reply) to your question by the Mod!

Did that long ago. The 40# are simply too heavy.

Plus - you can purchase extra 20# bottles at reasonable prices at HD, Lowe's, Costco, etc. Handy to have at your home for your BBQ.
(Also, most even have gauges now.).

Note: The "exchange" bottles are usually less than full - and about double the cost of what a bulk supplier charges to fill your bottles.

Whatever lights your burner!

~

Bobbo wrote:
What do you do if you are in an area where you must swap tanks rather than refill them, but the swapper is not the empty one?

I'm still trying to figure out how any of this is a real world issue...
Unless of course, you're LMHS, who would make Hank Hill very proud!

Bobbo wrote:
What do you do if you are in an area where you must swap tanks rather than refill them, but the swapper is not the empty one?

Unless you are running a generator or some other really heavy propane use, a 20# tank will last at least a couple weeks. We are usually 4-6 weeks often more on a single tank.

Unless you are staying in remote areas for extended periods of time, it's really not an issue. Just switch to the 2nd tank and when you get back to civilization, fill the empty tank.

"What do you do if you are in an area where you must swap tanks rather than refill them, but the swapper is not the empty one?"

I run multiple tanks. I have 3 swappers for my bus. I have one for the truck camper. I doubt the truck camper will ever have two empty tanks at the same time.

The "swappers" are the back-up tanks to my own tanks. So I use them when my own tanks are empty. At this point in time, I have 8 of my own tanks and at least 3 swappers not counting what is on the truck camper (not sure since part of my tanks are in storage). I built my "RV" so it's not like most RVs. I use LP for heating/cooking/dryer which runs on one LP manifold system and I have an LP generator which runs on a second LP manifold system. All the tanks have gauges added to them so I can see which are empty and which are full. They also are on manifolds with shut-off valves so I can open up to 4 tanks on a single manifold and still have one (usually a swapper) as a backup for when the 4 tanks finally empty.

All my LP appliances are residential so they are all energy efficient, which RV appliances are not required to be because they are not made to be used all the time like residential appliances are, so no energy saving regulations are followed.

In my current location, legally I can only transport 3 tanks inside my jeep. When I have 3 empty, I take them to be refilled.

I ditched the big tanks years ago when they were going out of date. I swap the smaller ones out when they are getting close to expiration date and get ones with a better date. Never had a problem. I also carry a few extras in the truck bed.