Propane upgrade

[geO]

Being a complete newby I have another question. What is your advise on getting the 30lb propane tanks? IN my never rv'ed mind I was thinking it would be easier to get refills for the 20lb tank and not has much strain on my back. I've even thought of carrying an extra tank for reserve.

 

Thank you!

[Mainiac]

2 30lb. tanks will hold a little more than 3 20 lb. tanks. Guess it all depends on what you are charged per gallon. A Tractor Supply (and others) charges about a dollar a gallon less than some other places, including the exchange programs. Guess the true gauge will be the weight. Will a taller tank, weighing 10 lb. more, be that much harder to lift into place? Hopefully the fill station person is young and strong? Also, and you may know, both of those size tanks fit in a milk crate. Keeps those tanks from rolling around in your tow vehicle, if you don't take your trailer to the fill site..

[John E Davies]

Being a complete newby I have another question. What is your advise on getting the 30lb propane tanks? IN my never rv’ed mind I was thinking it would be easier to get refills for the 20lb tank and not has much strain on my back. I’ve even thought of carrying an extra tank for reserve. Thank you!

Easy in many ways to refill a 20 pounder, which is the "standard " size. You can even swap out your empty bottle for a filled one at many places like Home Depot. Be aware it will not look brand new.

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/AMERIGAS-Propane-Tank-Exchange-204S/202317242

 

It is a great idea to carry a spare one for reserve ONLY IF you have a place to secure it properly outside the TV or trailer. The open bed of a pickup would be acceptable, if it can't move. Inside a sealed compartment or vehicle is strictly forbidden.

 

I ordered the 30 pounders and I don't care about the other aspects and I don't want to deal with an extra one. I just want a lot of built-in gas.

 

If Oliver would start using marine diesel fired appliances, then we could carry a five gallons of the stuff very safely and it would last for months.... Oh well. Maybe in 2027...

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[KarenLukens]

I've probably got 6 of the 20's sitting around and they are easier to carry but we went with the 30lb upgrade for the resale value. If it gets to the point that you can't lift the 30's then converting down to 20's is simple, where converting up will take some parts usually. We always carried an extra 20 before the Olli, now we don't need it and also had both extra propane ports added front and rear.

[KarenLukens]

geO wrote:

Being a complete newby I have another question. What is your advise on getting the 30lb propane tanks? IN my never rv’ed mind I was thinking it would be easier to get refills for the 20lb tank and not has much strain on my back. I’ve even thought of carrying an extra tank for reserve. Thank you!

Easy in many ways to refill a 20 pounder, which is the “standard ” size. You can even swap out your empty bottle for a filled one at many places like Home Depot. Be aware it will not look brand new. http://www.homedepot.com/p/AMERIGAS-Propane-Tank-Exchange-204S/202317242 It is a great idea to carry a spare one for reserve ONLY IF you have a place to secure it properly outside the TV or trailer. The open bed of a pickup would be acceptable, if it can’t move. Inside a sealed compartment or vehicle is strictly forbidden. I ordered the 30 pounders and I don’t care about the other aspects and I don’t want to deal with an extra one. I just want a lot of built-in gas. If Oliver would start using marine diesel fired appliances, then we could carry a five gallons of the stuff very safely and it would last for months…. Oh well. Maybe in 2027… John Davies Spokane WA

 

The only thing about the swap outs is that they usually only put 3.5 gallons in, they don't fill them up. And that's where their profit comes in. Really watch out and pick a good looking tank when swapping out because some of them are trashed, where others are new. It's a good way to swap out an old tank of yours though and I've turned in a couple of old tanks this way also. They will even take the old style rusty one's with the internal threads for a swap.

[geO]

I just got off the phone with Oliver and made the change order and will go with the 30lb tanks. i thought I had to carry them each time they needed refill.  and my back is in awesome shape.

[bugeyedriver]

geO,

 

A filled 30lb tank will weigh about 55 lbs due to weigh of the tank itself.  I have found that locations who will fill your tanks require you to disconnect the tank from the trailer so they can place it on a scale as they fill it.  This gives them an accurate read on the amount and grounds the tank to protect it from a static discharge.

 

55lbs is not too bad until you are lifting that tall tank over the top of the fiberglass to place it in its place.  One way to help with that is to lower the tongue of the trailer so your lift is not as high.

 

Pete

[John E Davies]

The only thing about the swap outs is that they usually only put 3.5 gallons in' date=' they don’t fill them up. And that’s where their profit comes in. . [/quote']

 

"With safety being our number one priority, the chemical properties of propane restrict us to only fill our tanks to 80% capacity. Our main concern is the variable expansion ratio of the liquid within the container over a temperature rise. By not filling to 100%, a vapor space is created within the container. This allows room for liquid expansion, should it occur, and allows vaporization of the liquid propane to occur unimpeded."

