Good Morning ,Does anyone have any experience with composite propane tanks? Do you have a hard time getting them fill?
I bought one from West Marine a few years ago it came in fine but when I went to have it filled the guy told me they are illegal, to fill, in Louisiana. I thought he was B.Sing me so he called the D.O.T. Who confimed it. I asked why they said there had been issues of cracking that was in 2009. WM took back the composit on no problem and the DOT sent a guy to inform them of the law.Steve W
.............. But I miss the easy level check. These magnetic so-called level gauges are pretty iffy in my view.
I haven't been able to find solid confirmation of this, but I think the fiberglass tanks require re-certification every 5 years, where the steel and aluminium tanks are good for an initial 12 years followed by 5 year re-certs. A friend bought one from WM and the guy who filled it told him that the certification was only good for another year.
Does anyone know more about this?
... I understand that European valves are different from Asian which are different from US, so our plan is to try and get hold of filling adapters for the different regions...
Well aware of the weight thing for checking Ron, but where my tank is fixed in place it is totally impractical to weigh it, and a major hassle to detach and remove it do do so. Most of the gauges that measure the level pick up the temp difference, and require one to pour hot water down them to indicate, (briefly), where the level is. Also not really feasible in my case. But I have heard of one magnetic strip one which does not require hot water poured on, so am investigating that.From my post above:
"While there are several ways to determine how much propane is left in a steel tank, I just weigh mine with a fish scale. The tank's empty weight should be stamped on the tank, anything more than that is propane."
Maybe I'm missing something but if the question is "how much propane is in the tank" I've been using this for years, without a hitch.
"Gas Watch"
Maybe I'm missing something but if the question is "how much propane is in the tank" I've been using this for years, without a hitch.
"Gas Watch"
Any secrets? Most people I know and my own experience is they are wildly inaccurate.
It's...gas...gas...gas...no gas or about 10 minutes worth....
They are good for checking leaks though..
For checking the amount of fuel in a metal tank just spray some water on the outside. It will freeze to the level of the fuel inside. Spray bottle with water works good.
That about sums up the issues with measuring what liquid gas is still there. The gauge Walt showed only starts to warn you once all the liquid has turned to gas, so warns only when there is just minutes or at best a couple of hours of gas left.Greetings,
Mr. OFB. Thanks, good tip. Can you still see that effect if the tank is not in use? Say it's been sitting, properly positioned and secured of course, on an open deck unused for a period of time. Wouldn't the gas inside the tank be the same temperature as the surrounding air?