Filling 20 lb Propane tanks

Not all bottle gas is propane. Many areas use Butane or a Butane/Propane mix. Since Butane doesn't boil (gassify) below 28 degrees, colder areas that use Butane or a Butane mix would need to adjust the mix during the winter.

Reply to
Rick Blaine
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Richard Pryor is/was funny, when he talked about catching on fire.

Fire! That shit can make you run FAST. (words to that affect).

-- Oren

"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

Reply to
Oren

"when you're running down hollywood blvd, with your clothes on fire, people get out of your way.."

Reply to
Goedjn

OK it's been a while since I took physics, or chemistry for that matter, but let's see. In the tank there is propane, some of it gaseous, some liquid. The pressure is high enough to liquefy it at ambient temperature. As you draw off some gas (for your furnace, or whatever) the pressure goes down a little, and some of the liquid 'boils' into gas. Until the liquid is all gone, then when you take out more gas the pressure just goes down.

So if you take gas off the top to fill up a smaller tank, it will fill the smaller tank until the pressure in it is the same as the pressure in the larger tank. I think if the two tanks are the same temperature, it will stop with only gas in the smaller tank. But if the smaller tank is colder than the bigger tank, gas will condense into liquid form in there, gradually filling it up. (As it condenses, more gas will migrate over from the bigger tank.) All speculation here.

Another possibility might be if you could somehow stick your filler tube down to the bottom of the large tank, so that the pressure would force liquid out instead of gas. Like a seltzer bottle. -- H

Reply to
Heathcliff

LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) is a mixture of propane and butane. When it's colder, it has more propane in it to keep it from liquifying. So, when I go and fill my tank with gas for my BBQ, am I getting propane or LPG?

Reply to
Ook

You're correct on both counts, as a previous poster said, if you cool the tank being filled with ice water even the gaseous transfer will fill the receiving tank pretty fast.

But the tricky thing is making damn sure that tank isn't filled beyound its safe capacity, or when it warms back up the expanding liquid could pop the relief valve and let propane flow out into the surrounding area.

If it's a 20 or 30 lb tank made after October 1998 with an OPD (overfill protection device - indicated by a triangular valve handle), then that should stop the filling while there's still appropriate room for thermal expansion of the liquid. But I'm not sure I'd rely on that valve closing tightly enough to prevent "gaseous filling and condensing" if you left the filling setup alone for a long period.

I'd side with the posters who say, "Leave it alone and let the pros handle it You have to know when to hold em and know when to fold em."

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

It's not a scam, It's an alternative arrangement. He could have found one to sell him a tank in the first place.

One reason renting is expensive is the same reason renting apartments is expensive. Bad tenants do damage that all the other customers have to pay for. One way to do that here would be to vent the gas, pollute the atmosphre, and require the tank company to purge the tank before they can use it again

I doubt the propane company has done anything to deserve bad treatment, the OP hasn't said what they did that he thinks is so bad, and we haven't heard their side of the story either. A lot of people make agreements and then consider it unfair when they are expected to live up to them.

Reply to
mm

As long as we're into this, can someone comment on whether OPD valves are foolproof?

It looks to me like they could be "fooled" into not doing their job if the tank being filled were turned upside down or lying on its side with the float arm pointing the "wrong way".

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

LPG is a generic term that covers a lot of chemistry.

Reads better the other way around. You *want* the liquid LPG to be a gas before you burn it. So when it's colder it has more Propane it it to help it gassify.

Wrong question. When you go to fill your BBQ tank, you might ask your supplier what the LPG mix is. Is it pure Propane, pure Butane or a mix of the two? The supplier will know what is being distributed in your area.

Reply to
Rick Blaine

Especially, when one is slapping himself all over.

My laughter tears are starting to dissipate. Great laugh.

-- Oren

"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

Reply to
Oren

He was a pretty funny guy, for sure. Kidding aside, as some of us know, propane isn't always our friend. At this point, the main tank has roughly 20 to 30 pounds of propane left in it (presumably something less with each passing day) and it seems rather foolish to risk serious injury and death for so little gain, especially if the propane dealer will provide a refund on the balance remaining (as is most likely required by state law). And I take it your homeowner's policy is null and void if you tamper with the tank and that you will be held criminally responsible for any damage you may inflict on neighbouring property. Not a smart way to go, IMHO.

Cheers, Paul

Reply to
Paul M. Eldridge

Float arm? Is there a float arm?

Or are we talking about a toilet? :)

Reply to
mm

Surely you jest:

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Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

I never jest about propane, sir. or propane accessories.

Wow. What a great idea. Thanks.

Reply to
mm

Assuming you were serious about not realizing that they use a float arm to shut off the inlet passage when the liquid propane reaches the safe "full" level, now do you see why I questioned whether they work if the tank being filled is lying on it's (wrong) side?

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

Did those bastards actually make you PAY for propane when the tank was getting close to empty? and when it was cold outside!?

Reply to
GROUP MODERATOR

Propane is heavier than air. Be sure to pick a VERY windy day, or you'll have a serious safety problem.

Better to just run the heat up full blast, and open the windows.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

That didn't make any sense to me, either. Maybe they put in some butane during the summer? If they are selling propane, it's the same the world around. But LPG might be mixed.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I'd doubt it, but havn't got any research reports to prove it.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Yes. To fill the portable tank, you need to use the liquid withdrawal feed from the bulk tank, not the gas feed that goes into your house or wherever. You need to have the right equipment and know exactly what you are doing.

For a great description of what this entails and how it works, see:

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(It probably doesn't make any sense at all to do this as a one time gig.)

Reply to
Tim

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