What's the procedure?
Seems simple but I could be missing something.
1) Turn off valve to large tank (250 gallons). 2) Open line (wearing gloves & pointing away from face) 3) Connect the small tank (20 gallons) taking care to prevent air entryIs there more to it from a safety standpoint than that obvious procedure?
Pretty much that would be it. Assuming the fittings match. I'm not sure what type of connector you have.
How fast are you consuming the propane? Like, are you using it to run a furnace? The faster propane is drawn off the faster the tank contents cool off. Eventually the propane will freeze and no more will be available and the system will 'go out'. When the tank thaws out flow resumes but the pilot lights are out and you are getting set up for a propane explosion! Think about that ..... pdk
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:36:01 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote
Good question on the fittings!
I am contemplating doing this so I don't even know where to get the smaller tanks yet but I'll watch out for fitting mismatch.
Does Home Depot sell the smaller tanks? I'm thinking of a size that's about as tall as a short person.
I know Lowes has 40 and 100 pound tanks. $98 and $139 Fitting looks the same in the photo, of course you need a longer hose.
What is your reasoning for making the switch???
100# tank. Does the existing tank have a regulator?
My propane vendor changed the regulator on my tank from a one stage to a two stage this spring. I'll pass on what he said as I watched him turn off the valve. He would close it 30 degrees or so and back it out, repeating the process gradually until the vale was seated. His theory was old valve that haven't been turned off in years tend to leak if you just crank them down tight.
ymmv, but taking a few seconds longer to turn it off can't hurt.
I'm sure you know but j.i.c -- POL fittings have left handed threads. I use soapy water in a spray bottle to make sure everything is good when I'm done.
If you have a gas stove turn the burners on to purge the lines. No matter how fast you are the propane tends to escape and leave some air in the line.
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 20:56:30 -0600, rbowman wrote
Yes. Three are two. One at the tank and one at the foundation of the house.
Thank you for that hint. Sounds like what I do with old water valves.
I had forgotten about that. I hooked them up years ago (maybe twenty?) but haven't touched such things since long ago. Thank you for reminding me.
Yes. Gas stoves. Gas water heater. Gas fireplace.
Good hint to open the windows and doors and then the gas lines inside the house to prevent air in the lines.
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 20:20:10 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote
Road collapsed so it is being worked on for a month or more. One lane only. One way at a time only. No trucks over 5K pounds allowed. Cops giving tickets so propane delivery sent notice they can't come. Same with garbage but garbage can just pile up. Just need to tide over for a month or two. Should have thought ahead but didn't think about it in time.
Does your propane company have any tanks you can rent for the duration? I've seen the 100# tanks out in the yard at mine and they aren't new.
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 23:35:15 -0600, rbowman wrote
Amerigas. They only have big trucks. Really big trucks. Nowhere near 5K pounds.
They were coming until the cops parked at the weight limit sign. Apparently it's bad news for their license class to get tickets.
It's not a big deal for most of the residents since they planned ahead.
I didn't realize Lowes sells the small propane tanks. So that should tide me over.
(I wonder if I can slightly fill the big tank? I'll look for a second opening because that might be a second method, but I just thought of that as I was typing so I haven't looked to see if there is a second pipe on the big tank that I can tap into.)
To save propane I've been turning off the hot water heater every day. It takes about a half hour to heat up 50 gallons.
I'm curious if that's your experience that it takes about a half hour of propane to heat 50 gallons of water from ambient of about, oh, I don't know, room temperature of 70 degrees or so.
There's a guide here to tank sizes:
Would putting the 150 gallon one on a small trailer be a practical option?
Well, I would suggest pointing your face away from the open line instead of pointing away from your face. After all, the escaping gas might not see which way you are pointing given that you are wearing the gloves.
No idea. My hot water heater is electric.
Good reason. Makes sense.
It can be calculated and I may still have the formula. You have to know the output of the burner and you can figure how long it will burn on a tank of propane.
Gallon of propane has 91,000 BTU. Water heater is about 30 - 40,000 BTU
A BTU is the energy required to raise a pound of water 1 degree. Gallon of water is 8.3 pounds. to raise it from 70 to 120 takes 50 x 8.3 x how many gallons you used.
He might run into issues there of regulations regarding the transport of nat gas and what kind of vehicles and equipment are approved for that. Bringing home a couple of 20 lb tanks in an SUV I'm pretty sure is legal. Towing a trailer with a 150 gallon tank of propane down a road that has a weight limit, where cops are checking and stopping trucks, IDK about that.
Looks like more than I thought. Have to be upright too
They have an extra zero in that 600 lbs above. If this road work is only for a month or two, he doesn't have to heat a house, limiting usage and his plan of relying on barbecue size cylinders sounds reasonable for some cooking and WH.
On Thu, 20 Sep 2018 22:51:29 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote
Good news. I thought I was at zero percent but I actually have 5 percent. [IMG]
I think that means I have about 15 gallons, which may last long enough for the road repairs to be made (they're scheduled to finish by November 1st).
The hot water heater says its inlet is 37,000 BTUs, right where you said it would be.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.