Propane tanks - buy own or exchange?

[Every Road Leads Home]

I never liked the idea of exchange tanks. You really have no idea where they've been or what they've been put through. I just picture one being tossed around in the back of some guys truck for months, then exchanged. Two brand new ones aren't expensive and then you know exactly what you have.
I bought four brand new ones to use on my house remodel and two were from Uhaul. The Uhaul ones came with a gauge on them and are actually quite accurate, so you always know how much you have left.

 

[Vagabound]

ccbreder:
It costs you $17 to fill up a 20-pound tank, but it costs Mr. Noodly only $10. That's a pretty large difference. What part of the country are you in?

Tom

 

[rvpopeye]

I know , it can be confusing.

A BIG Buddy has two 1#(high pressure) tank inputs , both have a regulator built in to lower the pressure from the tanks. It also has a quick connect fitting (low pressure) that does not have a regulator built in.

When I bought my Big Buddy I also bought a hose with a regulator next to the tank fitting and a quick connect fitting on the other end. The regulator in the hose turns the high pressure 20# tank to low pressure , then using the low pressure quick connect fitting it's a perfect match. (It was $35 plus special order shipping which doubled the price to almost what I paid for the heater :>( but I'll tell you why I paid it )

You could also get a hose without the regulator (~$25) to connect to the 1# high pressure inputs but need to also buy a filter (~$10) to use between the hose and the Big Buddy input. (get an extra filter while you're there).

The filter is because when under high pressure the rubber in the hoses will leach out a brown goop that will clog the internal regulator in the heater (or any other device ) the filter absorbs the goop and eventually clogs up , (why you need a spare) saving the heater regulator in the process.

There are some hose types that reduce the goop leaching but hard to determine which you have . Instead of trying to talk to a (non design engineer) customer service person on a hopefully free call and spending a huge amount of time and frustration in the process ........just get a filter!
And always turn off the tank and let the pressure burn off before you shut off the heater...

I learned all this the hard way many years ago (is there any other way? oh yeah , reading a post by someone that's BTDT) AND THX to the Coleman engineer that gave me all this great info back in 1984 after (I destroyed 2 heaters which they sent me new parts to rebuild!).
AND THX to Bob for telling me that the Buddy had the regulators built in too.

RV systems have a regulator next to the frame tank(s) so all the devices get low pressure so it's possible to have hoses made up to feed other portable devices like heaters . BBQs etc.
And even a 20# tank (with a regulator in the hose) so you don't have to take the rig to fill the main tank !!
RV supply places call the kit they sell an Extend A Stay.

Hope that now the fog has lifted ,,,,,, go get the stuff and git 'er done !!!

 

[rvpopeye]

OH yeah , Propane is $3.59 # here (at the cheapest place) .
Q is the cheapest I have ever seen , thx to all the snowbirds making the dealers compete.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

One more reason I prefer to buy my own tanks and get them refilled:

Unlikely is not the same as impossible . . .

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/crime/a/propane_tanks.htm

 

[Vagabound]

I know , it can be confusing.
...

You've got that right!

However, before I talk about that, I need to say what a great reply you just provided. You cleared up very nicely what you meant about the Big Buddy heater. In addition to that, you explained a few other things, especially about filters, that finally make sense to me now. Thanks a lot for doing that. Really.

There can be many points of confusion with this topic, but one of the most annoying is the unit of measure confusion. I'm finally starting to figure out the pounds versus gallons, but now I need to know how propane is typically sold. I thought it was by the gallon, but you're talking about buying it by the pound. Are propane suppliers trying to be purposely confusing or what?!?  ;-)

Tom

P.S. - For those people, yes, I know I can do the conversion, but that's not the point.

 

[John61CT]

Driving past my Tractor Supply shop today, sign said $1.89 per gallon, so your 20# tank is around $8 if it's close to empty.

Biggest advantage is when you're heading out with a partial tank, stop in an top it up, maybe $4 maybe $6, whatever you need.

If it's pay for all or nothing, you're likely to wait until it's empty, so either carry two! or risk running out in the boonies.

 

[Vagabound]

Driving past my Tractor Supply shop today, sign said $1.89 per gallon, so your 20# tank is around $8 if it's close to empty.

Biggest advantage is when you're heading out with a partial tank, stop in an top it up, maybe $4 maybe $6, whatever you need.

If it's pay for all or nothing, you're likely to wait until it's empty, so either carry two! or risk running out in the boonies.

