Propane tanks - buy own or exchange?

[IGBT]

Walmart swaps the tanks out for about $14 to $15.  Cheaper than Depot.

Our truck gets 10mpg max.   If I am getting groceries at a Walmart and need propane, it is usually cheaper to do a swap than drive 10 miles to find a refill place.   But I do get them refilled instead of swapped when able.

 

[Wabbit]

Too long, did not read. However, here's my opinion! Buy new tank, use it for however long, trade it for refillable when its trashed. 5 years? No idea, I'm on year 5 with a $40-50ish Menard's 20# tank. Still going strong. The trade in tanks get beat to crap from people like me. If its your own tank, you know how its been cared for.

 

[John61CT]

The swap companies don't give a full tank, and you lose more if yours isn't completely empty.

I often refill my 20# for <$8-9

If your vehicle gets lousy mileage, that's a completely different issue, and IMO a much higher priority problem to address.

 

[Vagabound]

I'm with Matt (ERLH) on this one. Crap gauges or not, these U-Haul tanks work really well. I'm so happy to have that gauge on the side of the tank. While it may not be up to everyone's accuracy standards, the fact of the matter is, it gives some handy information. 

Now, if Matt and I can just finish our experiment and figure out how to correlate gauge position with pounds in the tank, we'll have a rough guide. And seeing as how we're not trying to launch astronauts into space, that should be sufficient for all except the excessively fastidious.

Tom

 

[John61CT]

I don't think anyone said the UH gauges were no good, someone in fact stated they were real floatation type, as opposed to the near-useless pressure ones.

And I gave directions for calibrating them with a scale and Sharpie above, indeed it's not rocket science.

 

[highdesertranger]

the exchange tanks are a rip off. buy your own and refill is much cheaper. highdesertranger

 

[Weight]

Refills are less money, and there is more gas in the bottle. But it is cheaper to exchange a old bottle for a newer one than to buy a new bottle. Check the dates and reject the ones that have been re-certified too many times or are close to 10 years old.

 

[John61CT]

Unless you've got a nice U-Haul bottle with a proper float guage.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Now I'm feeling the motivation to make a cheat sheet on the uhaul gauges. One of my tanks is almost empty, so once it's bone dry I'm going to weigh it. And then I'll continually weigh it as it's being used and figure out how many lbs left and where that correlates on the actual gauge. Stay tuned! I know I have a digital fish scale buried around here somewhere that goes up to 50 lbs I can use for the experiment.

Stay tuned Tom, we may just be launching someone into space yet once we dial in the accuracy.

 

[John61CT]

Quicker and easier to do it at the fill station, maybe give the guy a tip to start, then have him put in 4-5# at a time, and mark each stop point right on the dial with your thin Sharpie.

321 blast off!

 

[Vagabound]

Now I'm feeling the motivation to make a cheat sheet on the uhaul gauges.  ...

Stay tuned Tom, we may just be launching someone into space yet once we dial in the accuracy.

I knew I'd finally get you fired up!

And I'm ready. Well, at least I have the right hat for it.

Tom

 

[Trebor English]

   And seeing as how we're not trying to launch astronauts into space, that should be sufficient for all except the excessively fastidious.
Tom

I thought into space was where astronauts were supposed to be launched.  Is there a new destination?

 

[Vagabound]

I thought into space was where astronauts were supposed to be launched.  Is there a new destination?

The inner dimensions of the human spirit is the real journey, Grasshopper.

Tom

 

[Weight]

Having not seen such a tank as described here as 'U-haul with float gauge', I had to check. I do not know exactly how the gauge works, but it is not a float gauge, nor is it a pressure gauge. The tanks are just regular Worthington bottles. The gauge clamps around the valve with no physical connection to any content. Maybe it is magnetic and registers the overfill mechanism.

 

[John61CT]

Yah, suspected proper gauge maybe too expensive for Big Corp selling to the masses.

This is a real float gauge

Tanks here http://www.propane-generators.com/manchester.php

Easy scale for 20# here https://www.amazon.com/Grill-Gauge-GG-1100-Original/dp/B0012GTU3O

The stick-on ones you pour hot water on work fine.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

You can buy a Worthington tank with that float gauge built in from Amazon for less than $50:

https://www.amazon.com/Worthington-...11576&sr=8-1&keywords=Propane+tank+with+gauge

 

[John61CT]

For fancy larger rigs, gauges also exist with remote senders for inside control panels to display levels.

 

[OutdoorFT]

Lots of good info here. As a person with limited experience with LP, I appreciate the responses.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Float gauges are simple old fashioned technology, why aren't all propane tanks using them? Why is there a country full of people running out of propane on Sunday's right before a family BBQ when the technology exists to prevent it?

That Worthington tank gauge looks exactly like the Uhaul gauge, right down the the words printed on it and the gray attachment points to the tank. Time to do some research. My Uhaul tank was $34.95 if anyone's curious.

 

[OutdoorFT]

Float gauges are simple old fashioned technology,  why aren't all propane tanks using them?  Why is there a country full of people running out of propane on Sunday's right before a family BBQ when the technology exists to prevent it?

Global Warming...