Propane dealers

[Azenmstr]

Does anyone have a list of propane dealers in the metro area? I bought my first ice house and heater but don't know where to get my tank filled. I live in the Farmington area and work in Minneapolis. Any help would be appreciated.

[blk94fiveoh]

I don't know of any specific places, but quite a few of the gas stations have propane filling stations. Keep your eyes open for a little white building attached to a large propane tank. Some Holiday gas stations have them.

[Powerstroke]

If you bought a brand new tank, then the tank will need to be purged with alcohol. For the first fill it is very important that you have your tank filled by a qualified and a gas station employee trained to fill tanks doens't cut it for me.

I went to Toll Welding supply. Any welding supply store or other "gas" dealer can do it for you. I paid $10 to have my new 10lb tank purged and filled.

[hanson]

Quote:

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...purged with alcohol.

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I'm confused. When Vado's Bait purged my 2 11lb tanks, they just hook a special valve up to the tank to purge the gas out that is shipped in the tank. I can't remember what kind of gas it was now. It just takes a couple minutes and then they fill the tank with propane. I don't believe there is any alcohol involved and nothing is put into the tank other than propane once the gas has been purged out.

[Pat K]

The Conoco station at the intersection of Hwys 3 and 50 in Farmington fills propane tanks.

[McGurk]

I thought the hardware store in Farmington did, or is that just exchanges?

[Ronsay]

Quote:

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Quote:

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...purged with alcohol.

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I'm confused. When Vado's Bait purged my 2 11lb tanks, they just hook a special valve up to the tank to purge the gas out that is shipped in the tank. I can't remember what kind of gas it was now. It just takes a couple minutes and then they fill the tank with propane. I don't believe there is any alcohol involved and nothing is put into the tank other than propane once the gas has been purged out.

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When I purchased my 30# tanks almost 2 years ago I did not have them purged, never knew you had to. There was nothing on the tanks stating that it should be done.

What is in a new tank, and what happens if you don't purge them?

Ron

[hanson]

Ronsay-

Good question.

I bought a tank a number of years ago and just had it filled, never purged. It was another little 11 pound tank. When I hooked my Mr. Heater up to it, I couldn't light it. If it did light, it went out right away. It was explained to me that the tank basically was vapor locked.

Soooo, I bought another one. The gentleman filling it asked if it had ever been filled before and I told him NO. He explained to me he had to purge the tank first because they are shipped full of a gas.

I guess I'm not sure if every tank that isn't purged will 'lock up' like mine did, but it takes only a couple minutes and doesn't cost more than a few dollars to do it.

[bigminnow]

I bought a new weber grill A year ago. Basically when they Purge your tank they are just letting the pressurized air that comes in shiopment out. They actuall fill the tank with a small amount of propane and the open the valve to replace the inert gas. not a big deal.

Bigminnow

[fishin789]

the ace hardware in farmington fill tanks.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I've been filling tanks for over 12 years. I think i might have the answers on this one

-A new tank has air, the same stuff you breath.

Purging a tank removes the air from the tank. this is done with a special set of valves attached to another propane tank. The new tank is filled with a small amount of propane gas (I think we have a 20 psi regulator) and then vented. This is repeated for a total of three cycles, fill vent fill vent fill vent. This will sufficiently remove the air out of the tank.

-If a tank is not purged when it is new all that will come out of the valve is air, thus the lack of flame or the flame constantly blowing out. once the air is out the tank should function normally, however there is the possibility of a small amount of moisture that can be trapped inside of the tank. This can cause the tank to rust on the inside. The rust can also get into the regulator or other small holes and clog them (the likely hood of this happening is slim).

-The above mentioned purging technique is encouraged and really is the best way to remove air/moisture out of the new tank.

-IF YOU PAID TEN BUCKS TO HAVE THIS DONE YOU PAID TO MUCH!! We have never charged for this service!

-Alcohol is not used in this process!

[NapoleonDynamite]

airjer you da man tell them how it is

[Jeremy airjer W]

Hey Hanson,

Do you still have the tank that was "locked up". Once you burp the air of the top it should work just fine!

Hey Napoleon,

Are you drinking skim milk?

[hanson]

No I don't have it anymore.

With a little smooth talking, I was able to exchange it for a new tank and then had the new tank purged and filled properly.

[Jeremy airjer W]

a little smooth talkin never hurts!!!

[Ole1855]

There's a U-Haul place in Eagan right off Cedar Ave., I found them to be the cheapest and if your tank is 1/2 full, they only charge you for the gas they add, not a full tank.

Ole

[mtreno]

if you really want to be on top of things check what weight the have the scale set at the fill station. must places charge by the fill so they have started half filling. a 20 lbs tank should way 38 lbs when full. most stations have the scale set somewhere between 30 & 35. all tanks say right on the tank right by the handle what they should way when full.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Metreno,

You are half right. there are two sets of numbers that are used when filling a tank the first is water capacity (W.C.). This is used to determine the amount of propane that goes into the tank. A twenty pound tank will have a water capacity of around 47.7. we use a capacity conversion chart to determine the amount of propane wich would be twenty pounds (there is a formula that can also be used to calculate the amount of propane). The second is the tear wieght (T.W.). This is how much your tank wieghs when empty. A twenty pound tank is usually around 18.2 lbs.

so if you are filling a twenty pound tank the total wieght would be 38lbs. and the scale should be set at 39-40 lbs. to compensate for the wieght of the handle and hose.

Hope this helps.