Excellent differentiating points. In addition to the answers to specific questions that I was looking for, that kind of information is exactly what new people like me need. It's easy to get drowned by facts and figures, and not be able to turn any of that into useful information. Thanks for putting it so plainly and usefully.

Tom

 

[rvpopeye]

Sometimes it seems like every place has a different way....probably intentional.......guess it's up to the buyer to figure it out.

One place near here (right across the street) charges 41 cents for each 1/10th of a gallon,,,,with a $10 minimum.
$20 and change with tax.(plus he always drops it on the concrete to "test how full it is" chipping the paint off my brand new tanks!!!!

I go across town for the $3.59/gallon and top my second tank when the first one is empty. Usually costs less for both than one empty one at the other place.

In the next town over (the only place refilling on sunday) $4.50 ! I stopped needing that place when I got that second tank ! It always seems to run out in the middle of the night or at least when everywhere is closed !!!

Yet another sells by the pound.......


I like CC's method for getting rid of old tanks !

 

[Gary68]

real box truck dweller dudes and dudettes own their own,you can buy second hand pretty cheap but do you really want to?with the inspection and valving/metering i would want something i know is in working order,i got mine given to me by a neighbor,i am cheap and lazy after all

 

[Vagabound]

So far, I've decided that I'm going to get my own and fill them wherever I can fill them. And then when they get old, trade them in at an exchange place, and then use those tanks just like I used the first ones, as my own, because that's actually what they will be then. And after doing this for a while, I'll re-evaluate and see if it's still a good idea.

I appreciate all the great input on this topic. Was very educational for me.  I agree that it should be turned into or added to a sticky.

Tom

 

[Vagabound]

Follow-Up:

I bought two 20 lb propane tanks from U-Haul. The reason I selected U-Haul was the built-in gas level indicator that comes with the tank. Where I bought them, they also threw in two tank boots for free to help the tank stand up straight and not fall over. So far, so good.

My thanks again to Matt/ERLH who mentioned the U-Haul tanks. Here is the link again for convenience:

https://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Propane-Tanks-Heaters/20lb-Propane-Tank-With-Gas-Gauge?id=13318

Tom

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Hi Tom,

Excellent choice, I have four tanks, two are Uhaul ones and I find myself not even liking the others anymore as the gauge is so convenient. Just an FYI, I noticed on mine that it goes through the green section of the gauge really quick, then slowly through the yellow and red. Even when it's almost empty on the gauge I think there's about 5lbs left. One of these days I'll pull my scale out and measure it at different points so I know exactly what's left at the different points on the gauge.

 

[Vagabound]

... Even when it's almost empty on the gauge I think there's about 5lbs left.  One of these days I'll pull my scale out and measure it at different points so I know exactly what's left at the different points on the gauge.

Good to know. If you do end up doing those weight / capacity checks, please share your results with me. I'd like to know them.

Tom

 

[Vagabound]

...Just an FYI, I noticed on mine that it goes through the green section of the gauge really quick, then slowly through the yellow and red.  Even when it's almost empty on the gauge I think there's about 5lbs left.  One of these days I'll pull my scale out and measure it at different points so I know exactly what's left at the different points on the gauge.

Hey Matt, I did not put my tanks on a scale, but I have a little bit of information to share for comparison.

The first time that I refilled my tanks, neither was completely empty. One tank was in the red zone on the gauge and it took 3.3 gallons to refill it. The other tank was in the middle of the green zone and it took 1.4 gallons.

Not sure how exact any of that is, but it adds to our database of information.

Tom

 

[John61CT]

Most level gauges are shyte.

Proper commercial ones work off a float in the liquid, pressure sensing will never work.

You can get European tanks now made of translucent material.

Use the hot water trick.

Or weigh them.

Or two-tank autoswitch reg then no worries.

 

[rvpopeye]

I just bought an old bathroom scale at a thrift shop and leave it under the tank..................

 

[Trebor English]

The UHaul gauges are real float operated gauges. Don't exchange them, refill them.

 

[John61CT]

Good to know, they didn't use to.

Note one may want to calibrate using a scale, use a thinline Sharpie for specific poundages.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Most level gauges are shyte.

Proper commercial ones work off a float in the liquid, pressure sensing will never work.

You can get European tanks now made of translucent material.

Use the hot water trick.

Or weigh them.

Or two-tank autoswitch reg then no worries.

The uhaul tank gauges work really well. Only tanks i'll be using from here on out.  I have two Uhaul tanks and two other brand tanks, don't even fill the other two anymore, gauge is too handy.