Questions came up when cleaning propane tank

[rdb]

The 500# tank came with the house but the propane company kept leaving me notes (for years) to clean out the soil around it so I finally dug it out.

How bad does it look to you?

I'm not done digging it out yet, but what are those two wires for? If they were connected to something, then I broken them.

But why would electricity be near a propane tank?

Also, how much underneath these long pipes should I excavate?

The shovel nicked the yellow pipe - is that a plastic covering on metal? Why is there electrical tape along the length of some of the pipes?

Also, I might paint it - does it matter if it's oil based or not? (the company said I had to use a light color but the wife wants green)

If I use it to refill a small propane tank for the grill, where do I hook the 20 gallon propane tank hose to the 500 gallon propane tank valves?

The tank is on two concrete supports. How deep under should I dig?

[Dean Hoffman]

No idea. That doesn't sound like a good.

White is standard to keep the sunshine from making the tank overheat. Maybe put some sort of roof over it? It's the same for NH3 tanks.

I imagine you'd have to hook before the pressure regulator. Just guessing. What pressure will the grill tank stand?

[Scott Lurndal]

It's likely that the wires are part of a grounding system for the tank to dissipate static electricity during filling, or possibly a remote tank gauge.

You probalby should leave the pipes buried. The covering and wrap are for corrosion protection underground.

First powerwash and remove all loose and flaking paint. Sand lightly to roughen the surface so the topcote will adhere.

Stop by your local trusted paint shop and get a recommendation for the application-appropriate quality topcote that they recommend.

You can't do that. Don't bother trying.

The tank should simply be clear of the earth, such that no earth is in contact with the tank itself other than the supporting feet (for corrosion resistance).

[micky]

FTR, 4 of these 6 were too small to see.

So use very light green.

[Walter Jones]

Dean Hoffman [e-mail] wrote

DIY Off Grid Propane Tank Refill

You could fill about a hundred 20 pound tanks from your 500 gallon tank.

[Snag]

I was told when I got our tank that liquid taps are not allowed here ...

[micky]

Interesting. 2 of them were big without my having to click on them. But not when I just tried, so it may be that my mouse has a trigger finger.

[micky]

I mean, a hair trigger.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

Some laptops have a "self clicking" touchpad. That's why I often disable the touchpad and use an external mouse.

[micky]

I would hate that too.

I'm using a laptop but it's pretty old, Acer but I forget the model. I would not like self-clicking.

I haven't disabled the touchpad but 99% of the time I use a mouse**, even when I travel. I think my mouse has a hair trigger. It's not doing it this week but often when I click on the scroll bar, it just keeps going. I changed the mouse once, but to the same model and from the same bag of 5 I bought cheap at a hamfest. I'm going to change to a different brand and see if all these weird things stop.

**I use an external keyboard too, even when I travel, even though it won't fit in the computer bag.