REFILLING 1LB PROPANE TANKS

[mhjohns]

Ryan V,

Here is a HSOforum you can check out

http://hazmat.(Contact Us Please).gov/regs/overhml.pdf

in regards the law. It lists the statute numbers on it (49 U.S.C. 5124). I'm a law enforcment officer and I've been to training on it, but it is a very general law. A 1 lb cylinder that has been refilled is considered a hazard because it was not labled for refilling. It is considered disposable and is suppose to be recycled after use.

The reason I say the law is general law is it covers a pretty much anything that is harmfull that isn't transported in a approved container. If you take your fuel tank off your ice auger and transport it to the local repair shop to get a new one and there is just a drop of gas in it you are breaking this law because the tank was designed to be on the auger and now you are just transporting gas.

The town I live in has a oil recycling drop off location. Technically any person that brings their oil there in anything other then a container desiged to transport used oil is breaking the law. The center is full of milk jugs and laudry bottles filled with used oil.

My favorite is for everyone that mixes two-stroke gas it's technically illegal to transport the mixing oil in a gas can if there is more oil then gas in a designated gasoline can.

Hope that clears it up.

[livintofish]

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Convenience has never been, and will never be, cheap. What bothers me about it is the fact that there are easily hundreds of thousands of these little green bottles filling up landfills due to the fact that one is not supposed to refill them. Whereas the 11/20/40/100 lb tanks are being refilled over and over and over again, to a point of being better than recycling, IMHO.

Also, I was under the impression that the grade of LP fuel is not what gunked up the heaters and lanterns, but the high pressure gas forcing a residue out of the rubber fuel lines, then clogging stuff up. But I have been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again.

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McGurk,

My thoughts are much like yours as far as trying to eliminate excess waste material (all those green bottles). For this reason I got a coleman white fuel lantern a few years back, for one you aren't using those bottles and needing to buy new ones all the time, the fuel goes a long way and the can is recycleable. The white fuel lanterns are a little less tempermental too (no big poof when you light it that ocassionally cracks the glass). Other than that the Buddy heaters are the only other thing that takes 1# tanks that you need out there, and a hose can be used on these(I just got one). Just some other ideas to avoid the pounder tanks all together.

I think you are correct about the high pressure thing gunking the lines up as well. I called Mr heater when I got the hose to find out what the differences in hoses were and ended up buying the one the quick connects to the additional hookup on the buddy (not the regulators like the 1#ers). This hose is regulated at the tank and does not need a filter like the other hoses because it is low pressure, he said the heater will run better with this hose.

[McGurk]

I wholeheartedly agree, L2F, and my first lantern (and still in service) is a Coleman Dual Fuel 2-mantle. I got a freebie tank-mounted 2-mantle this summer, and thought I'd use it this winter instead of the dual-fuel. If what you say is true, I may stick with the old trusty white gas.

I thought I was right about the unregulated high pressure lines and residue, and therefore the resulting necessary filter. That is the route I've got going, but I've thought about throwing a regulator on the tank end of the hose and skipping the filter this year instead of getting a new filter for the season. If I'm correct, that should eliminate the need for a filter from here on out, whether you use the quick-connect or the regular screw-on connection. I know the quick disconnect bypasses any internal regulation, but is it a problem having a regulated gas flow going through an internal regulator? Any thoughts?

[livintofish]

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I've thought about throwing a regulator on the tank end of the hose and skipping the filter this year instead of getting a new filter for the season. If I'm correct, that should eliminate the need for a filter from here on out, whether you use the quick-connect or the regular screw-on connection. I know the quick disconnect bypasses any internal regulation, but is it a problem having a regulated gas flow going through an internal regulator? Any thoughts?

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I see what your getting at, and not wanting to buy another hose with the quick connect as they are pricey. I am not sure if you could regulate that hose at the tank and then run it through the regulator on the buddy, I would call them and ask at mr heater they have very helpful customer service from my expierience. Is yours running ok with the filter? I have never used my buddy as a heat source when Its real cold or windy out as I had problems with it going out and going through way too much propane(1 #ers)so I was using a dual burner sunflower, but I just don't think those are safe with the headaches I would frequently get, even with the vents open and opening the house periodically. So I'm looking forward to using the buddy hooked up to a 20#er, field test in the garage worked great so far .