Propane tanks

[FishinFools]

I have (2) 30lb tanks on my wheel house.  One of them stopped working last week while on Upper Red.  I ran it over to Roger's and the gentleman who filled it for me commented that it was still half full.  (he was kind enough to only charge me for a 20lb fill)  He made a comment that has me scratching my head, and I hope someone can help me.  He mentioned that lots of places that fill tanks don't purge new tanks properly.  And that when this happens, the tank may be forever unable to completely empty, thus reducing the tank to a much lower useful volume.  Has anyone heard that before?  I understand the concept and purpose of purging a tank.  And I did find out that this brand new tank was pre-purged by the manufacturer.

Any thoughts or comments?  I'd hate to go out for a long weekend, far from a propane vendor, only to find out that I really have 30lbs instead of 60lbs.

[Boar]

are u sure u dont have a rgulator problem. specially since it was prepurged prior. 

[RebelSS]

He's right. I learned that by having the same problem with a tank. Turn the purge screw on the side of the regulator out a bit to purge, tighten back down, then add LP while doing the same thing, that MAY fix the problem by purging it completely. I learned THAT from an LP company. But, do this after you are sure your regulator isn't iced/stuck, give it a couple taps, and let it sit in a warm place; tap again. Then do the first listed procedure. Good luck.

Edited January 9, 2016 by RebelSS

[FishinFools]

2 hours ago, Boar said:

are u sure u dont have a rgulator problem. specially since it was prepurged prior. 

Could be a regulator problem, I guess.  I did try a 20lb tank that I had with me and it worked fine in place of the questionable 30lb tank.  And after filling at Rogers, the 30lb tank ran fine the rest of the time we were up there.  But, yes, it could still be the regulator.

Any LP companies or co-ops in the south metro?  I have both of my tanks at home now and I'd like to have a professional take a look.

[Boar]

I work for a coop but just recently and am learning this lp stuff. i belive reb is right, its airlocked and wasnt purged correctly, it needs to bleed out the air. we have vaules that do this, you can turn the srew on the valve just below the open close knob till it starts to spit lp, but takes awhile. thers another trick. but just take it to yur coop and have him bleed it till it spits lp and yur good.

[SpearPike]

It wasnt purged properly.

[leech~~]

Had the very same thing happen to me with a brand new tank many years ago when up on LOW. Lucky it was the old valve and they guy took it out back and bleed off the pressure and refilled it. It was one of his guys that didn't bleed it when I brought it in so he was pretty nice at getting me back on the lake.

[Jeremy airjer W]

opening the little screw on the side of the valve is not purging. On the other end of that screw is the 80% liquid full straw. When the tank is full (a full propane tank is 80% liquid) propane will spit out the screw. since propane is heavier than air there is still air trapped above the 80% mark. In order to properly purge the tank a purge tank and a set of valves is used. the purge tank is hooked up to the new tank with a hose. Propane vapor from the purge tank is transferred to the new tank. The new tank is then vented and the process repeated 3-5 times. This will remove all of the air and hopefully moisture from the tank.

If the tank is purged with liquid propane and not a purge tank, the moisture in the new tank will freeze and will not be removed. If you happen to get a new tank in the winter it would not hurt to repurge it in the spring/summer to get the last of any moisture out of the tank.

[Rick]

That's a great post Jeremy. Thanks.