 

Isn't this fairly normal practice?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[KarenLukens]

KarenLukens wrote:

The only thing about the swap outs is that they usually only put 3.5 gallons in, they don’t fill them up. And that’s where their profit comes in. .

“With safety being our number one priority, the chemical properties of propane restrict us to only fill our tanks to 80% capacity. Our main concern is the variable expansion ratio of the liquid within the container over a temperature rise. By not filling to 100%, a vapor space is created within the container. This allows room for liquid expansion, should it occur, and allows vaporization of the liquid propane to occur unimpeded.” Isn’t this fairly normal practice? John Davies Spokane WA

 

Basically it has nothing to do with that, a 20lb tank is rated to hold 20lbs, but that's not the point... An exchange will cost $18 to $26 per tank depending on location. Propane is $1.75 where I live, so if it costs $2 bucks a gallon on average and you buy your 80%, at $2 bucks a gallon, or 4 gallons, that's going to cost you $8 bucks. An exchange will cost you double that wherever you go, and then, you're still getting a tank that sometimes is less then half full. So, you want to feel the weight of the tanks in the cage because you will see a big difference between them. Some will be at 3.5 but others will have from 2 to 5 gallons in them depending on who was filling them and what was going on at the time. Plus it may say on the cage that you are paying let's say $3.35 a gallon, but it doesn't say in large print that you're not even getting 5 gallons.

 

Here's a good article - http://www.elivermore.com/propane.htm

 

And another - http://www.poynter.org/2009/how-much-propane-is-really-in-your-20-pound-grill-tank/96618/

[SeaDawg]

This may be old school, as I'm older than many here. A friend who worked with propane told me that propane, like gasoline, is tempered to the climate.

 

If we camp at higher elevations in NC, we fill a bottle locally at tractor supply and work off that. Unlike many, we don't use the automatic switchover. We like to know what we have, like the old days.

 

Here in Florida, we camp at close to zero . In NC, we camp above 3000.

 

We live off the local gas for the most part. Do any of you know better?

[Overland]

geO, A filled 30lb tank will weigh about 55 lbs due to weigh of the tank itself. I have found that locations who will fill your tanks require you to disconnect the tank from the trailer so they can place it on a scale as they fill it. This gives them an accurate read on the amount and grounds the tank to protect it from a static discharge. 55lbs is not too bad until you are lifting that tall tank over the top of the fiberglass to place it in its place. One way to help with that is to lower the tongue of the trailer so your lift is not as high. Pete

You can save a little weight by going with aluminum tanks.  They'll cost twice as much and only save 7 lbs, but hey, 7 lbs is 7 lbs.  And you could polish them to make them shiny.  Think of how well you'd sleep at night knowing that you have shiny aluminum LP tanks.

[J-Rhett]

One more thing as Columbo, used to say. When you purchase your Ollie TT the hardware you get for the 20 lb. tanks will not work with the 30 lb. tanks. but the 30 lb. hardware to hold the tanks will work with the 20 lb. tanks. This is per Jason, the service manager. So if you want to use 20 pounders in place of the larger tanks it will work fine. Lukins alluded to this in their posting.

 

[Raspy]

I switched my 20 lb tanks for 30 lb tanks.  All that is required is to get a center threaded rod that is 6" longer.  It's very easy to get 3/8 threaded rod at Home Depot, tractor Supply or most hardware stores.  Everything else is the same and they drop right in.

 

As far as filling goes, I've never had mine done by weight.  They just fill until it vents at the (approximately) 83% level.

[ScottyGS]

Ok... Stupid question maybe...

 

But...If you go to a propane refill place that services RV's they would likely fill your propane without removing the tanks.    The Class B's that have propane with permanently installed tanks can't remove them.  You might have to call around to find a place that will but it's got to be easier than lifting those tanks.

 

Scotty

 

Flying Sea Turtle Hull # 145

 

 

[KarenLukens]

Ok… Stupid question maybe…

 

But…If you go to a propane refill place that services RV’s they would likely fill your propane without removing the tanks. The Class B’s that have propane with permanently installed tanks can’t remove them. You might have to call around to find a place that will but it’s got to be easier than lifting those tanks.

 

Scotty

 

Flying Sea Turtle Hull # 145

 

 

 

 

Most places are set up to fill the tanks in place, I've only filled these twice but I don't pull the tanks. When I pull in they either direct me or I look for their hose and park next to it. That's how I filled my old Motorhome also with as stationary tank. Different companies will have vastly different prices also, up to a dollar or more per gallon difference, so be sure to use your "Gas Buddy" app or using "Google Assistant" also can help if Gas Buddy is coming up empty :)